The "Death Wobble" is often confused with "normal" steering wobble which can occur in any vehicle in which the steering or suspension components are a little bit worn.Picasso wrote:Apologies for asking a naive question;
What are the symptoms of the "Death/Steering Wobble" ?
Is the "Death/Steering Wobble" something which is experienced at any speed and any surface or does it only occurs under specific circumstances / conditions.
I have on my car a steering wobble which occurs ...... say , I drive on the highway, everything is fine and perfect. Suddenly I hit an uneven spot which generates a steering wobble whereas the wobble seams to continue for a few seconds even after I have passed this uneven spot already.
Is this what you call a "Death/Steering Wobble" ?
The "Death wobble" is called that because, if it happens to you, you genuinely think you are about to die. It is impossible to control, and the vehicle is impossible to control when the death wobble occurs.
It can occur at any time, at virtually any speed over say 60km/h, and would normally happen after a disturbance as mentioned above, but the critical thing is that it is a harmonic vibration, in that it rapidly accelerates beyond any means to control it.
The normal suspension wobble usually starts at around 80km/h in the Patrol, and will last to a speed comensurate with the amount of wear/play in the system.
Both are caused by play somewhere in the steering or axle location systems, usually coupled with some imbalance in the system (such as an imbalanced wheel, bent rim, out-of-round tire or waprped brake disc) not by the steering damper, but the steering damper can mask the symptoms.
But it is important to realize that no steering wobble is ever CAUSED by a worn steering damper. There is an underlying cause which needs to be found in order to prevent long-term wear.