Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

graham1
Patrolman
Patrolman
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Jun 2015 17:46
Full Name: graham robertson
Nickname: graham1
Home Town: Harties
Current 4x4: 2004 Patrol 4.8; 1999 Patrol 4.2D
Home Language: English
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 100 times

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by graham1 »

I jacked it up last night and fiddled a bit. There's zero play in the wheel bearings, and all other things seem tight.
Just need to find time to get the wheels balanced now to tick that off before I look at this king pin thing - I did a quick google on it and the job looks a little daunting to me, but lets see.
Francois Theron
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 97
Joined: 02 May 2009 21:31
Full Name: Francois Theron
Nickname: Francois
Home Town: Robertson
Current 4x4: 2006 Patrol 4.8 GL
Home Language: Afrikaans
Has thanked: 12 times
Been thanked: 28 times

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by Francois Theron »

There is no kingpin anymore. They are now swivel hub bearings and usually the cause of DW. Not such a difficult task to do.
graham1
Patrolman
Patrolman
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Jun 2015 17:46
Full Name: graham robertson
Nickname: graham1
Home Town: Harties
Current 4x4: 2004 Patrol 4.8; 1999 Patrol 4.2D
Home Language: English
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 100 times

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by graham1 »

So coincidentally I put a test set of 35s on yesterday, and, as we predicted it got ALOT worse. It was an absolute death trap on uneven roads, the shake actually started from 65km/h with them on, and I was all over the road. Having some ‘oh sht’ moments even.
This evening I took the shims out, and just like that, all the wobbles are gone! A miracle fix.

It’s a horrible job though. The top shims take less than a minute to remove. The bottom ones are an absolute bitch. More trying to put the bearings back. Bloody hell. At one point I thought I was defeated by it actually!
I might have damaged a seal in the process, let’s see, I might have an oil splattered wheel after tomorrow’s drive.
User avatar
Michael
Moderator
Posts: 2479
Joined: 05 Mar 2014 14:39
Full Name: Michael
Nickname: Steyn
Home Town: Centurion
Current 4x4: Patrol GU 4.2 Turbo Diesel
Home Language: Afrikaans
Location: Centurion, PTA
Has thanked: 189 times
Been thanked: 336 times

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by Michael »

Good job Graham!
Well you have determined that your Patrol needs new swivel hub bearings. Removing the shims work wonders, but its just a plaster on the problem which will return again in the future.
If you think removing the shims was a tough job, wait till you have to change the braeings :lol:
"The Just shall live by Faith" Rom1:17

Check out my build here My Patrol
And my engine rebuild here mostly engine related stuff
User avatar
davidvdm
Patrolman
Patrolman
Posts: 627
Joined: 13 Sep 2011 15:47
Full Name: David vd Merwe
Nickname: David - Hillbilly
Home Town: West Coast
Current 4x4: 1997 2.7TD Nissan Sani Mk3 4x4 SFA (SAFANI)
Home Language: English/Afrikaans
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 48 times
Contact:

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by davidvdm »

This is good info, and probably my problem on the Sani. Dammit, I was hoping to skip that step, and rather chase a bad steering damper, or off balance wheel. Maybe even a Panhard brace and better rubbers. I have already removed shims, can't remember if there are even any left. But I see I have gear oil ingress in my CV's, and then it leaks out at the ball. :redface: Suppose I better start saving up for a full kit, do the kingpin bearings, wheel bearings and all the seals, and probably not a bad idea on a 40 year old axle, that has possibly never been touched anyways. I just wanted to wait to do that all when I have it apart to install the Locka (which I also still have to buy :helpsign: :rolleyes: )

Wish we can get past this darn lockdown and start earning some money again... Sooooo frustrating.
David - Bfreesani
1997 Nissan Sani MK3 2.7TD - Hillbilly (SAFANI)
MQ C200 SFA
MQ H260 LSD Rear
MQ Transfer as second low range
5" Lift
33"x12.5x15" tires on 8.5J rims - Want 35's
DIY rock sliders
DIY Snorkel
Madman EMS
User avatar
Peter Connan
Moderator
Posts: 6011
Joined: 10 Sep 2010 07:21
Full Name: Peter Connan
Nickname: Piet
Home Town: Kempton Park
Current 4x4: 1996 Patrol 4.5SGL
Home Language: Afrikaans
Location: Kempton Park
Has thanked: 1067 times
Been thanked: 985 times

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by Peter Connan »

Our cars are well known for death wobble, but I am pretty convinced that they are actually very forgiving in this regard.

Mine recently started throwing the odd tantrum, to the extent that I didn't feel confident to just accellerate through the wobble as I usually do. Even so, it would only pick up a wobble about onc3 every third drive.

Pulled out the front panhard rod this afternoon, and this is what the chassis-end bush looked like:
IMG-20201127-WA0010.jpeg
IMG-20201127-WA0010.jpeg (943.68 KiB) Viewed 36765 times
I reckon that's pretty amazing. Fortunately I had a set in the garage which I had bought a year or two ago when I replaced the rear suspension bushes.

Keep in mind, I believe these to still be the originals, which are now 24 years and 415k km old...
Mag ons ons kenniskry met lekkerkry aanhoukry.
User avatar
davidvdm
Patrolman
Patrolman
Posts: 627
Joined: 13 Sep 2011 15:47
Full Name: David vd Merwe
Nickname: David - Hillbilly
Home Town: West Coast
Current 4x4: 1997 2.7TD Nissan Sani Mk3 4x4 SFA (SAFANI)
Home Language: English/Afrikaans
Has thanked: 4 times
Been thanked: 48 times
Contact:

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by davidvdm »

Thats pretty amazing.

Mine is still not totally gone yet. If I get it through the 60-70 zone, its smooth sailing to as fast as the 2.7 can get it. What gets me is that it's fine for a while, and then suddenly the next cruise into a town from a fast zone as a coast back down to 60, its bites me out of nowhere. Then I have to jab the brakes to get it under 60.

I'm on my way to add a second steering damper. I have checked the past month now, and see I average 150km out of 600 on tar. The rest is gravel roads and sand tracks. Steering is not that heavy, so not worried about trying something weird if it just stays stable for my wife to be able to use it now and then.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

David - Bfreesani
1997 Nissan Sani MK3 2.7TD - Hillbilly (SAFANI)
MQ C200 SFA
MQ H260 LSD Rear
MQ Transfer as second low range
5" Lift
33"x12.5x15" tires on 8.5J rims - Want 35's
DIY rock sliders
DIY Snorkel
Madman EMS
User avatar
Peter Connan
Moderator
Posts: 6011
Joined: 10 Sep 2010 07:21
Full Name: Peter Connan
Nickname: Piet
Home Town: Kempton Park
Current 4x4: 1996 Patrol 4.5SGL
Home Language: Afrikaans
Location: Kempton Park
Has thanked: 1067 times
Been thanked: 985 times

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by Peter Connan »

I doubt another ten steering dampers are going to solve the problem David.

Last pictures I saw, it looked to me that the brackets at both ends (chassis and axle) were in serious need of some bracing/gusseting. I understand you have braced up the one end, not sure about the other? If possible, the setup the current 70-series cruisers have ( a tubular link from the chassis mounting point to the opposite chassis leg) should fix that end if you have room to fit it.

Either way, you need to stop the oscillations from starting, not damp them once they are in motion. A steering damper simply can't control what are in reality relatively small movements. It's not there to stop a wobble, it's there to stop you breaking your thumbs if you have them inside the rim when you hit a bump/log/rock with one wheel.

Anyway, a mild shudder at some speed and on some road surfaces is to my mind par for the course with a live-axle vehicle. Everything has to be in really good condition to prevent it completely.

Interestingly, my car has one specific peace of road that it doesn't like. But it's tar and relatively smooth, so why that piece of road was sending it into a tiz is a mystery to me.
Mag ons ons kenniskry met lekkerkry aanhoukry.
Remo
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 17
Joined: 03 May 2021 14:53
Full Name: Remo Bischofberger
Nickname: Reemster
Home Town: Pretoria
Current 4x4: 2014 Nissan Patrol 4.8 GRX
Home Language: German
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by Remo »

Hi
Looks like my Patrol has the wobble as well. Drove home last night and as I was descelerating and coming off the highway the steering wheel started shuddering quite badly.
Earlier in the thread it was mentioned that Graham would be able to assist with mending this wobble. I just want to confirm, is this Graham from G-Tech Motors in Centurion? I’m not sure I’ll be able to adress this problem myself. I’d prefer an experienced Parol mech to have a look.
Thx
graham1
Patrolman
Patrolman
Posts: 577
Joined: 15 Jun 2015 17:46
Full Name: graham robertson
Nickname: graham1
Home Town: Harties
Current 4x4: 2004 Patrol 4.8; 1999 Patrol 4.2D
Home Language: English
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 100 times

Re: Patrol Death/Steering Wobble – Trouble Shooting & Fix

Post by graham1 »

Hi,

I see youre looking at getting new tyres soon. I'd say wait until youve done that first.
On my last Patrol it had a wobble at 80km/h, not the proper death wobble, but it was pretty bad. (you'll know without a doubt once youve experienced the death wobble, bloody terrifying!)
Anyway, I was about to start pulling shims etc out and replacing ball joints on this last one, but, before I got to that I replaced the tyres, and just like that, the wobble was gone.
Post Reply

Return to “12. Suspension, Steering & Brakes”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot] and 9 guests