99 4.0 Ranger Has Death Wobble after being towed

[Mrnicks]

SOLVED 99 4.0 Ranger Has Death Wobble after being towed

So I had my trucked towed and I asked for a flat bed and they sent a normal truck and they lifted the rear up and towed it.

Now my truck has death wobble while turning left and when I hit a bump with both tires square on. It's fine driving straight at all speeds. Just mainly turning left and on bumps.

One thing I must note is my radiator support is rotted at the mounts pretty much all the way through. I have a new one on the way.

As for suspension everything "sounds" ship shape. I did a brief inspection by shaking everything around and having someone moving my suspension while watching everything move. It all looks and feels tight. I know what it's suspose to be like because I've seen bad ball joints, tie rods and stab links. Today i'm gonna rotate my tires and do a closer inspection.

Any ideas.

Well, once again I'm left hanging. But thanks to my ace mechanic skills I pulled myself through. I found that my death shake was actually created by my steering system. Maybe if I posted in steering section I would have gotten a reply? Soooooo, anyway I rotated my tires and throughly inspected the suspension components. Everything was ship shape. Then with the tires on and up in the air and the truck running I had my wife turn the wheels slowly back and forth while I kicked the tires. This was a simulation of what happens on the road. And too my surprise when I kicked one tire while it was turned they both began to shake like mad. So, seeing this I knew it was steering related. I turned the steering wheel lock to lock about twenty times while still in the air and after a test drive the shake is gone. So far. Your welcome to anyone this helps.

 

[fixizin]

Sorry, didn't see your post in time. Yep, you got an idiot tow driver, and if you look at your owner's manual, they specifically say to NOT tow in that manner, esp. 4x4... glad it didn't screw up your PS loop any more than it did, and that you resolved it easily. Next time just say "thanks, but I've got a REAL tow truck coming..."

Had a minor version of that when I had my 4 ball joints and upper control arms and all bushings replaced by a trusted shop, but they WARNED me about it before I drove off... sure enough, a few lock-to-lock low speed swerves through an empty parking lot, air gone, shimmy gone, rock solid, and "new truck" feeling due to new components, new tires, and dead-on alignment.

 

[dangerranger83]

When I had my last tow a few months ago, they said that they tow all 4wd vehicles in that matter and dont have a need for flat beds for them. The only ones that get flat beds are AWD they said. I also told them that I have a live at all times axle in the front and that I recommend that they put the dolley wheels under the wheels to help prevent anything from happening, but that didnt happen. Anyways $40 later she was in the driveway.

But before all of that, had it towed twice in a row due to death wobble and both used flat beds then.