The dreaded wheel wobble.

Hey fellas, can anyone out there give me a list of probable causes for the front wheel wobble? Very minor untill about 75-85 kph. Also at that speed while turning through a bend it is almost un noticible. I drive a 1998 GU.

Strewth theres heaps, swivel hub bearings/ wheel bearings, panhard bushes or any other bush for that matter or bearing, check em all out. if bushes are shot replace with genuine nissan

edit: tie rod ends, nearly any worn front suspension component

out of balance / alignment and uneven wear on tyres - brakes needing a shim but that would appear more when braking, camber out of whack

Hi jman
Start with wheel bearing adjustment. Most wheel aligners don't bother adjusting this on 4wds as it takes too long ( & care needs to be taken with locating f/wheel hub on assembly) & a lot of cars aren't adjustable now. All components need to be in good nick, but not much wears out on japanese front ends. If your springs have dropped the castor may have increased too much, and this will cause shaking. Castor needs to be less than about 2 degrees. But too low (o- minus 1) & it will wander all over the road. (Shopping trooleys have negative castor). Either change springs or fit offset castor bushes. Steering dampers only mask the problem. If it's done a lot of work, get someone to disconnect the tie-rod ends from the stub axles & check top & bottom pivot bearing pre-load. There should be some (I think it's about 10-13 ft/lbs). Turning should be smooth with out any tight spots on feeling notchy. Theres more, but try the bearing adjustment first.

As above, but if all seems to be in order. The one thing alot of people don't do on patrols is give them a sideways shake. Get your mate to grab the bullbar and push it sideways then pull back, get a motion going then get under and check the panhard bushes. these devils can look perfect when bouncing up and but it only takes a little bit of sideways to give your truck a real vibration that can come and go.
cheers bazzad

OK thanks to everyone who offered possible fixes. I'll get onto it and see how it goes. thanks again :)

first check panhard rod bushes ... get someone to push the car sideways while you watch for any movement.
second is wheel bearings ... jack a wheel up and grab it top and bottom then check for any movement.

those are the two main reasons ... lots more to check if they are ok

I get a nice little shimmer at 85... tried wheel balance, rotation.... nothing will fix it... except ... I jutst drive at 80 or 90... no problem...

Mick

just did mine today same problem as yours , i had new bearings done and all the seals too also new tyres and a balance in the last week and the local mechanic wanted to pull it apart and do some shims but i said no to that as i dont believe thats a good thing ! i replaced the front panhard rod bush on the drivers side it fixed it( i did not do the left side as it was in very good order )
thats what fixed mine , wont work that way for every one hey :-)

Hey, thanks for all that mate info mate. But i was very fortunate in that it was only the wheels out of balance. One 100 g. the other 106 g. Also tyres slightly out of round. On a road test it went very much better. But thanks again.:)