Curing the famous death wobble.....

Had terrible wobbles in my Gen3 at 70kmh - like clockwork.

Had a buncha stuff done all at once and it cured it outright (not entirely sure if it was one particular issue or a cummulative thing).

- Replaced stock suspension with 2-inch lift kit.
- Had all the running gear overhauled - bushes bearing etc all replaced.
- Steering tie-rod ends replaced and any worn steering parts replaced (I think this was the major contributor).
- Rear drum brakes and cylinders completely overhauled and drums machined.

This is the problem with doing lots of things at the same time to hopefully cure a problem. You can never be sure which one was the cure!

Roger

First update - I fear of many!

Taken it in to have the wheels balanced(via stud method) and they first advised the tyres are over 10 years old(despite having 6mm tread left) and are budget tyres and all badly out of shape. Possibly contributed to by mainly being sat doing nothing for the last 2 years. So returning on Thursday to have all 4 tyres replaced and the wheels balanced and hopefully will make a difference and expose if any other issue.

They also pointed out that the rear differential is noisy(I guess why a whine when driving). I am not overly mechanical, not sure of the implications for that, or if it is something that can be left without too much of an issue? Again any advice is appreciated. 

I would agree with the garage that tyres over 10 years old are a liability regardless of remaining tread. As for the diff first off make sure it's got oil in it, on level ground it should just be trying to creep out of the filling holes in the back of the diff case. If it isn't full then it's a prime opportunity to change it in the first instance rather than just topping it up. Oil is cheaper than a new diff. Also by changing the oil you can look to see if it's got any chunks or metallic glitter in it which is bad. If you aren't confident then any good garage should be able to assist.

Whining is likely the mesh between the pinion gear and crownwheel was out, possibly due to replacing the pinion oil seal incorrectly- if it has done significant miles since it will have worn in and won't go away, or it could be mitigated by setting the preload correctly.

My back axle was noisy, and after changing rear bearings I found that it was a front wheel bearing, but it was a rumble not a whine, whine is gear mesh.

It could continue to whine for many miles as long as it has oil in it.

2nd and maybe last update

Had all the tyres changed today and wheels balanced and has 100% cured. Much quieter, no low rumble caused by the out of shape tyres and no wheel wobble at all. Got up to 70 all smooth and cruising at 60 is sweet and relaxing. Am very pleased and thanks for the advice received.

Just got the rear diff oil change next week, and decided as I now assume that very little routing maintenance was done, to have the auto gearbox oil changed as well. Hopefully then ready for regular use.