Wobbly O2

Many thanks to all for their advice & guidance.

Might be a few days before I can post any update/progress, but I will update on how the little beast was fixed. FYI. It's got standard wheels and 205's fitted (but with slightly chunkier tread).

reaper i know where you both live ! have tools prepared and cleaned ,

sponnie and reaper sent you both a private message !

Been out all day mate just replied

ordered parts from B J shop ,

Giz a shout if you need a hand mate

just sent you a message !

Hi Folks,

I promised an update and here it is.

Firstly, many many thanks to all for their advice/guidance/offers to assist, but this is a cautionary tale.

Although the bearings didn't actually seem very worn, both sides were cleaned, bearings changed, regreased to death, etc, etc and all was expected to be healed and the wife could drive down the road without knocking out the windows (and anyone inside the car) with her mazoomas.

However, on the first test drive we reached 42mph and all hell broke loose. The death wobble was still there and just as aggressive as before.

You will recall that my first suspicion was wheel balancing. But I was advised, nah it's king pin bearings, get 'em changed asap. The good news is that Jimny has nice new bearings, but it was originally a wheel balancing issue (maybe a bit of both?!). The front nearside was way off and once balanced correctly no more wobble at any speed.

Moral of the story? Go with your first instincts initially and/or don't forget the basics.

Once again tho, many thanks to all (mea culpa, should have checked balancing first as i said i would). It was my first foray into the site of BigJimny and I am most impressed by all the knowledgeable friendly people out there willing to assist and I am now hooked. Cheers.

Pleased to hear it's now sorted & you can 'both' enjoy your Jimny .........

Balancing seems to be a recurring problem on Jimnys. I suspect it's down to the large centre bore on the wheels that the usual (quick and easy) mounting through the centre bore to the balancing machine can't balance them accurately enough. Anyone having problems with getting wheels balanced needs top find somewhere that can bolt the wheels to the machine instead of using the centre bore. It takes them longer to set up, but if a jobs worth doing it's worth doing properly. There's another thread on here where somebody used balancing beads with some success - well worth looking at if you're having balancing problems.