Possible death wobble ?

Hi everyone 

Prior to taking the car to the mechanic i was experiencing my steering juddering like mad when i went over 40mph 
When i went to mechanic they stated " front axel swivel joint was leaking /corrosion and they replaced with Swivel Joint Bearings.

Now I took a motorway journey yesterday and the steering judders on certian types of road which is weird as I thought the issue would be resolved .

Car details : 2004 JLX Jimny
Tyres : Brand New

The mechanic also stated the other following issues : 

offside front cutrigger needs welding ( hasn't been fixed yet ) 

offside rear spring hanger needs welding ( this has been fixed .

what do people think ?

Is it worth replacing the entire front axle?
 

Tyres : Brand New

There is the clue. The tyres have probably not been balanced correctly.

Make sure tyres are at the correct pressure!

As above, first check pressures.
Last time I let quit fit change mine they inflated to 34psi all 4 corners.

Hi everyone 

Thank you for the prompt reply i will get those tyres balanced ASAP and get wheel alignment done . 

I have some toyo suv tyres fitted and have been told the correct psi on the tyres is 36psi .

That sounds high. I’m a couple of beers to the good but I think I’m running 23psi all round. It’s not a heavy vehicle 

Mine is front 24psi - rear 26psi
www.tyre-pressures.com/bycar/suzuki/jimny/2005

Yep your tyre pressure is on the high side. 23-26 in front is around the mark.
NO you don't need to replace the axle.
Get the tyre balance checked first as above^^^^^
​​​​​​
After that it gets a little more complex to resolve. The complete axle and steering component system all contribute to damping out any oscillation. Simply when new everything is tight, ball joints, bearings, even suspension dampers. Over time things start to get a little sloppy and in some instances, such as your kingpin bearings, they fail. These changes make the vehicle front end susceptible to oscillations, ie death wobble around the 45 -55 mark. So just fixing one item may /may not totally prevent the oscillation. Bumps in the road or changes in road surface can set the oscillations going.
​​​​​​So if everything looks in good order, bearings,  ball joints and rubber bushes you can add preload washers to the kingpins bearings to compensate by adding a bit of "load" to this area. Alternatively you can fit a steering damper, or do both if required.
M




 

Hi everyone 

I went to get the tyres aligned today and the tyres were slightly out of alignment which has been fixed .

I've taken the car for a drive and it is still doing the same thing .
Once you hit around 40mph it's doing its usually judder

There is no wobble .
Car does not judder when braking .
Although the tyres are alignmend it does veer to the left every so slightly. 

What else could do this be ?




 

You want to balance the wheels, not alignment.

When I got the tyres fitted they did balance them but it seems like they obviously didn't do a good enough job. 

If I go to the garage again and the balance is the issue will they mess up the alignment ? 

Hi
No it won't change the alignment.
Balance and alignment are two separate things and adjusting one will not impact the other. Alignment simplified is how much the front wheels point in ( toe in ) or point out (toe out) in relation to each other, they are very rarely parallel. You adjust the track rods / ball joints on the steering rack to change this. Balance stops the wheel from shaking as it rotates, heavy spots are balanced by adding weights to the wheel.

YOu could try moving wheels front to back and see if this changes anything. If it does it's likely to be balance, but try to keep the same make of tyre on the front. I have experienced different tyre makes (hence different tread patterns) inducing a shake on perfectly balanced tyres.