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Kingpin/Death Wobble hunting!

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05 Mar 2019 12:45 #204135 by eddlane
Hi all,

So, I am chasing death wobble gremlins around, following the advice on the wiki. I’ve started with wheel balancing and had that done, it helped slightly but not much.

Now moving onto kingpins and kingpin shims. (I’ve been researching!!)

So let me start by saying, my mechanical experience is very limited but I’m a good learner and instruction follower, before you answer my questions, take a deep breath and pretend you’re talking to a five year old who knows nothing about Jimnys...

Kingpins.
Checking for wear, any tips? I’ve read the guides but I’m not sure what exactly I’m looking for. I am wondering if mine have the leak it mentions I took some pics.

Shims.
When it comes to installing the shims (the guide says check kingpin wear first which is what I need to learn)
The guide says add a shim at a time and try moving the hub left to right, does that mean spinning it like a wheel or holding the left and right side and rocking back and forth? It says add or remove shims until the wheel moves smoothly but firmly from side to side, same question as above really?

I’d love to try this job myself rather than a mechanic because I really want to get to know my jimny. If anyone can help that would be great. Also, the splitter for the steering joint do I need anything specific? Thanks for the help.

Edd

Bob - 2005 Jimny - standard, for now.....
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05 Mar 2019 14:53 #204142 by Lambert
Yes the king pin bearing sets need attention going by the pictures. The test is to lift the wheel just clear of the ground and with a pry bar see if it moves vertically, not in the suspension button you should be able to feel it clunk. Alternatively try to move the wheel with your hands at the 6 o'clock position trying to push the top in and bottom out and vice versa.

The shims are tested with the wheel off and the steering bars disconnected from the knuckle. The knuckle should be able to swing smoothly through its arc of movement with not more than about 3.5 to 4.5 kg of force once the initial inertia is overcome. This is measured with a spring balance through the drag link hole.

There's plenty of reading on this throughout the site.

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05 Mar 2019 18:14 #204149 by eddlane
Thanks Lambert,

I’ll give that test a try and report back.

Yep I’ve been researching through the site, I posted again with the hope that someone can explain in Layman’s terms haha

So I put the spring balance through a hole on the hub side and pull it and measure the resistance to 4.5KG for the initial pull?

Cheers

Bob - 2005 Jimny - standard, for now.....

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05 Mar 2019 19:24 #204153 by kirkynut
You need the rubber swivel seal on when testing the kingpin tightness I believe. Get a new pair as they'll have had their day.

I don't think there's an effective way of checking if old ones are worn out or not. It's just a case of if they leak they really need doing.

Kirkynut

The underdog often starts the fight, and occasionally the upper dog deserves to win - Edgar Watson Howe.

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05 Mar 2019 20:22 #204155 by Don76
Replied by Don76 on topic Kingpin/Death Wobble hunting!
I just went through this pain. When I took the kingpin bearings out there was already an upper and lower shim installed on each side. Looking through the history, the car was only ever serviced and worked on by Suzuki. I replaced the bearings and put the shims back in. All seems okay now with no wobble. I can feel every bump in the road still but I assume that’s a jimny / rigid axle thing.

I bought the scissor type ball joint splitter from Halfords and they worked a treat without damaging the seals on the Ball joints.

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05 Mar 2019 20:26 #204157 by eddlane
Thanks!

I’m not looking forward to it haha! Just trying to get as much information about the job before I decide if I can manage it myself!

Bob - 2005 Jimny - standard, for now.....

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06 Mar 2019 05:05 #204162 by Lambert
The initial pull can be a little bit more than 4.5kg as you're overcoming the inertia of the system. The reading should be steady once moving, and be between 3.5 and 4.5 kg. I have no doubt that if you're able to tell a spanner from a hammer then you're going to be fine. And if not we are here to help.

Temeraire (2018 quasar grey automatic)
One of the last 200ish of the gen3s, probably.
ADOS Attention Deficit Ooooh Shiny!

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06 Mar 2019 07:53 #204168 by Max Headroom
Edd,

Did you get my PM?


IF IT AINT BROKE, KEEP FIXING IT UNTIL IT IS

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06 Mar 2019 07:59 #204169 by eddlane
Thanks all, I’ll keep researching until I feel confident to have a crack at it.

Are they any other jobs worth doing whilst I am doing this one? So I’m planning on doing the kingpin bearings and potentially shims.

Should I do diff oil change? And the bushes on the thing I have to use a splitter on, steering joint?

Cheers again all this is great.

Bob - 2005 Jimny - standard, for now.....

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06 Mar 2019 08:10 #204170 by Max Headroom
Hi Edd

if the oil hasn't been cx'd in ages it might be worth doing. Take a look at panhard bushes too.

Dont get the steering joints apart with a hammer as some I've seen do - and it might be worth cx'ing the track rod ends as well - count the number of threads on the old ones before taking them out, and count the number of threads to the same value when putting them back in - this way you will be roughly in the right tracking position. However DO still get the car re-tracked after.


IF IT AINT BROKE, KEEP FIXING IT UNTIL IT IS

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