Death rattle

JBG · 10-20-2012, 04:54 PM

Or something like it. Have a Salem Kroger conversion new to me. Put it in 4wd for the first time on a gravelly road. When off of it switched it out unlocked the hubs and started driving on pavement. When I would go above 40 the thing started shaking like heck. Almost took me off the road. Any idea why this happened and what I can do to fix it. Have a long highway drive torrowo and I would like to go faster than 40 on the freeway. Thanks!

BMWBILO · 10-20-2012, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBG

Or something like it. Have a Salem Kroger conversion new to me. Put it in 4wd for the first time on a gravelly road. When off of it switched it out unlocked the hubs and started driving on pavement. When I would go above 40 the thing started shaking like heck. Almost took me off the road. Any idea why this happened and what I can do to fix it. Have a long highway drive torrowo and I would like to go faster than 40 on the freeway. Thanks!

Give Craig at Whitefeather conversions a call. He was with Salem Kroger
for a long time and probably can help you figure out what's up with your
van. From their website here are his numbers. Office 530-529-3248.
Cell 530-526-8296. Good luck. Steve.

Zeta · 10-20-2012, 07:35 PM

Does it do it in 4wd?

Z

Gnarvan · 10-20-2012, 09:01 PM

First I would make sure both the hubs are actually unlocked and the transfer case came out of 4 wheel drive.

Then I'd do a real close inspection on the front end components. If it were me I would probably jack up the front end and pull off both front wheels and see if there is any excessive play in any of the steering and front end components.

Does the wobble change any if you ride the brakes and stay on the gas? Is there any noticeable change in anything if you steer either right or left? Can you feel any excessive play in the front wheel bearings?

Have you taken a real close look the front tires? Maybe it's something as simple as a tire getting ready to shed it's tread. Are you by chance running BFG All Terrain TA's? They have a reputation for seperating the tread from the casing when they're run on the big heavy vans.

Be very careful if you do decide to take it on the freeway. A bad front end shimmy/wobble is usually an indication something is in the process of breaking and having a total failure on a front end component can ruin your day in a blink of an eye.

JBG · 10-21-2012, 08:15 PM

Well made it back to Seattle. The problem only slightly started to show itself after being in slow traffic ie lots of braking then going back up to highway speed. So I'm thinking a brake job and roter inspection is in the works.

Gnarvan · 10-21-2012, 08:33 PM

Slow traffic with lots of braking heading back into Seattle on a Sunday evening. I'm shocked to hear there would be slow traffic on a Sunday.

Glad to hear you made it back safe. I've spent enough time in Seattle to know just how slow the traffic is on Sunday. Trying to make it back to town on 2 after a Sunday Skykomish River run is a painful experience.

Keep us posted on what caused the problem.

BMWBILO · 10-21-2012, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBG

Well made it back to Seattle. The problem only slightly started to show itself after being in slow traffic ie lots of braking then going back up to highway speed. So I'm thinking a brake job and roter inspection is in the works.

What year is your van? Is the front suspension coil or leaf springs?
Salem Kroger used leaf springs and then switched to coil springs
when Ford came out with their coil spring front suspension on the
pickups.

BIGVANS · 10-21-2012, 11:16 PM

Is the front suspension coil springs? Could it be coming from loose rear wheel spacers? Bad ball joint? etc..... We need more info.

E350 · 10-25-2012, 04:58 PM

Been there, done that. After you assure that you don't have anything really loose with your front suspension, you can screw around chasing minimally worn components for thousands of dollars if you want . . . like I first did. But, if your van is like mine, it won't fix it. Rather, it is a luck of the draw problem with all coil over solid axle suspensions incl. stock Fords and Dodges. (Chevy's are indep. frnt suspension.)

But an opposing dual gas pressurized shock system will do it. Just read what TurboStew says and do it for some piece of mind:

Quadvan Death Wobble:

viewtopic.php?f=24&t=4399&p=59103&hilit=quadvan+de ath+wobble#p59103

Mine is a Salem Kroger 4x4 as well. Tell me how you lock your hubs. I may have another suggestion.

JBG · 11-06-2012, 01:22 PM

Thanks for the responses; Im such a noob and lack much technical ability. The van is a 2000 and the conversion was done around 2005 so not sure if its leaf or coil. If anyone knows of a good alignment shop in Seattle that would be great otherwise i might just take it to Les Schwab to see if they can see if anything is loose or needs to be replaced. Then add a couple of shocks here and there so i can stop chasing the ghost!