The Ford Barn

Tim Ayers · 10-09-2012, 08:40 AM

Please excuse if this has been covered before, but with Hershey coming up I'd like to be on the search for some parts to fix this issue.

My dad's '49 F-1 sometime get the death shake at speed after hitting a bump.
By death shake I mean, if you hit a bump at any speed over 45 mph, the wheel will shake back and forth uncontrollably until you slow down or apply the brakes.

After slowing down to approx. 25 mph or below, the shake stops.

Here is what has been done to the front end:

1) new king pins with correctly reamed bushings
2) new springs and cups in the drag link
3) new front leaf springs
** Funny, one of the leaf springs was broken and it never did it until we changed them.

Any thoughts or input welcomes for it can be a handful and quite scary to drive when it happens. I'm also afraid something is going to break loose when this happens and the truck will crash or hurt someone else.

Gary in La. · 10-09-2012, 09:20 AM

Too little toe in will sometimes cause this same shake.

gearhead1952 · 10-09-2012, 09:31 AM

Also make sure there is no play in the steering box.

Tim Ayers · 10-09-2012, 09:32 AM

I haven't checked the box yet. I will do that.

KGS · 10-09-2012, 10:26 AM

When everything checks out good and tight, take it to
Roy Wilson, at Dimension Alignment
in Hackettstown, 908-850-4940. He's very familiar with
early Fords and does a great job. Ken

Pete pa · 10-09-2012, 10:28 AM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Have your alignment checked,sounds like your caster may be to negitive.

Tim Ayers · 10-09-2012, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGS

When everything checks out good and tight, take it to
Roy Wilson, at Dimension Alignment
in Hackettstown, 908-850-4940. He's very familiar with
early Fords and does a great job. Ken

KGS,

Thanks.

Tim

flathead 53 · 10-09-2012, 11:02 AM

Had the same thing on my 53 f-100, after changing springs and shocks. I added 4 deg wedges under front springs ,also added steering stabilizer, then had toe set to 1/16 in. I now never get any shake at any speeds ,and truck handles much better. steering stabilizer can be bought from LMC. and wedges can be bought from mid fifties, or speedway,

Tim Ayers · 10-09-2012, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flathead 53

Had the same thing on my 53 f-100, after changing springs and shocks. I added 4 deg wedges under front springs ,also added steering stabilizer, then had toe set to 1/16 in. I now never get any shake at any speeds ,and truck handles much better. steering stabilizer can be bought from LMC. and wedges can be bought from mid fifties, or speedway,

I forgot to mention that we also added a stabilizer as well. Thanks for jogging my memory.

Lots of great suggestions. We'll get to work on it and see what happens.

roundvalley · 10-09-2012, 11:14 AM

Check toe in to 1/8" in. Experiment with tire pressure.

Just went through the same problem @ 45MPH and these things all changed it to much better. Last thing I did was rotate the front wheels and that also helped.

hardtimes · 10-09-2012, 11:59 AM

Tie rod ends !

Tim Ayers · 10-09-2012, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hardtimes

Tie rod ends !

Didn't change those. Totally overlooked them.

49r · 10-09-2012, 11:02 PM

The one time I had this on my 49 F1 I tried all of the above ... and only fixed it when I had the front wheels properly balanced.

Flatheadsoup · 10-10-2012, 12:11 AM

Degree shims, add 3 degree.

hardtimes · 10-10-2012, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Ayers

Didn't change those. Totally overlooked them.

Hey Tim,
Yeah, back in about '58 I had a 51 ford convertible that was totally thrashed from Pa roads/salt/etc.
'Death shake'...indeed , is a good description

! It acted just as you describe. The king pins were worn out as were all tie rod ends. Sure there are several other contributors to front end shimmy/shakeing, but death shake is definitely different,eh

tailgaterdude · 10-11-2012, 07:07 PM

What tires are you runninig?? The tie rod itself is hollow and if you are running wider than stock tires it will flex causing shimmy. You can beef it up with a piece of angle iron to strengthen it.. If the tires are of stock width make sure the tie rod is straight or replace it altogether Dude")

10-09-2012, 08:40 AM	#1
Tim Ayers Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: NJ Posts: 6,181	'49 F-1 steering death shake at speed Please excuse if this has been covered before, but with Hershey coming up I'd like to be on the search for some parts to fix this issue. My dad's '49 F-1 sometime get the death shake at speed after hitting a bump. By death shake I mean, if you hit a bump at any speed over 45 mph, the wheel will shake back and forth uncontrollably until you slow down or apply the brakes. After slowing down to approx. 25 mph or below, the shake stops. Here is what has been done to the front end: 1) new king pins with correctly reamed bushings 2) new springs and cups in the drag link 3) new front leaf springs ** Funny, one of the leaf springs was broken and it never did it until we changed them. Any thoughts or input welcomes for it can be a handful and quite scary to drive when it happens. I'm also afraid something is going to break loose when this happens and the truck will crash or hurt someone else.

10-09-2012, 09:20 AM	#2
Gary in La. Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Louisiana Posts: 866	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed Too little toe in will sometimes cause this same shake.

10-09-2012, 09:31 AM	#3
gearhead1952 Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Julesburg, Colorado Posts: 714	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed Also make sure there is no play in the steering box.

10-09-2012, 09:32 AM	#4
Tim Ayers Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: NJ Posts: 6,181	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed I haven't checked the box yet. I will do that.

10-09-2012, 10:26 AM	#5
KGS Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Schooley's Mountain Posts: 530	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed When everything checks out good and tight, take it to Roy Wilson, at Dimension Alignment in Hackettstown, 908-850-4940. He's very familiar with early Fords and does a great job. Ken

10-09-2012, 10:28 AM	#6
Pete pa Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: allison park pa Posts: 89	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Have your alignment checked,sounds like your caster may be to negitive.

10-09-2012, 11:02 AM	#8
flathead 53 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: central nj Posts: 717	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed Had the same thing on my 53 f-100, after changing springs and shocks. I added 4 deg wedges under front springs ,also added steering stabilizer, then had toe set to 1/16 in. I now never get any shake at any speeds ,and truck handles much better. steering stabilizer can be bought from LMC. and wedges can be bought from mid fifties, or speedway,

10-09-2012, 11:14 AM	#10
roundvalley Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Idaho Posts: 150	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed Check toe in to 1/8" in. Experiment with tire pressure. Just went through the same problem @ 45MPH and these things all changed it to much better. Last thing I did was rotate the front wheels and that also helped.

10-09-2012, 11:59 AM	#11
hardtimes Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: South California Posts: 6,188	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed Tie rod ends !

10-09-2012, 11:02 PM	#13
49r Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wellington New Zealand Posts: 308	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed The one time I had this on my 49 F1 I tried all of the above ... and only fixed it when I had the front wheels properly balanced.

10-10-2012, 12:11 AM	#14
Flatheadsoup Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Loveland, CO. Posts: 9	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed Degree shims, add 3 degree.

10-11-2012, 07:07 PM	#16
tailgaterdude Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: North Port Florida Posts: 97	Re: '49 F-1 steering death shake at speed What tires are you runninig?? The tie rod itself is hollow and if you are running wider than stock tires it will flex causing shimmy. You can beef it up with a piece of angle iron to strengthen it.. If the tires are of stock width make sure the tie rod is straight or replace it altogether Dude")