Oscillating Sway

[tdashmike]

Hi,

I just got my 1998 B-190 and replaced the tires, both ball joints on both sides and a tie rod end. When driving on the highway, the van would sway back and forth a couple of times every once in a while. I wouldn’t say it’s a huge sway but enough to make me worried, sometimes I really got to focus on my driving to bring the van back to a straight line. Anyone have any ideas what is causing this?

[skater]

Are the tires inflated properly?

Is the steering loose?

[GJCamper]

Shocks? Sway bar(s)?

[tdashmike]

Shocks? Sway bar(s)?

I'm sure those would help. Just wanted to see if anyone has seen this type of swaying before, seems different than the usual truck passing by swaying and such.

[tdashmike]

Are the tires inflated properly?

Is the steering loose?

I actually watched the guy pump the tires after the new tires were installed but I'll check again today. The steering is not loose at all, very tight.

[micabarry]

I had a very similar experience when I first drove mine. Some of it is learning to drive it and some of the sway or wander seems to be the nature of the beast. After making sure there wasn't anything mechanically wrong I did what a number of people on this site did and started upgrading and adding to the suspension. You will find lots of good info under the suspension link. I'm not sure what made the biggest difference because I would notice some improvement after each addition, but if pressed I would guess steering damper.
This is what I did over 2 years.
Rear sway bar
New bilstein shocks
Upgraded front sway bar
Steering damper.
New Michelin tires.
Drives very nice now, major difference.
Good luck!

[Jersey747]

Hi There,
Unfortunately it’s to be expected with this vehicle due to age etc . I had a similar experience with mine. Picked it up in Pittsburgh and drove home to NJ. All over the place going home ! Especially with the pressure bump from Big trucks as they passed at 70 mph plus... Don’t worry it’s totally fixable .....just gotta spend some money
I did new shocks ,front and back sway bars .sreering stabilizer ,ball joints , new tires and alignment
Tire pressure is a big one ...55 psi front and 80 psi in back Handles GREAT once all that was done...
I used bilstein HD shocks and Hellwig HD sway bars
Good Luck and Happy Travels

[tdashmike]

Thanks for the info guys. I didn't get to the tire pressure yesterday but I'll check today. I was going to change the shocks but there is already Bilstein shocks on it. I should find a bump somewhere to see how many up and downs I get when I go over it, if I'm not mistaken it should only bounce once.

I asked here because I didn't know if people were experiencing this type of swaying oscillation which seemed different then all the other types of swaying I read about. I'm probably going to put on the old Blue Ox shock that the shop took off when they put on the new tie rod. It is pretty rusty but I suppose it's better then nothing. The plan is to go to Toronto next week from Virginia and I'm worried about safety. I ordered the Roadmaster stabilizer but it won't be here until next week.

IMG_2597.jpg (188.27 KiB) Viewed 16971 times

[tdashmike]

Checked the tire pressure yesterday, the fronts were low, 46 psi. The backs were 77 psi or so. The good news is my Roadmaster will arrive today so I'll put that on.

[Jersey747]

Road master will make a big difference , my b190 didn’t have one !!! It had some sort of huge coil spring , looked like it belonged on a rail car!! Anyhow here’s to smooth straight line traveling

[GJCamper]

Correcting the tire pressure made a big difference for me, even with the old tires. I bought new wider tires that made it even better. Installing heavy duty shocks made a difference too. The steering still feels sloppy.

[tdashmike]

Correcting the tire pressure made a big difference for me, even with the old tires. I bought new wider tires that made it even better. Installing heavy duty shocks made a difference too. The steering still feels sloppy.

I actually got 265/75/16 Hercules. Main reason was I couldn't get up my steep driveway without it hitting the sewer pipe. I actually cracked the grey water pipe because of that but thankfully the black water pipe fitting was rotatable so it didn't break there. I do plan on getting spacers in the back linked below.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/332523783245?ul_noapp=true

I'll let you know if these work.

[tdashmike]

Got the Roadmaster stabilizer installed yesterday and it seems to have fixed the problem. Going on a big trip this weekend so I will be able to test it more.