Originally Posted by
DaveReidUK
This PPRuNe thread includes some debate on the subject from 20(!) years ago:
I suspect that the shimmy damper explanation is closest to the truth. It's hard to believe that gear is free to castor in the sense of completely unrestrained rotation.
The gear will certainly not castor unrestrained but had a degree of movement to rotation that is not readily self-cancelling. I don;t recall for sure but doubt that a shimmy damper has any involvement, if there even is one.
The 737 gear will self align to some degree to a crosswind landing and will remain in that configuration until next stowed in the wheel well. Thus following a crosswind landing it is likely to taxi noticeably on the sosh - and they often do.