death wobble after leveling kit

[JonWilson]

I installed a 2 inch leveling kit last week on my '05 quad cab 4x4 and all seemed well until last night when I made a trip to spokane wa. 245 miles over some of our fine frost heaved roads at speeds above 65 mph if I hit a rough joint in the road way the truck started the dreaded death wobble and wouldn't stop till I got slowed down to about 25 mph. At the time I installed the leveling kit I also installed a set of monroe reflex truck shocks. This problem occured 6 diffferent times on this trip and its a bit scary when it happens cause when it goes it just goes suddenly. I never had the problem at any speed or condition before it was leveled any thing I could have missed would be appreciated Thanks Jon

 

[Matt400]

A few questions. .

Did you get an alignment and if so do you have the caster reading?

What tires are you running?

Are you aware of the updated steering fix?

 

[Slow Six]

Had the same problem on my 03. I got an alignment which helped. I also had to change ball joints which fixed the death wobble.

 

[Mobius1]

What was the name of the leveling kit that you used? Tires can have a huge effect on death wobble. D load range tires seem to do it more than E load range according to some members who have personaly exp. the death wobble. I have heard of a steering stabilizer causing the problem too.



Def check what Matt400 and slow six said

 

[Forrest Nearing]

what tires are you running?



people always give me confused looks when they ask am I going to level my truck and I quickly reply NO!!!!

 

[DixieSledPuller]

my 05 quad cab did the same thing after installing a leveling kit. i set toe and caster to spec, checked all front end parts and then found a thread on here about the rugged trail bf goodrich tires. i set tire pressure at 55 in front and rear and haven't had any trouble since.

 

[pullya]

After reading all I could about DW I have found that there is NO one common thing that causes it. Some causes can be tire pressure, tires, rims, alignment, ball joints, steering stablizer, shocks, tie rod ends, steering box, etc etc etc. The list can go on and on. The cure for DW also can be one or all of the above or something else. I would suggest the following. Check the ball joints and tie rod ends. Check the tire pressure and have the alignment checked. Install the "new" steering kit including the steering stablizer and pitnam arm. (There is a great thread in this section about the "new steering kit"). Make sure you have "E" rated tires.

Everyone that has had DW has their own opinion on how to cure it and what worked for them but I have not found any "magic bullet" that anyone has found to be sucessful in every case. Good luck in your search!

PM me and I'll be glad to tell you the steps I went through to cure my problem.

Jay

PS; There maybe a problem with the "new steering kit" There seems to be a recall on the kit. It has not been determined if it applies to all the new kits or just some of the first ones manufactured. I'd wait till this gets cleared up before installing one.

 

[jsffd]

At 60K my 03 with leveling kit and 35s had the wobble, so bad it broke my rearview mirror off! Ball joints, BAD! Found that everything was worn due to the shaking, tie rods links etc. Changed everything, new moog ball joints X 4,alignment, shocks, stabalizer,new tires, and the dyna track manual hubs. Truck was better than new. Until i took it off road and the balljoints failed again, 10k miles. ??? Waiting for the new super heavy uppers that will cure the problem?? Friend of mine who works the baja 1000 every year in his 04 2500, changes the uppers after every race!!!! Everyone there is hoping the new ones will fix the problem. I will have the info and will post it if anyone is interested.

 

[CookJ]

I installed the Revtek aluminum spacers in '05 and immediately experienced DW. I was also running 35" BFG's. The third or fourth occurence actually sheared two of the spacer studs on the passenger side. Revtek was good about replacing both spacers and asked that i re-torque to much lower figure. The DW went away after i changed to a different all-terrain and wider wheels. About a year later, did away with the levelers and went with a 6" lift. It (DW) came back some time later, but, replacing the ball joints and re-alligning with as much caster as possible seems to have corrected it. I am running the dual steering stabilizers and you will be amazed at the difference between running one or two stabilizers.