2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Death Wobble at 70 Ain't Funny (long)

[TurboDog]

I have to say if I hadn't read about it here before it happened to me last week, I might have been changing underwear!
Last week while driving I35 north in ft worth, I hit some back to back rough spots and the whole front end started jumping up and down getting worse as it went on. I immediatley started slowing down and it finally stopped at about 30 mph. The traffic that was all around me when it happened was now hanging way back to see what was going to happen next! It must have looked really bad. I slowly crept back up to 70 again and went on my way back to work. First chance I got I searched the TDR on death wobble. I now have replaced the worn out michelans with new tires, checked the whole front end for worn out parts and shocks, and had the front end aligned setting the caster at the positve spec limits as suggested in other posts. So far so good, but I have not made it back across that same stretch of road yet. It seems like more and more people are experiencing this so be ready it could happen when you least expect it.

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

I think i know what you mean. At my last job we had an Isuzu box truck that every time the front tires would start to get a little worn if you hit a spot in the road just right it would bounce like no other. happened to me once coming down a mountain grade at about 85 mph. holy crap i have never been so scared in my life. I am certain i would have wrecked if there was a turn coming up that i had to make. you would just slow till it stopped then all was well like it never happened. I think rotating the tires more often would also help with the problem. I think this is a serious saftey issue

 

[mimprevento]

Death Wobble

See my post on the cure- I am no suspension engineer but I think the front end weight of the Cummins taxes the shocks and exploits any other weaknees like tires and other components much more quickly- I have much more confidence in the dual front shock set-up with the Skyjackers- good luck

 

[mtanner]

Death Wobble

Last week, I had the pleasure of expierencing the "death wobble". My truck (1999 3500) was stuck, and while trying to free it, I broke the front stabilizer shock absorber on the steering system.



At around 40 miles an hour, she jumped liked a bunking bronco, it scared me to death. I had the stabilizer shock replaced the next morning, and it has not done it again.



I have 50k on the truck, with the factory Michelins, with 85% of the tread gone.



For sure, without a doubt, if this shock is bad, the truck will bounce! Violently! It is good that nobody was around me when this happened.

 

[NVR FNSH]

You may want to go ahead and replace the tires. Your experience shows that the steering damper is just covering/hiding a problem.



Brian

 

[RedRam1]

mtanner,



I'll have to side with nvrfish on this one, here's why:



When my truck was less than 1yr old, my wife ran it off into a hole in the pasture, bending the crap out of the stabilizer. Knowing I would not be pleased about her damaging my new baby, she conspired to replace the stabilizer without my knowledge. She got the neighbor to remove the damaged part & ordered a new one.

I normally don't drive the truck much except on weekends, so she thought she had it made. Well, for some reason, that same afternoon, I decided to pull my tractor ~75 miles to my folks' place intending to go up the next weekend and do a little bush hogging & cleaning up that my mom had been after me to do. I pulled a ~12,000lb load up the highway, and around some twisty north GA mountain roads. I left the tractor and trailer at my folks' place and drove back empty. In 150 miles of driving, loaded and empty, with no stabilizer at all, I never noticed a bit of difference!

Later in the week, I was walking by the truck, and happened to notice the stabilizer was gone. I drove the truck some more, this time knowing the stab. was missing, and still could not tell a thing.

My truck was new and tight at that time, and, knock on wood, has always steered very well. I found out from experience that if everything else is right, these trucks will drive just fine with no stabilizer at all.

 

[Warpig]

Thanx for the heads up!!! I regularly drive 100+mph when I'm late for work. Imagine if I experienced the wobble at that speed Oo. My truck is always straight and steady, but I only have 18000 miles on it.

 

[JIM S.]

no one thing

I dont think there is any 'ONE' thing that causes the D. W. I think its a combination of things (my personal favorite is incorect castor and worn linkages). what makes me think this is that there are 100 trucks with bad tires that have never DW'ed and 1000 with bad shocks that have never DW'ed and I know there are a few with out steering stableizers (one in particular that has been driven for 28 K without one, with NO DW!) so my point is dont think changing one thing is the CURE! ... cause it will most likely come back, unless you replace the whole front end linkages bushings and such... . so thats my opinion.

Jim