Death Wobble concerns...

[Huskerman]

I apologize for resurrecting a subject that has probably been beaten to death a long time ago but I just spent the better part of my afternoon reading about the dreaded "Death Wobble" and I am scared.



I haul my wife and 2 young children around in my truck and this whole scenario scares the poop outta me!!



I have a Tuff Country 2" leveler and BFG 315's. I had no idea about the Death Wobble until today (I don't read every thread) and now I am wondering if it was mistake to have that stuff installed without doing a little more research. I would greatly appreciate any advice you folks might have.



Also, I had all the work done at the local Les Schwabs, does anybody know if they also do a caster adjustment when they adjust the alignment?



Thanks.



Huskerman

 

[JVolpe]

Huskerman,



I experienced a one time incident and it is very scary. My details have been posted along with lots of others. All I can say is make sure that front end is inspected for any issues, tires are balanced, front end is aligned properly, tires are run at correct pressure, etc. I still have my Daystar 2" leveling kit and 315s. Have about 18,000 miles on the combo now. My incident happened about 10,000 miles ago and no issues since.



I still cringe a little and sometimes even slow down on a very bouncy road just thinking about it. I will change to a Kore system in the future. Wish I had done that to begin with.



Below is a link to recent thread about this issue. Search "Death Wobble" and you will find lot of information, not sure you will find "THE" final answer you want to hear.



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123902

 

[Huskerman]

JVolpe,



I read a ton of threads today and you are right, nothing really has given me the answer I am looking for. I did come away with a good understanding of some of the causes and I am definately going to ask the Les Schwab installer about my caster settings.



The two things I was hoping for from my message is to find out if anybody knows if Les Schwabs adjust the caster by default during and alignment and/or how common is this death wobble? Is it every truck that installs a 2" leveler or what? Thanks for your response!



Huskerman

 

[JVolpe]

It is very hard to determine the percentage of vehicles that have a comparable 2" leveling kit install and 315s that have experienced the death wobble. Many post that they have no issues. Some have reported it with stock setup. I am reasonably sure it is a small percentage. You see the posts of people that have problems a lot more than people that don't. My problem it seems was caused by specific set of circumstances. It did not happen before and has not happened since. When my death wobble happened it bent both stabilizer bar link rods. I had the dealer Service Department look at the install and tell me what I needed to do. I was willing to remove the leveling kit if necessary. They said that was probably not necessary. As long as the front end alignment, kit install, tire balance, tire pressure, functioning shocks, etc. are correct then I should not have a problem. They replaced the link rods, checked alignment, balanced and rotated the tires. Put back on stock steering stabilizer shock (the Rancho steering stabilizer shock had wrong bushing). I trust my dealer service department and hope what ever was necessary (caster, etc. ) was checked or adjusted.



I do wish I had spent the extra money up front and gone with a Kore or similar kit with springs, shocks, bumpers, etc. I am satisfied with my setup now, but will upgrade at some point.



You do what you can to make sure your setup is correct and safe. I now do a pretty detailed visual inspection of the front end every week or so. I check tire pressure, look for abnormal wear, rotate every 8000 miles. Good luck.

 

[rbattelle]

Let me begin by saying I have a stock front suspension and I have not experienced the death wobble.



But all the reading about it on here has led me to believe there is no single "holy grail" of death wobble causes. Rather, it's a amalgamation of many different factors that all come together at the right moment to induce some sort of resonant vibration in the front suspension - death wobble.



It is therefore my personal belief that the best way to guard against the possibility of death wobble is to keep the suspension geometries as close to stock as possible (in terms of the relationships between components like drag links, control arms, track bars, pitman arms, etc. ) when lifting the vehicle. The use of oversize (and hence probably overweight) tires compounds the problem, as does the use of inferior shocks. I suspect the KORE setup is so resistant to death wobble in part due to the outstanding shocks they provide with their kit (considering the kit does nothing for the sway bar, track bar, control arms, or pitman arm).



I also agree with JVolpe that the use of rubber bushings instead of urethane is part of the problem. Even better if they could use heim joints at both ends of the track bar.



Death wobble concerns are why I have not leveled my truck (yet). When I can source all the parts I want (adjustable track bar, springs, control arms, shocks, sway bar drops), then I will go forward with it.



Huskerman, if your truck makes you fear for your family, then you might seriously consider changing some things in that front end.



-Ryan

 

[JCleary]

I've been told the death wobble is caused by a number of factors, but the most important thing is to correct your caster when the truck is lifted. If caster is maxed out (5 or 6 degrees) the truck will want to naturally track straight. If caster was adjusted to 0, the truck would not track straight, and be very susceptible to death wobble. I maxed out my caster adjustment, and in 10k miles have not experienced any problems.

 

[Duck]

Let's try this: Has anyone experienced a Death Wobble since installing a Kore Chase or Race system?



If nobody has, then it would seem that the Kore system might be the "silver bullet" for the DW... ?

 

[RWS]

Yes, but I have the full Pace system with steering stabilizer and drop blocks. My '03 started to and the suspension quickly dampened the oscillation. I think the key to this is the FOX steering stabilizer. This is a MUST HAVE option. The difference is truly amazing compared to stock. I run 37-12. 50-17E Goodyear MTR's on a stock steel wheel which weighs about 117lbs each. To control that much rotating mass says a lot about the quality of this suspension. I also recommend the 2" drop blocks. I noticed the suspension was much more supple after installing them. In defense of the KORE suspension, I have not had the front end aligned yet (made an appointment for Mon) I am positive this is what caused my incident. My . 02 YMMV

 

[TCluff]

the only way i could get my death wobble to stop was to ad a big washer to the top of the tie rod stud , there is no visible play in the tie rods, replaced all tie rods and ends, then realigned and no more problems, i dont recommend the washer trick but it got me out till i could fix it right, the washer goes on top of the rubber part over the stud like a shim to tighten the joint, then bolt it back together, i carried a 22mm wrench to make sure it stayed tight, and it did

 

[Ereynolds72]

I got a little death wobble after installing the KORE Pace System on my truck. I say a little... it wasn't the violent shaking that continued until I hit the brakes but it was definately a shake that I never experienced before. I've messed around with different tire combinations and adjusting caster. I have the caster adjusted all the way positive right now and I am running E Rated tires. I have 85,000 miles on the original track bar and other steering components (2nd gen. track bar) and the truck drives great. Not a hint of death wobble since I have done these two things. From my experience, I'd say the tires and caster are the two biggest items. I know I'll have to change the other components soon but for now, it steers and handles great.



The only problem I have now though is that since I adjusted caster positive, I have a vibration in the front driveshaft from changing the pinion angle. I'm still working on that one... .