2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Death Wobble Repaired?

[tjm]

Death Wobble Repaired. UPDATED

UPDATE @ 170k miles. No wobbling on front end, Have hit numerous pot holes with no DW occuring (Dallas Roads arent the best). I believe it was the steering damper and the track bar.



Unfortunately I am a member of the DW club. Things I've done to fix it:



Thanks for all the info on this forum!



1. Track bar was worn - used Lukes Link to repair. There is now no more motion on the ball joint end.

2. While under the truck replaced the Rancho 5000 steering stabilizer for free. It was blown.

3. Aligned the FE to Brents Spec. Huffines Dodge in Lewisville TX stated that it couldnt be done with out special offset sleeves. This of course after they aligned my FE. Took the spec and truck to another shop, they did the alignment per Brent's spec, went back to Huffines and got my $ back.

4. Rotated the tires - it was time, and the shimmy was causing excessive wear - Scalloping.



I now noticed I have slightly warped rotors. All the shimmy was masking this problem. I'll find a shop to take the warp out (while on the truck) and install some ceramic pads.



Dealer also mentioned I have to adjust the Power Steering Gear Box. Any body ever do this while its on the truck? FE is still a little loose at times.



Have I solved the DW??? I don't know, I'm not going to drive 70mph and look for a pot hole to find out. I do believe this is a system problem, not just 1 failed or worn item can cause the DW.



UPDATE: I need new u-joints as well, both front wheels. I'll update as I diagnose/make repairs.



Tim



96, 2500, 4x4, Rancho's all the way around. 165k miles.

 

[KevinO]

There is a TSB out that tells how to tighten the over center adjustment on the steering box. Don't get it too tight as the wheel will not automatically recenter after going around a corner.

 

[tjm]

Thanks KevinO



I've looked at the TSB and service manual. I guess I have to take the gearbox off of the truck.

 

[BWilson]

I used to get the the DW frequently and I even had two sets of shocks replaced under warranty. When I put Rancho 9000's on it it stopped for a while but came back after about 30K miles. I have since put on the Edelbrock shocks and I have not had it since. My thoughts are that it is primarily in the shocks. I stuck my head out of the window once while in the throws of the DW and saw the tire bouncing wildly up and down. I don't know if I'm correct or not but I can say that I haven't had it happen since I replaced the shocks.

 

[tjm]

BWilson



How fast were you going with your head out the window? And can you estimate the vertical travel the wheels were making during the DW "event".



I had Rancho's on mine when the DW occured. I changed the setting from 3 to 4 after that and it seemed to help.



Thanks



Tim

 

[BWilson]

It started around 70-80 MPH and would not stop until it was down to 40'ish. I was probably still going 50-60 when I stuck my head out of the window. I would have to estimate (no guarantee's here) that the wheel seemed to bounce about a foot up and down. I am guessing that if I had a passenger that also wanted to know what the heck was going on and stuck their head out the other window, they would see the same thing I did.



I haven't had it happen in about two or three years, but WOW, what a ride that is in rush hour

 

[tjm]

Up and Down, thats interesting. That was my 2nd thought after saying a Hail Mary when the DW picked me. I know exactly how you felt. There was a semi driving on my right side, I was traveling at around 70Mph. My right Front wheel hit a pot hole and all hell broke loose. The semi veered into the right hand emergency lane to get away from the dodge that was comming apart at the seams. So Up and Down motion. That seems to conflict data elsewhere on this forum claiming it was a side to side motion. I thought it was an up and down motion as well.



Tim

 

[Dane]

Get your front end alignment checked. I got the wobble with new shocks, steering stabilizer and 17K miles on the track bar. Ever since the alignment no wobble

 

[BWilson]

I think with the wheels bouncing up and down, alternately, it gives the sensation of being side to side motion. We can all sense that the motion is more than 1/8 of an inch though and anything with even that much slop in it would be extremely noticeable under even the lamest of front end inspections. The only direction the wheels could move more than a few thousandth's of an inch would be up and down.



At least that's the logic I used to get to the shocks.