Archived death wobble

[markt]

Hello all, I have been a member for a few weeks now. I found the site while brousing for solutions for my truck's death wobble. I have read a lot about the problem on TDR and still would like some additional advise. I have changed the track bar twice, the second replacement now has movement after only 3-4 weeks. I also changed the drag link and the end at the pitman arm. The new end at the pitman arm now has noticable movement. The wobble has never improved. If these parts are contributing to my problem shouldn't I have seen some improvement, or is my truck tearing these new parts up? I have also replaced the front shocks, stearing stableiser , and the control arm bushings.

The wobble first started while trailering down a long grade. That was fun! For the most part it has happened while on down grades. Could my brake rotors, or calipers contribute to the problem. I feel no pulling or pulsing when braking. There is also a set of railroad tracks on a bad road that will set off the wobble, this without any braking. I finally have taken the truck to a local front end shop. He is not certain of what the truck might need. He suggests changing the ball joints,(even though we can find no play in them when prying the tire up while on jack stands. ) It is just his best guess.

What do you all think? Could a brand new track bar still be part of the problem, A brake problem, ball joints, or something I haven't thought of? I have a family vacation scheduled for the week after the 4th of July at Monterey Bay. I may have to cancel it. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Mark

 

[AKAMAC]

These front ends behave badly if the alignment is off. Do a search using... ... ..... "brent AND alignment" ... ... ... ..... The specs will give you ammo to give your mechanic and provide good info for your problem. Good luck and welcome to TDR. Mike

 

[bighammer]

Seems to be most common with lifted trucks so I suspect it has something to do with the castor angle. I second the search suggestion and have a good shop set the angles to the proper specs.

 

[markt]

Mike, I see that you are close by. Do you have a shop that you might recommend for me to have the front end aliments. The shop that I have been to is not set up to be able to check all the measurements that Brent listed.

Mark

 

[AKAMAC]

Mark,

The only places that ever worked on my truck were dealers for warranty work. I had the FE aligned at 500 mi at Dublin. They got it right but I can't give them any stars for the service. I'll PM you with the details.

Hayward Dodge replaced my clock spring and the service was OK.

I've got nothing but good to say about Collins Diesel in Stockton but that was just for some advice. (Pre-TDR subscription)

I don't have their # with me right now but you can get it through information. Call them and ask if they know of a FE shop that will align the unit to set specs and not factory limits. That's important!

Sorry I can't help more.

Mike

 

[DieselB59]

I witnessed the death wobble firsthand while driving next to my buddy's truck while it happened to him at 85 mph. It looked like the front wheels were gonna rip right off the truck. He had a full 5 gallon spackle bucket inside, which turned upside down during the event. He had just prior to his wobble, put a bilstein steering stabilizer shock in place of the OEM one. The wobble bent his track bar like a bow, and bent all his front end linkage as well. After putting an entire set of front end steering rods, and track bar back on and aligning the front end, it happened again, but this time at about 35 mph. We got him a new Mopar steering stabilizer shock and it has not happened again, about three months now.

 

[dslcummins]

I had this problem on my 92 several times, it happened only after I put a set of Michelins on. I finally replaced the Michelins and it stopped. I have nothing against Michelins and still buy them. I figure you will sooner or later get a bad tire. There was no signs of any defect in the tire, nothing. I've never had the problem sense. You might replace the tires and see what happens.

 

[mdentino]

I have experienced the death wobble 2 times, both times were started by one front tire hitting a moderate bump, long story short checked pretty much everything you stated and found nothing wrong, rotated my fronts to back and I havent had it happen again.

tried my damndest to get it to do it again but couldnt get it to do it after rotation.

seems to have worked. .

my tires are bfg mt's by the way.

 

[scramblin]

Try lubing the heck out of the tie rods with a grease gun. If it temporarily works, you have a loose tie rod problem. The grease tightens up the tolerances.

 

[turbinesurgun]

front end alignment

had the same problem after putting new lift springs, got an alignment at tire kingdom it is a national chain so you might check there

 

[Makensmoke]

Check your front axle joints. (ujoints) Have had this exact problem and found this to be the problem. Jack it up cock the wheel and spin. See if the joint moves freely or if it binds, if its shot and binding it will pull your wheel and send you on a ride!

 

[markt]

death wobble follow up

Hello. Thanks for all the input regarding my death wobble problem. I eventually replaced the (new) moog track bar with a stock dodge track bar. It seems to have solved the problem for now. I guess I can expect it to happen again after 40-60K miles. I think at that time I will go with a Luke's Link.

Happy Trails. Mark

 

[JPLB22]

Mark I have a suggestion, if you haven't thought of it already. I just switched my 3rd oem track bar for a 3rd Gen bar. I bought the adapter bracket from Solid Steel, and bought the 3rd Gen track bar from Dodge. I have had it on since last Friday and the improvement in overall handling is very noticable.



I think so far, it was the best BOMB to my truck yet !



Jeff

 

[Huff N Puff]

My truck does it pretty regularly,and my front suspension and steering are tight. I think I have figured the pattern in my truck,For me it happens at speeds over 60 and you hit a series of diagional bumps usually, usually bridge expansion joints,but not always. I fixed it, for a short while,after I replaced the shocks that lasted for about 6months after the shocks weakened a little the problem reoccured. I'm going to try some heavier duty shocks. I'm also going to try a little less air in the tires. Some thing interesting is when I switch to my much heavier Michellins in the winter it stops doing it.

 

[DPelletier]

OK,

Here goes;



- I've said this already in at least three other threads, but I'll repeat it here.



DW is almost always caster shimmy caused by the design of the front end and improper caster settings. These front ends (as well as some others that are the same, notably coil sprung Jeeps) are extremely finicky as far as caster settings are concerned. The factory DC caster values are too broad and arguable don't allow enough caster. DW isn't new and affects many other brands and models of vehicle (mostly 4x4's)

So the condition for DW is set when the caster settings aren't perfect. Many things can change the caster angle. Lift kits and 2" leveling kits are common things that can take the caster settings out of an acceptable range and set the condition for DW.

Once the condition for DW is set, all it needs is a "path of least resistance" This path can be created by worn ball joints, drag links or other suspension parts; worn steering stabilizers; or soft tires.

I submit that people who have "fixed" the DW by putting on a new stabilizer or balancing thier tires, or switching tires have really done little more than closing the "path of least resistance" and causing the DW to go dormant (for now) until another path is realized when parts wear or a change is made that allows DW to manifest.

Things that make DW much more likely are 2" leveling kits, lift kits and larger tires. DW is less likely to happen on trucks with stock height suspension and stock size load range E tires. Stiffer sidewalls and higher air pressure are better as well.



My suggestion for anyone that has the DW and is serious about fixing it is to have any worn components replaced and then have a good alignment shop set the caster to the proper settings. As AKAMAK has suggested, do a search on "Brent" and "Alignment" to get more info on the actual settings as the factory settings aren't precise enough. Keep in mind that I am not a suspension expert and I am providing this information which is based only on my unscientific research on the subject.



I hope this helps,



Dave