2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission got crap scared out of me today

[DPyles]

Well here is what happened... ... I was just cruising along bout 50ish nothing fast and I came upon a bridge joint in the road that I have been across many times before. When I hit the joint, and it is not rough at all, the truck started to shake uncontrolably. Only after I smashed the the brakes did it settle down. I have had this truck for about 9 months and have never experienced this before. It was bad enough that someone could loose control of the vehicle.

Any one have any ideas as to what to look for.

 

[RustyJC]

Do a search for "death wobble" - you're now a member of the club. Congratulations! I can't join because I have a 4x2.



Rusty

 

[csevers]

I don't know who came up with the term "DEATH WOBBLE" but it is exactly the right way to describe it I have had it before in a previous truck you will need either a track bar, goes from frame to axel or a steering stabilizer. The first time it happened the dealership put a trac bar on and it still did it then they put a new steering stabilizer on and that was it no death wobble on that truck or any since. I think it was a little driving test Chrysler wanted to engineer into ower trucks to see if we can handle an out of control truck!!



Craig

 

[Todd G]

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

 

[jponder]

I am actually against the namde death wobble because it feels like the wheel is hoping and not wobbling how about Death Harmonic Hop

or HELL HOP. I haent had it in awhile because I am careful to not hit pot holes and if I do I swerve to stop it

 

[TowPro]

I have been reading about this and recalling that the Ford Twin I beams in the 70-80 used to do this same thing. If I recall harder tires made it worse. I used to drive a tow truck that did it all the time.



On them we felt it was the way Ford used to have a lot of caster, and yes, it was the front wheels jumping up and down. Steering stablizers did not fix it. Only problem is I can't remember what fixed it. Sorry.

Originally posted by jponder

I am actually against the namde death wobble because it feels like the wheel is hoping and not wobbling how about Death Harmonic Hop

or HELL HOP. I haent had it in awhile because I am careful to not hit pot holes and if I do I swerve to stop it

 

[Turbo Horseman]

TowPro, keep thinking on it... it'll come to you... we hope

 

[JStieger]

Originally posted by TowPro

I have been reading about this and recalling that the Ford Twin I beams in the 70-80 used to do this same thing.

My 95 Ford I sold a couple of months ago did this after I hit a pothole a few years ago in a narrow canyon. The driver behind me said that the right tire looked like an out-of-balance top spinning on its side. It had knocked chunks out of the tire tread. After I got back home I jacked the front end up and found that out of the 4 or so bolts holding the I-beams to the pivots, only one bolt had a nut on it, 2 were missing nuts, and the fourth bolt was missing. Told some other guys at work with similar Fords and a few of them had the loose bolts too!

 

[RustyJC]

The "wobble" and the "hop" are two different problems.



The death wobble term comes from motorcycling (if you've ever experienced a "tank slapper", you'll understand. ) Solid front axles are subject to a phenomenon called caster shimmy - this was an ongoing problem on cars in the 30's and 40's that eventually (among other factors - engine clearance being one) led to independent front suspension designs. Since the Dodge 4x4's still have solid front axles, they're not exempt from the caster shimmy problem. If you want to see what caster shimmy looks like, just check out the front wheels of a shopping cart at the grocery store when they go into a shimmying fit.



Try doing a Google search on "caster shimmy" - here is a reference that tells you more about wheel alignment than you ever wanted to know (caster is discussed on page 4).



The front wheel hop is a whole 'nuther problem that is not the topic of this thread.



Rusty

 

[jponder]

Originally posted by RustyJC

The "wobble" and the "hop" are two different problems.



The death wobble term comes from motorcycling (if you've ever experienced a "tank slapper", you'll understand. ) Solid front axles are subject to a phenomenon called caster shimmy - this was an ongoing problem on cars in the 30's and 40's that eventually (among other factors - engine clearance being one) led to independent front suspension designs. Since the Dodge 4x4's still have solid front axles, they're not exempt from the caster shimmy problem. If you want to see what caster shimmy looks like, just check out the front wheels of a shopping cart at the grocery store when they go into a shimmying fit.



Try doing a Google search on "caster shimmy" - here is a reference that tells you more about wheel alignment than you ever wanted to know (caster is discussed on page 4).



The front wheel hop is a whole 'nuther problem that is not the topic of this thread.



Rusty

I think some people are calling the wheel hop the death wobble. My Hell Hop did not feel like a wobble but a harmonic hoping but maybe it was a wobble. I just know it was scary