2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission sick of death wobble,considering a Ford Cummins set-up

[Hootguy]

I'm getting tired of this constant death wobble,,seems like nothing works on the ****ty Dodge design,,,it's a constant battle for every Dodge owner i know,,,so i am considering getting a Ford F-350 and doing a Cummins 12 valve swap,,there is no denying the Ford is a much nicer looking truck,,and the inside and seats are way more comfortable,,the factory manual hubs are a nice bonus,,same excellent Dana axles,,seems like a win win to me after this constant battle with the death wobble,,i like my Dodges,,my 07 Mega cab is nice,,except for the crappy common rail engine,,,but that's getting removed this winter and replaced by a fresh 12 valve P-pumped engine,,,so that will finally make that truck the best it can be,,,no more ****tty electronic injectors,,,
As to the death wobble,,,i even considered a leaf spring conversion for my 96 like the first gen trucks,,no more death wobble with a set up like that...
So if anybody has an opinion or recomendations or even experience with any of these ideas,,i sure could use them,,
Thanks for any help you guys might have ,

 

[Tractorat]

Interesting that you should mention death wobble. My truck does not have death wobble and Ive never experienced it. So no credentials here. But I heard someone describe what I thought sounded like what I thought death wobble was on the radio the other day. The call in guy said it wobbled when empty but not with a load. Is that the case with your truck ? Anyway, click and clack said it has something to do with the limited slip in the dodge trucks. I didnt catch what the fix is for that, but it would be interesting if that is what death wobble has been all along.

 

[Grizzly]

I've heard of death wobble but I've never experience it on the two 3500 DRW I've had. My son and five of my friends also have 3500's and they've never experience it either. Must be something very rare.

george

 

[Hootguy]

LOL...not rare at all,,,i've been on here since 2000 and trust me,,this had been complained about more times than anything else,,thing is,,the front of these dodge truck just plain sucks,,and has for a long time,,,i'm getting so sick of these constant idiotic Dodge issues,,,i'm seriously thinking of a Ford,,at least they kept their one ton truck a REAL truck,,not a glorified car like the Dodges,,

 

[JR]

It doesnt just happen on Dodge trucks, pretty much anything coil sprung with a track bar can get it when something in the front end is worn out. Ford included. It sounds like your mind is made up, to me it would be cheaper and easier to fix whatever is worn out in the front end but to each their own.
Good luck!

 

[RustyJC]

...it's a constant battle for every Dodge owner i know...

Then you must not know any of us with 2WD Rams with independent front suspension. Death wobble is almost universally a solid front axle phenomenon.

Rusty

 

[BDaugherty]

Would be cheaper to fix the problem. Swap in a 3rd gen track bar and convert to T steering. Then make certain the tires are good and round without severely irregular wear.
Building a complete new truck has advantages as well. You could start with a 4 door and the zf six speeds shift pretty well. As mentioned above, Fords have death wobble too so be careful what you wish for.

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

Before you pull the trigger and purchase another truck, do a search on the interweb for Ford truck death wobble. Death wobble isn't brand specific to Dodge.

 

[Mingoglia]

I had DW on my 2nd gen truck back around 2003, once. I put an aftermarket track bar on it and the problem was solved. I kept that truck up until when my '15 Ram came in several months back. Never experienced DW again during that 12 year period of time. DW can happen to any solid axle truck, including the Fords...it's all about the track bar. What you're feeling is a side to side shimmy of the axle. Track bar keeps the axle centered, and if all the components of the track bar are either undersized or worn out it will allow just enough slop to get that axle going with the "right" bump.

 

[Hootguy]

i been battling the death wobble on and off for year,,,,i know that any coil sprung solid axle truck is subject to it,,,i also know 2wd trrucks dont have the problem,,i've owned Ram trucks with cummins engines since 1990,,,so not exactly new to this,,and i'have been on this site since then,, instaled the steering box stabilizer as soon as Darin started building them,,,and i always put new shocks on it,,,i dont use ANY cheap chinese components,,,i only use quality parts on my trucks whatever they cost,,,so it's certainly not a money saving thing,,,everytime i get in to my friends Fords,,i notice how much more comfortable they are than the Dodge,,,but those electronic engines are jsut as sjitty as the dodge commonrail,,,everytime i take a trip over 2 hours in my megacab,,my back kills me,,hell my 96 is more comfortable,,,but when i convert the megacab over to the 12v motor i'm setting up for it,,,getting a good front seat will be the first thing on the list of upgrades,,,dont get me wrong,,i'm a Dodge guy,,,but i want to build a confortable reliable truck i will keep for a long time,,,and there's only one engine can can produce that reliability and that's a 12 valve p-pumped engine,,i have a new steering set up with the 3'rd gen trackbar i can put on to see if that helps,,i cetainly would rather keep my Dodges,,

 

[SnoKing]

I had my 2001.4 for 14 years and a 125K miles. Early on I installed a 3rd gen track bar, steering box brace, Rancho 5000 shocks and added more caster. It never had Death Wobble. OEM Michelin A&S', then M&S' and then Bridgestone Duravis R500's. Only thing I ever replace on the front end was the tie rod end at the pitman arm just before I sold it. New owner had the front end check and ball joints were report to be still good.

SNOKING

 

[AnOldBiker]

... everytime i take a trip over 2 hours in my megacab,,my back kills me ...

Might just look at the seating if this is the main issue. I drive cross counrty mimumun once oer year to see my grand kids. Round trip is 5,000 miles. As time has gone by, I now do it in a two day run getting there and two days back. Never .. Never had back issues by doing it in my Dodge. No back complaints, no mechanical issues .. just an enjoyable trip *****ing about fuel prices.

Yes there is a possible concern about getting a death wobble, but I haven't had any indications as of yet. AND my friend who owns a Ford F250 SD has had his in for major repairs due to the death wobble. I've been in his truck when we moved his daughter to college, his son to another state and such, and the comfort is really any better riding in the Ford vs my Dodge. For he has spent time in mine helping me and he believes my Dodge is better than his. So it must only be a personal belief.

If you google death wobble, as stated before, you will be swamped by the selections you find ... and in YouTube ... the same.

 

[wyosteve]

Same here, on my 2001 2500 4wd, I ran 295/75 BFG's--never any death wobble. My 04.5 I had 8 yrs. and ran 315 BFG's and never any wobble. Also, never replaced any front end parts except the u-joints on front axle. No good explanation from me.

 

[Hootguy]

i'm at over 500,000,,so i use the truck a lot,,,i also did Darin's stabilizer,,and kicked out the caster,,Rancho 900 before the new Bilsteins silvers last week,,,also Michelin LTX's on it always,,,i have the 3'rd gen set up and new style t steering,,,does that set up make a good difference?,,,death wobble goes away for a while,,but always comes back,,which is why i's like a leaf spring set-up,,,never had the death wobble with my leaf sprung solid axle trucks,,,and these days,,i hear there are some pretty good leaf setups that aren't as harsh as the old stuff,,,

 

[mfurrh55]

My brother had a Ford and the dealer never could fix his death wobble, i had a 99 Dodge 2500 4x4 had the wobble and never could fix it, made Chrysler buy it back under lemon law, talked to the guy that wound up with it,as Dodge dealer sold it claiming it was just a demo and owner was only one to drive it), BIG LIE,anyway he had it in the shop several times for this issue, finally sued dodge for lying, i sent his lawyer the paperwork where Chrysler bought it back as a lemon, so, my dodge, couldn't find out what caused the wobble and my brothers ford couldn't find out the reason either, my 07 mega has never had the DW,Good Luck,Monte

 

[AnOldBiker]

Reading over time about the death wobble, I put on a steering stablizer support for the hell of it. But before and after, have yet to have any indications of this problems. I've read many complaints about this issue and what many have done to try to correct it. But right now I'm not sure if anyone will ever figure this out and what is the real cause. Let alone 'The Real Fix'. But this isn't just for one truck style, manufacture or suspension design. In time, you can find it affects someone sooner or later. But not all. With all the complaints on this, you think and engineer whould have figured this out by now.

 

[AEdelheit]

If your constantly battling death wobble and saying it cant be fixed then find a better mechanic. Sounds like you should just buy a Ford as you have already convinced yourself they are the best things on earth, and I know many well employed mechanics that will agree with you, just for opposite reasons.

 

[JR]

Any suspension lift? Levelling kits?

 

[fest3er]

i'm at over 500,000,,so i use the truck a lot,,,i also did Darin's stabilizer,,and kicked out the caster,,Rancho 900 before the new Bilsteins silvers last week,,,also Michelin LTX's on it always,,,i have the 3'rd gen set up and new style t steering,,,does that set up make a good difference?,,,death wobble goes away for a while,,but always comes back,,which is why i's like a leaf spring set-up,,,never had the death wobble with my leaf sprung solid axle trucks,,,and these days,,i hear there are some pretty good leaf setups that aren't as harsh as the old stuff,,,

The truck is a system. Any number of things can combine to cause that system to resonate (colloquially called 'death wobble').

Since the death wobble goes away and comes back, you haven't fixed everything that needs to be fixed. The new parts merely ease the system out of resonance until they wear in and loosen up a bit. At this point, the system will resonate again.

How many times have you replace the front (and rear) suspension bushings? Five, I trust, because they only last about 100k miles. Have you verified that front frame parts are not cracked (esp. where the steering gear is attached)? Have you verified that the front body mounts are plenty tight?

 

[SAndreasen]

I've heard of death wobble but I've never experience it on the two 3500 DRW I've had. My son and five of my friends also have 3500's and they've never experience it either. Must be something very rare.

george

i have had 4 second gen dodge cummins trucks in varying stages of beat to death and never had it happen never even heard of it happening on a truck around here every time i hear about it i wonder if its just some ford boy or duramax owner that sneaks in and wants to say how big of piece junk our trucks are ,especially when i start hearing the junk interior posts . i hear a lot about death wobble but ive also heard alot about the easter bunny and santa claus to .