2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Violent shudder- suspension

[mimprevento]

This morning at 2:45 am EST I was responding to an emergency involving one of my union cops in Big Green- I was doing 70 mph on I 664 and rolled over a series of small bumps in the road- the suspension hop and shudder got so violent the whole truck was shaking- it lasted for every bit of 10 seconds -the Edelbrocks were straining to keep the wheels planted and I held on for dear life- I slowed down and it stopped- I thought I had a flat in the duals and it was going squirrelly but it calmed down and I continued on- this was freaky and I have no idea what went on- any suspension engineers out there?? These were just rough road features and not bad potholes just rough sections that I have gone over before but a little slower. A less experienced driver might have fought it instead of slowing down and letting the thing settle down- it felt that bad.

 

[SS]

mimprevento,



Ah yes, the infamous "Death Wobble". Do a search and you will find lots of info and opinions. I haven't seen a definitive answer yet - some guys replace the entire front end, steering, suspension, tires, etc. and can't get rid of it and some just balance tires and it's gone. Sounds like what you have is typical. Wish I had a better answer.

 

[Dane]

I've had it once, same scenario - high speed and some ripples in the road. I think the folks who have solved it did it by adjusting the caster. Try the search DodgeTorqueWagon suggested, lots of info.

 

[NVR FNSH]

Do a search on my user name and you'll find more info that you care to read. Additional caster solved it on my truck. If you've got bad parts - track bar, ball joints, tie rod ends, axle u-joints - get those fixed first. Tires can also be a large part of the problem. IMO replacing/upgrading the steering stabilizer is not a solution only a band aid.



Recently, I've been experiencing this on my CJ-7 without any 'rough' road setting it off. It's not just a Dodge phenomenom.



Brian

 

[baby.driver]

Death Wobble



Jay

 

[HLEschenko]

Sounds like the Death Wobble, all right. I believe I cure my problem with new tires and RIMS.



If you have stock rims on your truck, check the run out. All four of mine had deflection that was easily seen on a tire balance machine. I replaced my stock rims with American Racing BAJA brand and haven't had any "experiences" since, like I had before. Pretty scary.

 

[mimprevento]

Death wobble

Truck was delivered on December 21st- 21,000 miles now- Tires rotated twice excellent wear on the Michelins- Front end has always felt fine- tracks well- I cannot believe there is a bad component but I will bring it in to check out- I do not think the tires/rims were ever balanced- maybe that has something to do with it. I did change the original steering stabilizer and I am thinking maybe it is too light duty- the guy who works on my truck puts them on 1/2 ton gassers- is there a heavy duty unit that works better with these trucks or should I put the OEM one back on? I will look into aftermarket rims as well.

 

[Dane]

mimprevento-

Question about your tires... My tires a also the stockers. I did not cross rotate them so the right side tires are worn 1/16" to 1/8" more than the left side tires. Is this the same on your truck?

 

[mimprevento]

Tires

Dealer has (supposedly) rotated them in accordance with manual- wear looks good- a little more on the outer edge of the fronts- I only run 50 all around- it is never loaded

 

[Missouri Mule]

I check the tires to see if they have a large flat spot. Just jack the truck up and place a stationary object behind tire leave some daylight so wheel will spin. Then spin wheel see if distance between tire and staionary object stays the same.

 

[Mesenbrink]

I had a 96 that did the same thing. I had an alignment shop set the caster to the max positive setting within spec, which I believe was around 4 degrees +/-. The problem never returned.