Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) What is wrong with my truck?

[jaybigboy34]

When I get up to about 70mph on a road with slight bumps, the whole front end starts shaking out of control. I have to slow way down to get it under control again. It has happened to me three times now. I need to get this fixed before it shakes the motor out of my truck! :{ Could there be something wrong with the front shock? Truck only has 19,XXX miles on it. Thanks for any help.



Jason

 

[LOtero]

join the club, what you have is more commonly know as death wobble, do a search for death wobble here in the forums and you will find alot of posts about it. it will be alot of reading but there are fixes and band aids out there, good luck! hold on!

 

[jjohn]

Jason,

Have you installed a 2 inch lift spacer in the front end without adjusting the caster?

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

When I get up to about 70mph on a road with slight bumps, the whole front end starts shaking out of control. I have to slow way down to get it under control again. It has happened to me three times now. I need to get this fixed before it shakes the motor out of my truck! :{ Could there be something wrong with the front shock? Truck only has 19,XXX miles on it. Thanks for any help.



Jason

Jason,

I am a firm believer that the Death Wobble is caused by a number of things. The first and formost is an under rated tire. You need to run an E rated tire. Weight rating is not as important as the tire rating. If you run an 8 ply or 6 ply tire, the engine of your truck is to heavy and creates to much sidewall flex. Over inflating the tires only magnifies this problem. I ran a set of brand new BFG 35" tires on my truck with horrible results. I installed the next day 37" goodyear MT/R E rated tires. On the same road that threw my truck into a DW, the goodyears handled it without a problem. You can also check the Search for DW and find the proper Caster adjustment for your truck. Check your track bar ends for play. Have someone move the steering wheel in your truck back and forth about 1". Do this with the truck parked on concrete, and have the truck running in park. If the track bar ( goes from axle to frame) has a 1/4" of movement it is ruined. Do a search on track bar replacement and find a kit to retrofit your truck to a 2003 track bar. It is a much better bar. Steering stabilizer can be bad too. Check it for ease of movement with one end disconnected.



Hope this helps,

Greg

 

[jaybigboy34]

Have you installed a 2 inch lift spacer in the front end without adjusting the caster?

NO, my wheels and everything are completely stock. I have had the tires rotated and balanced twice with still no luck. I will try all that you suggested Greg.



Thanks.

 

[Bob Wagner]

Jason, Get the DSS system asap, it really stiffens up the front end a lot

 

[jjohn]

NO, my wheels and everything are completely stock. I have had the tires rotated and balanced twice with still no luck. I will try all that you suggested Greg.



Thanks.

Jason,

I have 72K miles on my 2002 and have never had the DW.



I did feel my steering loosening up around 20K. To date I have installed the DSS steering stabilizer around 30K miles, very good improvement.



Last week I installed a DT Track bar, another measurable improvement. I will soon replace all the steering linkage and shocks with 1999 HD inverted T type and head for the alignment shop. At 30K miles it might pay to check your Caster also… from what I have read there seems to be the opinion that our trucks left the factory “on the edge” of acceptable Caster settings.



I have heard some specs on the proper settings but not sure enough to post them. I am sure they are in TDR someplace. I believe even Dodge has published some revised settings. I will look for them, as I will need them soon also. Anyone know where to find them?



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22914&highlight=caster

https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114584



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110125&highlight=brent+alignment

 

[jaybigboy34]

Do you all think it would be a waste of time to take my truck to the dealer? Because I only have 19,XXX miles on my truck. If something is wrong it would seem that it would be covered under warranty right?

 

[Beast2B]

Alignment specs are failry loose from the factory. Some trucks wobble a lot, some don't. My 37" D rated BFG mudders have never hinted at wobble, never aligned the truck even after lift kit. Tire wear is great, I'm over 25k on the tires with fairly strict attention to balance and rotation and have 30-40% tread left.

 

[Supermod56]

Yes, they SHOULD warranty any bad front end parts, they tossed a new track bar on mine. twice!! The problem I had was the thing wandered all over the road. They changed the track bar and it helped a little, but when I put 4 degrees of positive caster in it really helped!! I think the spec was less than 1/2 a degree, more caster, better tracking, but harder on the steering system. It's nice to have your own alignment machine! DSS next!!!



Tom

2001. 5 2500 5-Spd. 4X4 Laramie SLT LB Quad.

 

[Greg Boardman-RIP]

Front end is only under warranty for first 10,000 miles.

 

[Supermod56]

That's not so good, 10,000 miles??? My Dealer didn't have a problem doing it twice, once at 60K and again at 70. I guess it depends on the dealer?? I am still putting the 2003 track bar on it just so I don't have any more issues!



Tom

 

[Green Machine]

The dealer should cover it untill your 35,000/60months is up. Get them to fix it and tell them to do it right. Also do a search on the correct alinment specks and have them do it while the front end is apart. Don't be to shure on the 03/04 track bar fix. The rubber bushings in them will only last so long. Get the DSS and put it on. Not only will this help it also helps premature wear on the sterring box. Just my . 02C

 

[jaybigboy34]

Well, I took my truck to the dodge dealership and they said that my pitman arm tie rod was bad, and that all of my ball joints where bad. Do you all think these are the main problems with my truck? Should I tell them to adjust the caster to a +4 while they are fixing it? Is there anything else I need to tell them? I don't take it back until Tuesday to get it fixed. And they did say that it was all under warranty. My last question is, do these parts usually wear out this quickly? I only have 19,XXX miles on the truck. Thanks for all the help.



Jason

 

[Beast2B]

Do a search for alignment settings, a highly qualified tech on this website set out some specific specs. I recall several posts about folks having trouble with the dealer being very precise, once it's in spec they're done. Might require a trip to an alignment shop that will work with your specs... Keep posting, I'd like to hear how this comes out

 

[CumminsFarmer]

When I bought my 02 the steering would "wander" and the wheel constantly had to be steered from left to right. I bought it used, and replaced all tie rods and the track bar. Stupid me, I bought a MOOG Problem Solver track bar. NOT a good idea! Later on I bought a stock track bar from a dealership, then purchased Luke's Link off the internet. I installed the link, bought new 285/75 radials, and then centered my steering wheel. Rig steers nice now and I have not complaints. It aint a cure-all, but its definitely better than what you've got. (115 mph this summer on an Idaho highway with no problem