jacquesm

I know this tread has been beated to death(funny) I have 223000 km with my first sign of death wobble, the front end has been rebuild lest then 6 to 8 months new upper/lower ball joint and rod ends . I know the track bar but the front end is tight.

any help is appre,

Crude dude

The dealership rebuilt my front end at 30,000 miles and then the death wobble started. The only thing that has fixed it is a new steering dampener shock. They tried about 10 other times to diagnose the problem and this was the only fix (from what they are telling me).

Raspy

Front tire dynamic (not static) balance is probably the most important thing to do first. At the time, make sure you don't have a bent wheel. If the tires are oversized and unevenly worn or out of round they may have to be replaced. That will stop, out of balance tires, from starting DW. Then go to the '08 steering linkage and max out the caster adjustments to stop DW from starting at bumps. Get the new damper and pitman arm with the new linkage. Then adjust the steering box and you should be good to go.

jacquesm

I went from 265/70r17 michelin when new, at 10000km 2" levelling kit &toyo's open country on after market rims286/70r17 toyo's winter go2's four year ago. could going to dual stering stablizer help. when it happen it it scared the crap out of me

Crude dude

Im curious about the "new" pitman arm. When Dodge installed the updated steering they told me that the kit didnt have an updated pitman arm so I have the 2007 arm. I have seen a dozen pictures on here showing the new arm too, wonder if that would make a difference?

Raspy

The new pitman arm has a different bend simply to prevent the new linkage from hitting it. Nothing to do with preventing wobble. If the dealer was clueless enough to install the new linkage with the old pitman arm there will be a problem. The old one works, but it hits when the suspension bottoms.

As I keep saying, this is not a "kit". The parts must be ordered separately and apparantly, even the dealer doesn't get it. People keep asking why the new arm? And, is it necessary?

Crude dude

Wow, didnt know you kept saying it wasnt a kit, whoops. I did understand that the arm had a different bend in order to keep the stud from hitting the tie rod at full compression just wasnt sure if there was a purpose other than that.

Raspy

Crude,

I didn't mean to overreact. It's been said on here a number of times and pictures of the interference have been posted. I'm surprized the dealer said it was not necessary to replace the pitman arm.

To me this is a very important upgrade. Worth researching and doing.

Right after the new setup came out, a year or so ago, I installed mine without the new arm too. Then someone posted pix of the linkage hitting. I watched and sure enough it hit. So I went back and got the new arm. Many have installed the new setup now and it is just a matter of ordering the correct parts. Ordering the '08 linkage, the pitman arm and a new damper. All for an '08 Dodge, but not as a retrofit "kit" for an earlier model. It's too bad the cataloge doesn't have a flag that mentions this.

Look at your tie rod, with the wheels centered, and see if it has scratches that line up with the drag link ball stud at the pitman arm.

theswimmer

06 2500, 4 wd with 70 k , stock wheel/tires.
My truck gave no advance warning , just "death wobbled" and changed 2 lanes on the freeway at 60 mph after hitting a mild expansion joint.
I drove straight to the dealer at a reduced speed.
They had my truck a month.
After a $500 compromise I drove out with,
Lower control arm bushings, all tie rods replaced, complete 08 update kit for different track bar,pitman arm , drag link, stablizer, allignment ect.This kit changes the way that the left and right side spindles are linked.
Dodge knows they have a problem and all it required from me was
firm,polite comunication that I would not accept anything other than a complete fix. The first estimate that I got was for $4500+ and I laughed in the service managers face.
Stand your ground guys and put this problem where it belongs squarely in the manufactures lap.

MichiganAxle

Whatever happed to the "shimmy snubber" service fix for the previous generation trucks? Anyone tried this?