For those of you who have never experienced this, be warned it happens suddenly and can catch you off guard. Happened today going 55 mph on a curve on a rural road. Thank goodness it was a rural road. When that front end goes to shaking, it doesn't stop until you hit about 25. Truck is parked until front end gets some work. Put all new ball joints in a couple of months ago and all the rest of the parts were tight, no loose play anywhere. I am going to start with a new track bar and steering stabilizer. I'll really give the tie rods a good check while I'm under there. Too bad there is no way to really predict when this will happen. It will get your attention FAST.

Robbie.

 

good luck! i still havent found the problem with mine.

 

Have not had that problem in the Dodge yet but in my Jeep it is always the track bar. Make sure that the mounting hole to the frame is not egged out also.

 

Had this happen to my truck while pulling a empty car trailer on a 4 lane highway in mass at about 70mph. I thought i was going to crash, luckly there was no one around me and i was able to get the truck over to the break down lane. I had $1000 dollars worth of front end parts replace and the problem seems to have gone away, but i still dont trust the truck and i tense up everytime i go over a bridge abutment. One of my front shocks was loose, drivers side i could grab it with my hand and wiggle it around, i tightend that up real good and i feel that loose shock was the culprit of the problems. I also have BFG ATs and i have heard many people have the death wobble with these tires. I drive with both hands on the steering wheel now

 

I had that happen with the tag axle on a Peterbuilt. I would never have believed a rig that size could let loose like it did. Nearly hammered my head into the side window. Not EVEN funny!

 

i have the same problem after a wreck i had and redid the whole front end just about and about a year after replacing it the wobble came back. prolly the donky sized ranchhand bumper on the front is causing mine to wear out so quick but not so sure.but i can get it calmed down at about 40 mph but slamming the brake or pushing thru it never worked so i just always throw one hand up and ride it out.

 

To prevent death wobble:

We put as much positive caster into the front axle as possible while retaining whatever cross caster is needed to account for road crown. Toe-in is kept to the bare minimum to lighten the steering feel (caster improves self-centering but increases resistance to directional changes) and reduce tire wear.

Next, the trackbar's deficiencies must be addressed. The 3rd Gen conversion works great by replacing the ballstud-in-socket design with soft rubber-cored OEM bushings, which are best replaced by zero-deflection trackbar bushings available in any offset required to center the front axle under the frame.

A sector shaft stabilizer is also a good idea, since it improves steering response, prevents premature wear of the lower bearing & seal of the steering box and reduces low-speed steering effort. The violent nature of DW is particulary hard on the steering gear.

 

425.00 for a trackbar setup.

 

Sure - if you include the core charge for a new trackbar kit, which is powdercoated in your choice of color with our zero-deflection bushings installed, then drilled & tapped for the 304SS zerk fittings it ships with (which is free, BTW).

Most folks pick up a 3rd Gen trackbar on the cheap, and install the bushings themselves.

 

Oh well that's more than what i thought was included. I wasn't trying to knock your product just stating. Thanks for taking the time to explain.

 

I wanted to give everyone an update on what I found. Turned out the rubber bushings in the sway bar are as tight as the day they were made. I also found out the former owner installed an aftermarket sway bar and steering gear brace that goes from one side of chasis to the other. I did find two things wrong. A bolt on the bracket on the drivers side of the truck that goes along with the aftermarket bar broke. It was a large bolt that I believe goes through the hole where the original track bar bolted to the chasis. Only half of the bolt was there. Another bolt on the bracket was loose. This allowed the bracket to flex quite a bit. I replaced the broken bolt with a grade L9, so future breaks should not happen. On the other end of the track bar I found an egg shaped hole in the bracket welded to the front end and a worn bolt and a worn hole in the metal bushing inside the bar. I drilled all holes to 5/8", welded a piece of flat metal to a L9 stove nut and put a L9 bolt in that end. The play in that end was about 1/8" all together. That hole has probably been worn for a while, but had caused no problem. The driver's side was a sudden failure, because it put nearly a half a wheel turn play into the steering wheel. After a few hours work taking everything apart, a little drilling and a trip to the parts store, all is extremely tight again. I did go ahead and install a new stabilizer while it was all apart. Old one seemed fairly tight, but hey a little insurance can't help (especially after the ride I had Tuesday evening). Drives just as tight as a brand new truck now. Hit any bump on any curve, and she stays tight without any shimmy, shake or bounce.

Robbie.

 

rxhermo: I HAD A FRONT END WOBBLE AT APPX 55 MPH IT STOPPED AT 25, GOT OFF THE FREEWAY WENT TO MY MECHANIC WHO DISCOVERED THE TIRE WAS SEPERATING FROM THE INSIDE. REPLACED THE TIRE PROBLEM SOLVED. IT DID COME ON SUDDENLY. HOPE IT MIGHT HELP.