I've been getting the infamous death wobble/sloppy steering/wandering/etc on my 2001 Cummins 3500.

so i took the truck into the dealer... I'm not sure what all they did, but they're telling me the following:

new trackbar
new steering gearbox
new tie rod ends
bad upper + lower ball joints
possibly new wheel bearings.

I can easilly do a new trackbar (thuren or ??), DSS steering stabilizer, steering gearbox (thinking of PSC)...

probably tierod ends as well at the same time or at least the ends on the pitman arm.

but... if i don't feel any wobble in the ball joints when the truck is jacked up and I pull/push the top & bottom of the wheel, should I even worry about the ball joints?

and... if I do try to do the ball joints, what's the likelyhood of having to replace the wheel bearings/differential seals/ujoints/etc at the same time?

I'm just worried about getting into a major project that will have to be completed before I can drive my truck again.

My thought is that with the new trackbar, dss, and steering gearbox, I'll be in 100% better shape, and then I can deal with the balljoints, etc when I get some more $$$.

Thoughts?

-J

 

I have been through the death wobble issue many times and I think you are on the right track by replacing the track bar, adding a DSS and changing tierod ends. After all that is done I would see about the balljoints. You may check into Luke's links as I'm happy with mine. Eric

 

which parts of the steering did you use luke's link on?

all the tierod ends?

-J

 

How do I test the steering gearbox to know if I need a new one or not?
is there something I can do with it still on the truck to find out?

-J

 

With basically any steering part, get someone to jump in the driver's seat - ign on, truck OFF.

Lie down on the pavement looking at the steering bits, get them to crank the steering back and forth hard (but not quite enough to rub tires), any joint that moves side to side relative to the thing it is connected to needs to be replaced. (This includes the pitman arm attached to the sector shaft, if it moves other than rotating = too much wear). The track bars wear out like candy in a playground, go for one of the good aftermarket ones, a lifetime warranty one (I have Moog), or Lukes Link.

Jack up the front axle and rock the wheels side to side and up/down, if there is movement, figure out if it is the ball joints or the wheel bearings, and replace. Note: You may need to do this after the rest of the steering (but before an alignment to save some $), or side to side wobble could be caused by loose steering depending how worn out it is. If you have to replace any of that stuff, it is probably a good time to throw new U-joints in the front axle.

A DSS will help eliminate some steer wander and keep the steer box bearings from wearing out - by taking load off of them. I should probably get one for my truck.

 

The actual cuse of "death wobble" (aka caster shimmy) is incorrect caster alignment. Everybody has there own beliefs on what causes DW like track bar, balljoints, tie rods, tires ect.... and yes they will make it more evident and happen more often but the true cause is the truck needs an alignment. Best thing to do is to check out all your suspension components then take the truck to a "good" alignment shop and get it aligned.

Read this http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/00_steer_specs.html then print it out and take it with you and have the shop set your truck to those specs and get a print out so you know they did. You should be all set after that.

 

I have Luke's Links on all steering joints but one tie rod end. To check the bushing on your steering box to see if it is trashed you need to look for side to side movement of the sector shaft (output where pitman arm is). I agree with the fact that alignment on our trucks will effect the death wobble but I find that worn steering components is a much more likely cause. My alignment was fine on my truck but I used to get the death wobble on a regular basis when I would hit small bumps in the road. The death wobble went away once I added a Luke's Link to my trackbar. Worn balljoints of wheel bearings shouldn't allow enough movement to knock the axle into a death wobble situation. I think the *********** is just trying to cover all bases for liability reasons. Eric

 

I went through this about 2 months ago. Do this first!! check for play in the track bar, but Lukes link to fix the frame and, buy new tie rod ends and a new steering damper, have alignment done. problem solved. if you dont see rust coming from the ball joints or have play in them oor in the wheel bearings dont bother with them

lewis

 

ok, I jacked up the truck today, and there is a significant amount of play when you turn the steering wheel until the pitman arm turns coming out of the steering gearbox.

the balljoints feel good to me, but the tie-rod ends definately need to be replaced... when the steering arm finally moves you can see a lot of play in the ends.

here's what I'm thinking right now...

new gearbox.
new trackbar.
new tie-rod ends.
steering stabilizer bracket
new steering damper.

after that's all done, off for an alignment.

-J

 

Bring your Visa! been there.

 

That sounds like a great plan!!! As for parts you asked about in your first post....

The PSC gearbox is great, some people like AGR also, some don't.

For the track bar I recommend either http://solidsteel.biz/tbk.htm , or http://www.thurenfabrication.com/products.html , or http://www.dtprofab.com , but you could get away with either http://www.lukeslink.com/ , or http://www.bellefourche.com/lindstad/

Definetly get a DSS they make a world of difference.

Oh and just as a note incase you didn't know, PSC sells all the solidsteel products, its kinda a pain to find them on their website, but they do stock them and have about the best prices I've found.

Let us know how it turns out...Josh

 

I agree with NMCTD on the actual "cause" of DW but would like to throw in another thought. I feel that the tires used can play a significant role in DW as well. I had a severe case back in 2004 that took new track bar with LL, axle joints, steering stabilizer, and alignment to cure. Fast forward a year when the BFG A/T's wore out, DW returned with a vengeance. Replaced tires, check alignment (alignment was still on the dodgeram.org specs) and DW gone.

Fast forward another 1-2 years, tires worn out again, DW "almost" back (can tell it wants to start but can drive out of it). Replaced tires again, check alignment (alignment was STILL on the dodgeram.org specs) and DW again gone.

Also note that the tires were still in-balance at time of replacement. They were at about 1/3 to 1/4 tread left though and for me that was the number one thing to fix it. Just my $.02 but worth a look. Also, the WORST tires I ever had for wear, dry and wet road use, and DW were the 265/75/16 BFG A/T KO's. I'm talking about maybe 15,000 miles total and they only worked for me if there was at least 6" or more snow. YMMV...

 

I have nearly brand new tires on the truck (only about 5000 miles on them)
and they seem to be wearing pretty evenly...

I ordered all new tie-rod ends, new pitman arm, new track bar, and new steering dampener.

The next order is going to be for the steering stabilizer bracket and steering gear.

I'm planning on doing all this work the first week of may... so I'll keep everybody posted on what all happens.

I tightened up the pinion adjustment (allen on top) on the steering gear... and it still wanders, but at least now I can correct for it a lot quicker... the adjustment is pretty much all the way bottomed out now... so I'm 99% sure the steering gear is trashed.

the wheelbearings feel fine... as do the balljoints... so I'm not going to play with that project just yet.

-J

 

Keep us posted, the track bar, gearbox and DSS are going to make a huge difference, you'll literally be shocked how much different it drives.

TTYL...Josh