3rd Gen Engine and Drivetrain -> 2007 and up 6.7 liter Engine and Drivetrain discussion only. PLEASE, NO HIGH PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION!

killer shake in the front suspension?

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Old Apr 13, 2008 | 11:40 PM
  #1  
jlandry827's Avatar
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killer shake in the front suspension?

i am pretty new to this site and for that matter dodge diesels. i have a 07 5.9 just moved to louisiana where the roads are the worst in the U.S. im sure of it at 70 mph on the interstate i hit a moon crater and it felt as if i was headed for the fences i read some of the talk about the dreaded dw but not to familiar with these trucks i have rancho 9000xl adjustable shocks 2" leveling kit bully dog afe stage 2 and afe blade runnner intake manifold any help at all would be more than appreciated i have 30k miles on the truck by the way thanks again.
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Old Apr 14, 2008 | 03:57 AM
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Sounds like Death Wobble. There are many threads on this topic. Since you have lifted the truck, you may want to have an alignment done. Also, check your steering damper, ball joints, and tie rod ends for play.
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Old Apr 14, 2008 | 04:09 AM
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Yup! Seems like almost every truck with the DW has a levelling kit on it. Usually bigger tires too. That is the reason I have never put one of those on any of my trucks....
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Old Apr 14, 2008 | 09:06 AM
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The leveling kit took a lot of the castor angle away, so hopefully you got it aligned afterwards to restore what you lost. I would start with an alignment. I think the factory spec on the castor is 2 to 5 degrees. Setting it closer to 5 will help a lot.

IMHO and experience, the Bilstein shocks will help as well. The dampening on the Rancho's is very stiff in one direction (extension as I recall) and light in the other. On my rock-rig, I had bad DW and got it all-but eliminated (masked really) when I switched from R9000's to Bilsteins. Finally cut and rotated the knuckles to get the proper castor though.
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Old Apr 14, 2008 | 09:51 AM
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you also have to get the tie rods readjusted as leveling it brings the right tire slightly toed in, and the steering wheel just off from centered
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Old Apr 14, 2008 | 10:47 AM
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just brought the truck to the dealer they found nothing also had front end inspected at a different shop and their front end specialist couldn't find anything also so i am at a brick wall thinking about contacting thuren fab for help
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Old Apr 15, 2008 | 08:34 AM
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It could be within spec and still have troubles. 2 to 5 degrees of castor is a very wide margin. Did you get a printout of the current alignment to see what the toe and castor are? I have also seen poor wheel balance contribute to death wobble (you rarely see it with stock tire sizes).

Death wobble is harmonic reasonance. To get rid of it you need increase dampening (shocks and stabilizer) and change the frequency of the system. (increase castor angle, tightening up bushings and rod ends, decrease draglink angle, etc.). I am not surprised that no one has found something "wrong". DW usually has a multitude of contributing factors, but as I said above the shocks and castor angle in my experience are the two single biggest contributors.
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Old Apr 15, 2008 | 08:58 AM
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From: SE PA
I have a leveling kit and 35" tires.

DW started.

E-rated tires and a good steering damper solved mine for good. DO NOT USE BFG 315's if you have DW. They are a major contributing factor because of the jellyroll sidewalls.

I am happy to report that yes you can have a totally DW free truck with suspension mods and bigger tires.
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Old Apr 15, 2008 | 01:19 PM
  #9  
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From: nor cal 707
i had dw with stock e rated 265 never with my d rated 35's i believe that a track bar and good shocks help alot ever since i switched i have never had dw again
talk to don i think he has a good idea of what the problem is
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