I bought my truck new with 315's on it. It is a 4wd and at about 12000 miles it got the death wobble bad. It would vibrate bad between 62 and 74 mph and if i hit bumps in the road it would do the death wobble dance. The dealer talked me into putting 265's on and they paid for the new tires. The steering feels pretty loose and today i had the death wobble happen again. I went to dealer and took the service manager for a test drive. Of course it drove perfect. He said they would take a look at everything on the front end next week but this will be the third time. What should i do. I am getting very frustrated and i wont let my 1 yr old child ride in this truck. i would rather not put a bunch of aftermarket shocks and stuff on an already expensive truck. thanks for any help.

 

is the truck's suspension completely stock?

many people create the "death wobble" with the addition of coil spacers and such. if there are spacers in there, i would start by taking them out.

If not, have the dealer specifically check the track bar. this is what is so infamous in causing the death wobble. It could be worn out.

one more tip that ive tried in the past is taking the factory steering stabilizer out and take the truck for a ride without it. the stabilizer should not be the cause of the wobble but it may be easier to diagnose.

 

the truck is completely stock. what is the track bar? how does it get worn out. it would not surprise me if some part of the suspension was damaged during one of the death wobble episodes. it is amazing how bad the truck shook. my wife was behind me and said the the four wheeler in the back almost flew out.

 

I would think the larger tires could accellerate the wear on the track bar. The track bar is the left to right link that positions the front axle laterally.

Exactly, what tires did the dealer put on your truck? Just because they were the factory size doesn't mean they have the proper load rating. They must have an "E" load rating otherwise the death wobbles will continue.

BTW, I also had the death wobbles with the 315 BFG's. I put the factory Michelins back on and it hasn't shook since.

 

the dealer put on the bfg load range E oem tires. how can you tell if the track bar is going bad?

 

Just Fyi, Your Truck Didnt Come With 315's From The Factory, So I Would Assume That Something Has Been Altered. The Only Trucks That Came With 315's Are The Power Wagon, But Is Only Mated To 2500 Chassis And A Hemi...

Just Fyi...better Take A Good Look At Suspension...and Unless Truck Is Br/be Series (94-2002), I Highly Doubt The Track Bar

 

Correction, Power Wagons are factory equipped with 285/70/17 bfgoodrich AT.
CTD come with 245 and 265, Hummers II are the ones with 315s from the factory.

 

When the truck had the 35" tires, did the tires rub against anything if you turned the steering wheel all the way to the right or left while driving?

If the suspension is completely stock, you'll almost certainly have rubbing. If there was no rubbing, than you probably have coil spring spacers installed. And yes, they should definitely be removed. I guess another easy way to tell is to measure from the top of the wheel well to the ground - the front end is 2" lower than the back end when stock (at least on my 2005 4x4). IF the front end is level, you either have taller springs (not usually a problem), or spacers.

Another thing to check - lift up the front end on jack stands so that the front wheels are off the ground. Try wobbling one of the wheels a little, and see how much play there is between all the steering linkage. It possible that the 35" tires & death wobble may have worn out some joints.

And finally, it's pretty important that you have "E" rated tires, and that they are inflated properly. I think you said you have E tires now - so just check the pressure. I would strongly recommend putting them up to max pressure (according to the sidewall, 80psi I think), rather than going by the chart on the door. I think the main reason people with 35" tires have problems is because they dont use tires with an E rating. D rated tires have thinner sidewalls, and dont give you the same lateral support that E rated tires do, making the truck more prone to "death wobble".

 

the dealer that i bought the truck from put the 315's on it before i bought it. it did rub some on hard right turns. it for sure does not have a leveling kit on it. i am running 50 psi in the tires now. the max is 80. would that make it more likely to death wobble? it would seem to me that the lower pressure would cushion the ride and make it less likely to death wobble. if i were to get something aftermarket to stabilize it what should i start with? shocks, steering dampener, trac bar???

 

I can see your point that cushioning the ride might help reduce the chances of initiating death wobble - if you haven't fixed the problem that's causing the wobble.

However, my guess is that keeping the tires at a higher pressure could help fix the problem. There are several factors that can cause the wobble, and that's just one of many. Plenty of people on here have mentioned how changing tire sizes has caused/fixed DW, so it should be very clear that tires play a big factor in DW.

Have you taken it to an alignment shop yet? That would be a good place to start. I would not buy any aftermarket parts at this point - there's a good chance that the parts themselves are fine, something may just be out of alignment. I'm not positive, but I think the track bar has bushings on each end, and if it does, they may have been damaged from the death wobble incidents you've had. And they may need to be replaced.

 

I would hold off on the aftermarket equipment until the dealer checks the front end. assuming the trucks is completely stock, (suspension wise), and tires were not the blame, i would bet it's the track bar.

Personally if the dealer installed the 35's and in 12k miles my trucks started shakin like crazy, i would DEMAND the dealer fix the front end. hell, make them replace every dam part on it until it's fixed. especially when it's now become an issue of safety.

If the track bar is worn enough, you can notice it by "play" at the end links. take a large ply bar and ply against the two ends of the track bar and see if u can visually see play. It may however, be not bad enough to visually see play, but it still can be worn out. With 12k miles on the truck it should be replaced under warranty, no questions asked!

good luck

 

stupid question but which component is the track bar? what should i tell the service rep at the dealership. i dont think they will replace the track bar just because i ask them to.i would like to check it out myself but i dont know what the hell i'm doing. does the track bar stabilize the front end? this will be the third time it has been checked out and i'm sure they will say that everything is tight as can be. thanks for all your help!

 

It's a round metal bar (about 1" diameter) that runs diagonal from the driver's side of the frame, to the passenger side of the axle. It's the only thing that keeps the front axle assembly from moving side to side.

But again, before you go back to the dealer, Id personally recommend that you go to an alignment shop. National Tire & Battery will do a free alignment check, you're only charged if you have them make an adjustment. Tell them what your problem is, and see what they say. At the least, it's a second opinion - I dont always trust what the dealer says.

 

Read this post: https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ad.php?t=85777

And look at this picture:


See the red bracket on the ride side of the picture? Follow that bar. It is painted flat black and the others are a dirty glossy color.

 

two questions. does the red component attach where the stock trac bar attaches. it looks like the aftermarket track bar attaches to the red component that attaches to where the stock track bar attached? why would an aftermarket trac bar help the problem? is it stiffer, stronger. does the stock one flex too much?
also when i look under the truck as my wife turns fully left and right. on a full right turn the arm looks to flex more than it should. let me see if i can explain which arm i am talking about. from the steering a vertical arm comes down and attaches to a long arm that goes to the right front wheel. this one looks to flex on a full right turn. it does not look like the trac bar could move at all. thanks to you guys for all the help.