Afternoon folks.

2008 SRW Quad Cab, 4wd, long box, 68RFE trans, Bilsten HD (yellow/blue) shocks, steering box (gear) stabilizer, Hankook Dynapro ATM LT285/70/R17E on stock rims. Pressure in tires is 60psi/front and 55psi/rear, tires have been rotated twice in 12 months and have been back to Discount Tire for rebalancing (one tire could not be balanced, was replaced) and have had an alignment performed.. Truck has 104,000 miles, about 99 percent of them roadway (city streets and highway).

Truck has a significant shimmy at speeds for 45mph through 75 mph, some days worse, some days not so bad. It is bad enough the rear view mirrors vibrate, water in water bottles vibrates, and you can hear the vibration in your voice when talking to someone. It is not uncontrollable, which to me means it is not death wobble (at least not yet), but it is annoying/irritating and I highly doubt is is doing the truck any favors. As far as I can tell, it is not caused by expansion joints or highway reflectors as it is pretty much constant. In your opinion(s), is it the step before Death Wobble?

I am thinking the first step in fixing this will be to upgrade to the T-style steering and a new stabilizer (I have not replaced the factory stabilizer). I do need to replace the intermediate steering shaft as well, but I believe it unrelated to the problem I am describing here. U-joints and ball joints appear to be in good shape, but there is a little bit of play in the passenger front wheel when I jack up the front axle, grab the tire at the 3- and 9-o'clock positions, and give it a wiggle (maybe 1/32's of movement).

Any opinions here would be much appreciated.

 

Did this start all at once or come on slowly? After addiding something new like your Hankooks? Have you checked the u-joints? To me it sounds like a u-joint going bad - or a tire problem.

I just had my ball joints done and the 2009 steering upgrade at 102K. Not so much that there was a problem (had some minor play on passenger wheel also), but I had been feeling the front end slowly getting more slop for a while, and because it's time for new tires and I want to go with larger more aggressive winter tread pattern and I want to be sure I don't get DW.

 

I have the same thing at 115000 miles and have had for sometime. My original BJ, wheel bearings and shocks are on the way out. Front steering replaced with the 2008 upgrade at 99,000. All rear u joints replaced at 80000. No matter the ballance, rotation of tires, hot or cold days it still shakes. Some days more that others. Not enough for death wobble yet but its been shaking for a long time.

 

It is a tire balancing or out of round issue. The guy with the H2 wheels, they may have been modified incorrectly.

 

I'm having the same problem as the OP with the same exact tires. Had them re-balanced at least 5 times and still shook. Then I had Discount Tire replace all 4 and I still got a shake. I bought a set of Centramatic balancers and I STILL get a shake. The problem started instantly when I put the Hankooks on, so I'm 99.9999999% sure it's the tires. My brother has an 06 Quad Cab short bed 4WD Cummins and he has also had the same problem with the same exact tires. If you or anyone else figures out how to solve it without getting a new set of tires, I would love to know.

 

No mine never shook when I put the BFG's and H2's on. Matter of fact when I put the H2"s on the BFG's were very worn and no shakes. When I put on a new set of BFG 315's no shakes until the were half worn. But the miles were on the truck by then.

 

dw is usually triggered by hitting a bump, constant vibration, especially if when under load(like taking off or acellerating) would almost certainly point towards a failed/failing u-joint, and rust colored dust near or on the joints even if the joint feels tight, will garrentee that the u-joint is failed

 

I have a similar problem. I get a shimmy consistently at 70 MPH. I'm curious to hear what ultimately solves your problem.

 

Ever consider the possibility ujoints or bearings are on their way out somewhere?
Been chasing a vibe on mine. I suspect a few things - dside hub, dside outer axle ujoints and front dshaft.

 

Track bar bushing wear is also a culprit.