ric o'shea

Yesterday I had a scarey experience at about 40 mph. I hit a small pothole and the truck shook like the rear tire fell off or something. Felt like the truck was on a giant paint shaker, or going across a road paved with railroad ties.

I did a search on the death wobble, but I dunno. It felt more like it originated in the rear suspension area. I only had this truck for a few months, and have never had a wild ride from my other 96 1500.

Maybe that was a death wobble, what do I know. The steering feels tight and tracks straight.

Would blown rear shocks shake the truck to that extent?

What are some things I can troubleshoot?

I dont want to take a ride like that again.

kawi600

sounds like death wobble to me, thought mine happened at 70mph. Its a badly designed setup that allows a feedback loop to occur and the shaking builds in intensity till you slow down. Yeah there are ways to anticipate this when you design something, but I dont think that was ever done.
Youll want to check:
Balljoints, wheel bearings, pitman and tie rod ends for play.
Trackbar is the most important, you might be able to see the joint pop back and forth with the truck up on jacks, wheels side to side.
www.thurenfabrication.com
Check the shaft on the steering box for play too, it may have been beat up by the shaking. Try a dodge steering stabilizer from www.solidsteel.biz.

TIMMY22

been there and done that!

yea, it's very scary. I would not drive it until you get it resolved. One time I did a 360* in the road from that at about 30MPH.

It's always been my trackbar. a little play at the frame end will do it.


basicly, the the front axle is just floating on those coil springs. The only thing that makes it rigid is the trackbar. Yes, other things can cause the wobble but more times than not the trackbar is the culprit.

Once you get it fixed you'll have to drive around town slow for a while before you'll feel comfortable going fast again!

sjester

You might also inspect your tires. I had death wobble once, replaced the track bar as it is usually the culprit, and it happened again. Turned out I had two tires with tread seperations one on the front and one on the rear.

NMCTD

Sounds like death wobble to me.

A lot of people will tell you its the track bar, ball joints, tires ect ect....... And altought these parts being worn will aggrivate it and make it more common, the actual cause of death wobble is incorrect caster alignment in the front suspension.

Take a look at this http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/00_steer_specs.html


If I were you I would get under your truck and check all your tie-rods, ball joints, and track bar to make sure none of this stuff need to be replaced, ask on here if you need help checking this stuff. Then head to a good alignment shop and take the specs off of that link above and ask them to set then to that, and ask for a print out when the are done.

ScottN

Checking out the steering components for play is easy... turn the engine off, and get someone to jump in the cab, pulling the steering wheel side by side just under the threshold needed to move the tires (don't rub the tires back and forth). Look at each joint through a couple jolts, and watch for movement. If you can tell there is movement, it is worn and should be replaced (by the time it is visible, it will affect performance, and you will be amazed at the improvement).

Trackbar is very common.

ric o'shea

You guys are great, and made it alot easier for me to know what to check in the front end. In between rain showers today I jacked up the front end and put some jack stands under the axle. I checked all the front end components and found no play except the track bar.

I could not budge the TB with two hands, but by turning the wheels by hand it would separate at the frame end. I even tightened it alot more than the torque specs allowed and it still moved.

There is a brand new or refurbished gear box and pitman arm that the PO must have installed which is a 4 turn lock to lock. I guess the TB is not supposed to move at all, but my steering was not wandering like my other dodge did when that TB failed.

Well a new TB is in order and the thuren looks like it's worth every penny. After I install the TB, its off to the alignment shop with those caster specs
When I get this corrected I'll post back the results.

I was kinda spooked to drive this truck anywhere over 25mph.

Thanks everyone for your help......

NMCTD

glad we could help. let us know how it goes.....Josh