joncevans

Ok guys... heres the deal..

I LOVE my 2005 2500 quad cab 4x4 diesel........ I unknowingly had it lifted, and put bigger tires on it, ect, ect. I say unknowingly because if I had any idea of the problems that a lift, and bigger tires could cause, I would never have changed it. I loved everything about the truck before I did all of this to it, except for the payment, and the fact it would sink like an anchor in the mud with factory tires.

I had a 6'' super lift kit, 35'' tires, and banks 6 gun installed all at the same time. a few weeks later it started getting shaky, and eventually full blown death wobbles. I took it to the shop, and they changed the tie rods, and as far as I know that was all, and then it was fine. For a few weeks...

The next time they told me it was the steering box, ( which I never understood why they thought this was the problem ) and changed it, and I think the tie rods again. All was well for a few weeks, and then it was back.

Up until now all was free, as I had insiders at the dealership, but the last time I took it, it started getting in my back pocket, and again they changed the tie rod ends.

Now I'm no mechanic, but in my opinion the tie rods are not the cause, but more of an symptom of something else going wrong. After looking around in places like this, I have learned that lifting trucks and so on is not for the economically challenged like myself. I kept all stock parts from when I had the lift put on the truck, and now that I'm back in my home state, I have a friend that can help me take the lift off, and put the truck back to stock. The plan is to go back to stock hight, stock size tires, with the exception of having an off road tread pattern, because where I live it will be necessary to not get stuck in the snow, and mud.

What I need help from my new friends in here is how to repair, and what to repair, as well as where to get parts that are affordable to repair the truck with.


Once I have the truck back to stock hight, and tire size, what needs to be replaced, and where can I get the parts.

I have only $1000.00 - $1500.00 to throw at this problem, I am thinking that from what I've read in here that I will need at least one wheel bearing, ball joints, and tie rod ends. I have already replaced the track bar to a Thuren adjustable track bar. ( Don Thuren was a hell of a nice guy to deal with,), but this solved nothing, as far as the death wobbles, or shakes. I also looked at the dynatrac free spin conversion kit. ( which I would love to have, but at $1800.00, I cant have.).

So do you guys think ball joints, wheel bearings, and tie rods will correct this, or do I need to look at anything else, to repair, or replace?

Please help....thanks in advance, and I hope I have posted this in the correct place...

Big Jon.....

t-boe

I don't think the free spin kit will get you anywhere. The DSS track bar brace might help and a good double steering stabilizer. Carli Suspension has one I like, but it costs more than I'd like to pay for two shocks and a piece of steel.

joncevans

Hey t-boe...the I should have clarified the free spin kit. The thinking behind that idea was that if I have to replace the wheel bearings, that I would replace them with something more solid, and stable. It seems to be a fact that the factory bearings are junk, and to replace them with something more sturdy, and serviceable would be idea.

As far as the dss kit. what exactly does it do? I have looked them over on the net, but I'm not sure how it works, or what it does exactly. I am not opposed to putting one on, but my main goal of this post is to repair the week links for now, and maybe do upgrades like the dss kit later...

Thanks t-boe, I appreciate your help...

torquefan

Don't go throwing expensive parts at it. Jack up your truck and feel for play in your wheel bearings. If there's no play, and they spin with no noise, they aren't causing the problem. The ball joints and tie rod ends can be checked too. The stock wheel bearings certainly aren't junk, on a stock truck they will last several hundreds of thousands of miles, but with your lift and big tires, you are asking way more of all these components than they were designed for. Don't forget, you can't make a truck (or anything else) more stable by raising it further off the ground.

t-boe

Well, this is purely from reading on the internet, not from personal experience. The DSS basically adds another bearing to the bottom of the steering box sector shaft and adding another cross member to stop frame flex. It just stiffens up the front end. I was wrong earlier about it being a track bar brace, but it does keep it from jumping around. It's pretty cheap, about $200. You could probably shop around though. Haven't talked to anyone with one, but the theory sounds good.

joncevans

I have had it off the ground, and checked for play. On the passenger side the wheel bearings definatly have play, and on the driver side not so much. The ball joints, I'm not so sure about, like I said, I'm no mechanic. Thats why I came to this place to try and figure things out. Some people say a little play is ok, but most say any is bad. I would lean towards any play being bad myself. As far as lifting the truck, and making it more stable is not possible, I totally agree. The problem is I had no idea, or understanding of this whole lift thing causing problems before I did it. I had a so called mechanic friend that I let talk me into doing it. He is also a dodge dealership mechanic, that you would think would tell you what to watch out for, but thats another story. The reason I refered to the stock wheel bearings being junk is that I have read in several place's, including in here that the whole sealed, nonservicable bearing design is not a good one. I'm not trying to throw expensive parts at it, instead I'm trying to take it back to original, with the exception of tires having off road tread.

thanks torquefan.....

slimpicken

don't feel too bad. I have had the death wobble since the the truck was nearly new and was stock right down to the rubber. There is a flaw in the design and the worst part is that nobody has been able to really pinpoint the root of the problem. All I can give you is the best of luck, I hope your problem gets lessened by taking the truck back to stock. As for the bearings and the ball joints, replace them if they have slack in them. If those bearings go too long they can be a pain to press out of the main housing. I had to take a torch and cut the bearing assembly out of the housing on my 01 cause I didn't change them until the abs light came on to warn me they were out.

Highway 4x4

I wouldn't do anything untill you get the DW after it is back to stock and all tight. A lift changes the geometry, angles, of the front end to a place they were not designed to be. Nice, big, fat tires just bounce better when it starts. Never had it, don't want it. My son started to get it, tightened the snot out a the track bar, went away.

Pooter

What is your caster set at? I hear 5*~ is the ticket...

The adjustable track bar wont hurt either.


But as far as the musical tie-rods, find a new shop...
They keep throwing parts at it without figuring out the cause, or even trying other things to fix it.

mitternocht

This death wobble thing is interesting. I’ve never experienced it however (knock on wood).

I have the DSS, it in an excellent piece. I don’t think it will prevent the death wobble, however it will add more life to your steering gear box. Also if you get the DW it will probably save wear and tear on your steering gear box. The DSS will take a bit of slack out of your steering too.

gerry

OK here are a few suggestions....


I had a nasty death wobble on a 79 Chevy with 40" tires... the suspension is close to the same but different.. Mine was caused by our of round tires and an alignment problem.

First off did they align the front end.. to try and stop the old problem of turning right when you hit a bump they put a "Y" in the steering linkage.. this causes the toe in to change when you lift the truck or hit a bump.. so if you didn't re align the front end you may have excessive toe in and the tires are hunting to roll straight causing DW... I think a slight amount of toe out is the factory spec on these trucks.

also recheck the balance of the tires and make sure they are round.. an out of round or out of balance tire can trigger death wobble also..

I have 35's on my 2005 but only a 2" lift in the front.. I have had no death wobble at all..

another person on here to talk to is cowhand. give him a pm and talk to him. he fought and beat the death wobble and poor tire wear. but changed a bunch of stuff on his front end.

t-boe

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...ad.php?t=57125

This is a link to Cowhands discussion of some of what he did. It's alot! Crossover steering, new track bar, coil springs. If that don't fix it, what else would?

joncevans

Ok guys....

I just pm'ed cowhand, maybe he will have some good insight.

Gerry they did align the front end as best they could. The dealer ship outsources this work to neighbor I had at the time. He had a tire shop in town, but he did tell me that they did not have a machine that would handle the 35'' tire when they balanced them. He and his brother were big in the 4x4 scene, so I think he did the best he could to get everything right.

mitternocht I have looked at the dss piece, and it looks like it will take some strain off the steering box, but does anyone know what the cost is for the
dss?

Stacked97 I don't know what the caster is set at, and this is one reason I want to go back to stock. It would be one less thing to worry about. I do have the Thuren adjustable track bar. Don told me just to match the length of the track bar to the stock track bar. I know this would be true for sure on a stock truck, but should it be longer, or shorter if the truck is lifted? Keep in mind it does have the track bar relocation bracket with the lift kit. Even tho I am taking the lift off, and the bar would need to match the stock track bar length when the lift comes off, would it help to lengthen, or shorten the track bar until I get time to do the removal of the lift kit?

Highway 4x4 the only thing I want to replace when the lift comes off is worn out parts. believe me I don't want to throw any more money at this than I have to. The ball joints, and wheel bearing worry the hell out of me, because of the cost, and more importantly what could happen if they fail on the highway. When I changed the track bar out I tightened it as best I could, but I'm not so sure on it. I didn't have access to an air impact tool, to make sure it was tight as possible.

As far as the tires go, when I go back to stock, I want to have some more aggressive tires, so I don't get stuck in the mud. Will a wide tire cause the same problems as the 35's ?

Any way I've wrote another book again.

Thanks again guys....

gerry

I would say that before you take all that stuff off you paid good money for get it to a good alignment shop, checks everything and find someone that can spin balance those tires.. if they just did a bubble balance then I bet that is a big part of your problem..

Watch them and see how much weight they put on.. if it is to much then they might have to re index the tire on the rim and try again.. I would also ask them to spin the tires the way they are balanced.. see it they walk the balance machine around in the shop..

Cowhand

Jon...answered your PM with more questions. First thing you can try in your driveway is to roll the cam adjusters on the axle end of the lower control arm all the way back. Put as much caster in it as you can get, then have an alignment shop put at least 3.5-4* in it.

You can also measure from the frame rail to the inside of the tread to make sure the axle is actually centered.

I hope you're not running BFG's........do you have another set of wheels/tires you can swap on for a day or two?