I get DW with the two BFG's that are on the front right now, but not the two on the rear. My new tires should be here friday so i upped all the air pressures to see if that would fix the DW but it didnt. My caster is set as positive as it can get and when I did my lift i had the shop doing the alignment check the trac bar and all is good. If my DW goes away with the new tires I say that bad, out of balance tires do have something to do with DW. Not sure what but it does seem like there are alot of guys with BFG's experiencing DW.

 

315 BFGs and Bilsten shocks. Looks like Im one of the lucky ones and thats all I needed to fix it.
It started after I installed the spacer lift and was still running stock tires (adjusting caster might have fixed it then but DW was so seldom that I never got around to it) I was scared when I got the 315s that they where only going to make it worse but I drive the same roads all the time and got to know where I would have DW and have had the BFGs for just over 1 year and I havent had DW seince.
knock on wood
JW

 

Hi all!

Paul, I forgot to call you today but I will soon...

Just wanted to clarify a few things with what I had going on with my CTD....


I am in process of trying to put together a "smooth ride" kit so I've been playing with shocks. The shocks I have on the truck now are very soft and ride freaking GREAT on the highway, but as soon as I swapped them in I could get DW going with JUST the right bump. I must have tried 4-5 times to get that video. I also have a tiny bit of oil around the stabilizer shaft(blown?), and a few slightly worn tie rod ends...

To be honest, I have been trying to get DW on my truck just so I can find a cure and get some video, but the truck decided to cooperate early on it's own. The rest of the truck is VERY tight though, so I actually am very surprised it can go into DW as stock as it is, and having my trackbar too. ZERO pitman slop, tight balljoints, my trackbar with the new Delrin frame bushing, stock tires, stock height, etc... I was expecting to have to put the OE trackbar back in to get the DW video..

I may go back and get some video from the side of the freeway as these videos makes it seem mild. As a few of you have experienced, being in the fast lane with the wheel being almost ripped out of your hand is not fun.

A few things to consider..

~ I know for a fact that DW can happen without having "worn parts" on these trucks.

~ Swapping out tires can get rid of death wobble, but what happens when your stabilizer wears out, trackbar wears, tires get out of ballance, ball joints wear, shocks wear out, etc... Just cause it goes away doesn't mean it won't come back..

Very soon I hope to pack a pound of lead in one rim, throw on some 315 BFG'S, put the stock old trackbar back on with the loose steering TRE's, and still not get DW... We'll see what happens...


Don

 

In my opinion the stock trackbar is defective off the showroom floor. It is THE one thing I have no problem being that bold saying, and FWIW I try hard not to blow smoke. Tiny "rubber" bushings have no place holding 4000lbs center going down the road...

 

You lifted it, and with the max caster setting you are still out of spec. You need longer/adjustable control arms.

As for the fronts causing DW and the rears not when you swap tells me that you still have a problem, and like Don said, just because it goes away doesn't mean you still don't have a problem.

Like I said before, tires can accelerate the problem, but not cause it.

 

Out of ballance or defective tires CAN and will cause DW, although I think the truck should be resistant to those same forces on a bigger scale. Many other trucks/vehicles can be much more tolerant of the same tires that would cause a Dodge to freak out..

But, if the tire is true and in ballance then I don't feel the tire is to blame. Even though some tires are softer than others, if the tire is in ballance, I believe the truck should be able to perform properly. To say that these Dodges are brand specific when it comes to tires is absurd, even though some tires may be a bit more stable than others.

If you can go 90 down the freeway and never get DW until you hit a bump, issues with the truck should be addressed and not the tires.

If you get going 50mph on a "flat as can be" road and DW starts, it's most likely that something is wrong with the tires...

It's a combination of the right/wrong parts which keeps DW in out out of your life. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of messing around to get it to go away, and some people never get it with the exact same components. I personally want to find something as a cure that will give that much greater margin of safety as it seems these trucks are always teetering around getting it, even right off the dealers lot...

Don

 

This can be a big problem and I had it happen to me. I replaced the steering box because if you do the test for box steering play mine was over 1/8 stearing wheel play. I also found out from the dealer that if it is leaking they will replace it under warranty(maby), Cummings dosen't like to buy power stearing pumps (hint hint).

Marc

 

Out of balance tires that cause death wobble can be cured with proper caster angle. There should be NO reason that a tire with no weights should cause an issue.

 

Chrome, I'm going to hardily disagree.

I know caster angle has been mentioned as a source of DW's on these trucks. But I'm inclined to believe too much caster might be a source. Trucks for decades have little to no caster. Usually 0 to +1 degree. Of course, trucks didn't have power steering and were'nt high speed but I don't remember hearing/reading that low caster caused vibration. Some sports cars might run more caster angle 7+ degrees or more but excessive caster is a know cause of wheel shimmy.

I haven't check but do these trucks have any SAI? There is no spec in the service manual. Low SAI might contribute to poor stability and the need for extra caster angle.

Don, thanks for the insight.

 

You obviously know about alignments, but I have never known any brand to have issue with to much (positive) caster. Think of a sport bike with straight up and down forks, has a higher tendency to tank slap, a chopper with a rake will go straight forever, but barely turn. Same principal, different application. I have dealt with this same thing for years dealing with Jeep axles, and had teh same thing happen on several TJ's with lifts. Once you add some longer lower control arms to correct for caster, DW goes away. Jeep uses the same exact steering system as the Dodge, just with smaller parts.

 

Oh yeah, SAI is not adjustable on a solid front axle without some cutting and welding...

 

On my first 04.5 that was stolen I had the death wobble with everything completely stock. Took it dealer and they replaced the steering stabilizer and never a death wobble after that. Hence the next 04.5 I have currently, has a dual stabilizer.

Todd

 

I want to go with a bigger lift. Using adjustable control arms and track bar. Ive got some cheap tough country shocks (i think) so i would be replacing them as well. In my case in what order would you guys start replacing parts? Trac bar first, control arms, shocks, steering stabilizer not sure where to start? Thanks

 

No matter what you do replace the track bar first, even if you don't change anything else. Buy Thuren's bar.

The rest I'd replace in this order:

2. shocks
3. steering stabilizer
4. control arms

Before you do anything, you need to decide what direction you want to take with your truck, and what kind of budget you have to work with. You can spend as little as $170/pair for Bilstein shocks or up to $750/pair for King shocks. Carli's control arms are $1200, KORE's are probably more, and Don Thuren's soon-to-come-out radius arm conversion kit will be a bit less (I'm holding out for those). You can add a Carli dual shock steering stabilizer for $600 or buy a cheapy for $30, but that will only be marginally better than stock.

 

Ahh thanks ptgarcia. I want a to end up with 5 inches of lift. So are the Thuren bars adjustable up to 5 inches of lift? I may have some adjustable control arms, and I think Bilstein 5100's should work.