DEATH WOBBLE getting new track bar

D

Dozer5478

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Jan 19, 2009
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So i installed a set of 2" leveling spacers on the front of my stock dodge 2500. Plan to install bigger tires. Driving down the road and i experience the death wobble. almost wrecked the truck. Enough to bend the tie rods and adjusting sleeves and throw out the alignment. I found that i needed front shocks and new stabilizer. i replaced all tie rods, shocks, stabilizer and gear box..... I am still experiencing the wobble. I have a adjustable track bar on order. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions to my problem. I hope the track bar fixes my truck. :bang:umno:




Thanks
DOZER5478
03 2500 4x4 AT
 
i had that problem bad, but only at the track, crossing the traps at 112mph...i replaced alot. trac bar, BD's SBS,ball joints,the 09 steering set up.also went with a stiffer shock.my honest opinion would be to ditch the 2inch lift completely, or youll be fighting it for ever, it always comes back, just when you think you had it.
 
Max out your caster & replace the compliant OEM track bar bushings.
 
get longer control arms

max out your stock caster adjusters

ur trying to get your bottom balljoint ever so slightly ahead of the upper... know what i mean?

...(V)
...88 <--- kinda like that
..(^)
 
i went with the 09 steering and adjustable track bar, i too believe it is a combination of caster and y style steering with a little track bar in the mix, i cant really say what fixed mine, because i got mad and replaced the entire front suspension with a long arm rock krawler from pure performance.
 
the caster adjusters are the bolt and nut on the lower control arm, axle end.

looks like an oval washer inside a horseshoe

you want to set it so that the oval is aim'd @ your front axle, pushing your lower balljoints forward....

it's not perfect but it should work... the only real way to sure it is to get a touch long control arm made.... i'm trying to find the skyjacker p/n for ya
 
Rough country just came out with a long style radius arms that mount all the way back to the trans crossmember. These are fully adjustable. I would think that these would help with death wobble but have no experience with these.
 
I have a 2.5 leveling blocks on the front of mine. Will the longer track bar fix this problem of , play in the steering wheel(side to side) , and the problem of the truck pulling hard one way when you hit a bump in the road?
 
I would like to install dual stabilzer shocks. Any suggestions? Pros and cons. What brand? Thanks
 
Why do you want duals?

Just install a quality single from Thuren or Carli.
 
I would like duals for the added dappening . Thought it would look better also. I just would like to know what kinds of stabilizers you guys are running.
 
Not to sound cheap by no means, but the thuren stabilizer is 264.95. I bought all four of my shocks(kyb monomax) for 225. There has to be a cheaper (price) somewhere. No offense to anyone.
 
325 for the Carli?!! I don't know bout that lol. Thanks though Howling. I was hoping for blisten or Monroe or kyb.
 
I think it's a combination of things that allow death wobble, particularly as the vehicle's ride height and/or tire size is changed.

As ball joints wear, there can be an appreciable amount of play in them and still be in "spec" according to dodge.

Tires that are "D" rated also have a tendancy to cause death wobble. Worn tie rod linkages, any slop in the steering linkage, worn out control arm bushings, out of alignment, etc can lead toward wobble.

The track bar for sure is one of the biggest culprits. I started getting death wobble, and it wasn't long before my trackbar bushing actually fell out, leaving the truck nearly undriveable!

The OEM steering damper is actually not that bad if you just do mostly on-road driving and are running close to stock size tires.

It sounds like you've covered the bases, but best things to remember are:

Run E rated tires, max out castor at 6° or so, replace any worn components/bushings/etc, make sure all bolts are TIGHT on the front end, and make sure there's no play in the ball joints at all! Run sufficient tire pressure especially in the fronts.

I did the '08 steering upgrade, put on Carli upper ball joints, Carli lower ball joints, replaced the stock damper with a Carli Bilstein 7100 and added the Carli Bilstein high mount stabilizer, installed a Carli trackbar, KORE hybrid race control arms, and am running Toyo E rated tires. No more death wobble here!!!

In fact the front end is super tight even on rough railroad crossings...whether at 10 mph or 70!!! :hehe:

ry%3D400


--Eric
 
I had it on my 07. Pretty much rebuilt the entire front end and it ended up being a bad tire. I had both of the load balanced and both were shown to be fine but they weren't.
 
IMO, DW comes down to two issues.

Insufficient Caster.

Component Wear/Slop.

The latter could be anything in front of the doors. LOL

Crank your caster up, and replace what's worn. Steering dampers may reduce or mask the symptoms, but I don't believe they are the true solution for trucks with stock suspension.

A true knuckle to knuckle tie rod setup, or "T" style linkage (much like crossover configuration) eliminates variations in toe as the suspension cycles. The factory setup (Haltenberger or "Y" Configuration) does not. Add in component wear and larger wheel/tires and once toe geometry is upset, it cant immediately correct. Harmonic thwapping ensues. LOL

Part of the book I threw at mine to make sure it didn't happen again include the new configuration setup pictured below, an upper balljoint, and some new shocks. Trackbar checked fine. The reason I went so in depth with mine is that the only time I experienced DW was passing triple digits with my foot on the mat. :doh:

T Style on top.
Y Style (POS) on bottom.
131_1003_02+dodge_ram_2500_4x4_steering_upgrade+steering_linkage.jpg


DC part numbers:
PITMAN ARM PN 68039930AA
T-LINKAGE PN 52122370AB
FASTNERS PN 6502697
Two PN 6505623AA

If you order those parts under the above numbers as opposed to picking individually from a parts diagram, it'll save you a couple hundred bucks.


I did this last summer, but retracing my steps I came up with an article on it last month on 4w&OR that captured it nicely.
Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 Steering Upgrade - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine
 
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