# Dodge Wobble ( Help )



## warren2343 (Apr 15, 2010)

I have an 2006 dodge 4x4 not all the time but 2 out of 3 times when I hit holes in the road, the front end goes to shaking.The only thing I have done to my truck is Put a leveling lift on it. Today I had an steering Stabalizer installed and that didn't fix the prolbem? the tires are good they are 315/70/17 Bfg all terrian, rims are in great shape, and had an allignment on the truck 1 week ago. has anybody ever experinced this Prolbem? Anybody, Help please.


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## Hunter11 (Jun 26, 2008)

Go here and do a search on "Death Wobble". I think it may have something to do with your over size tires or at least I think that is were most of the complaints come from. I have an 05 with stock tires and have never had the issue.

http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/index.php


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## Red Tide (Jul 26, 2010)

Could be a number of things. If you can't find a ball joint of bushing that is obviously bad I would start with the 08 steering upgrade.

http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/suspension-discussion/277907-8-5-steering-upgrade-direct-fit.html

Also check to see if your truck is under recall.


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## Bilge Bait (Apr 13, 2010)

i still cant understand why chrysler is still in business... the family of products have been sub-par for decades. the only reason they still exist is daimler-benz and cerberus private equity.


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## willielancon (Feb 15, 2007)

i have the exact truck, tires, and leveling kit and mine does it also...all the research I have done points to the track bar. www.thurenfabrication.com The recommended upgrade is in the link...I havent done it yet either. Alot of info out there on caster and camber that is all a mystery to me, front end allignment stuff.


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## jatupa (Nov 11, 2009)

One of my wife's classmates had this problem, after spendind a couple grand on the dealer recommendation, it turned out to be the tires.


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## the key man (Feb 20, 2010)

its the tires get rid of the bfg and it will stop.I know this because it happened on my 03 and 06 dodge 4x4


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## warren2343 (Apr 15, 2010)

*For THE KEY MAN*

What kind of tires do you Run On your 4x4 ??


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## the key man (Feb 20, 2010)

I put cooper sst 33 12.50 17 on them and got 45000 miles out of them.I have a guy i work with that had the same problem he went to a procomp. the only proplem with his was he had the death wobble for a while and he had to have some front end work done also.


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## Knot Kidding (Jan 7, 2009)

Bilge Bait said:


> i still cant understand why chrysler is still in business... the family of products have been sub-par for decades. the only reason they still exist is daimler-benz and cerberus private equity.


Didn't your hero "Chuck Norris" drive a Dodge? What a helpful comment to this thread. Your friends must laugh a lot!


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## dosseric (Apr 13, 2010)

I had an 06 4x4 with the same problem. It only had 37 thousand miles on it.

After 4 trips to the dealer and 1500 dollars worth of repairs at Allen Samuels Dodge... They were unable to fix the problem. They tried to tell me it was the tires, so I bought new tires.... I think they were Michelin LTZ's. It did not fix the problem. They replaced the steering stabilizer, the shocks, the track bar and a few u-joints.

After failing to fix it... Allen Samuels handed me the keys and said "Good Luck." They refused to work on it. Instead of trying to fix it, they tried to sell me another one.

I totally agree with BilgeBait. I will never own a Chrysler product again. Great motor.... terrible truck.


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## scootert (Jul 29, 2008)

I have an 07 with the same setup, same problem. I put a steering box stabilizer on it and haven't had any more problems.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

When you put the leveling kit on, you changed the caster angle of the front end alignment. You need to put the caster spec back where it needs to be to put the stability back into the front end. This is not unique to Dodge and is true of any solid axle front suspension when you add any lift to it. If there is not enough adjustment range in the cam bolts on the front control arms, you'll need to add some aftermarket adjustable arms with more adjustment range. I don't understand why you and others are blaming Dodge for the problems caused by alterations you made.


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## dosseric (Apr 13, 2010)

for what it's worth.... my truck was stock and suffered all of the above problems.


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## bigfishtx (Jul 17, 2007)

Buy a Thuren Track bar and it will more than likely solve the problem....

http://www.thurenfabrication.com/3rdgentrackbar.html
Dodge has had a problem with the death wobble on their trucks for many years.


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## Knot Kidding (Jan 7, 2009)

warren2343 said:


> I have an 2006 dodge 4x4 not all the time but 2 out of 3 times when I hit holes in the road, the front end goes to shaking.The only thing I have done to my truck is Put a leveling lift on it. Today I had an steering Stabalizer installed and that didn't fix the prolbem? the tires are good they are 315/70/17 Bfg all terrian, rims are in great shape, and had an allignment on the truck 1 week ago. has anybody ever experinced this Prolbem? Anybody, Help please.


Try this and please respond back. Have someone get in the truck (with the truck running) and turn the steering wheel back and forth. Watch the frame rails and tel me if they're flexing side to side. This was an old Chevy truck issue (when you put too wide of tires on the front) that sounds very similar. Dealerships will put 1 mechanic on your truck to check/and/or replace what they "think" is the problem instead of trying to simulate the problem. Let me know if the frame rails are flexing side to side.


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## MIKE S. (Apr 8, 2007)

bigfishtx said:


> Buy a Thuren Track bar and it will more than likely solve the problem....
> 
> http://www.thurenfabrication.com/3rdgentrackbar.html
> Dodge has had a problem with the death wobble on their trucks for many years.


Have you tried one? Looking under the front end, its hard to imagine this one bar will fix the problem, but id be willing to try it. Im running a 4" lift with 37's and though the wobble isnt that bad, it could be better...


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## bigdav160 (Aug 25, 2004)

The day I replaced my 315 BFG's was the day i fixed my death wobble. That was 60,000 miles ago.


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## warren2343 (Apr 15, 2010)

I put the steering box stabillizer on and that didn't fix the prolbem. next is a pro-comp double shock. Would changing the factrory Shocks help!! How or where do you adjust the Casters ??


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## Hooked Up (May 23, 2004)

Check those U-joints real close! It hapened to me and when I replaced them / problem was solved. Good lucck, Guy


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

warren2343 said:


> I put the steering box stabillizer on and that didn't fix the prolbem. next is a pro-comp double shock. Would changing the factrory Shocks help!! How or where do you adjust the Casters ??


'

Castor is adjustable by cammed bolts that attach the control arms to the front axle. I'm not sure if the later RAMs have them, but my 97 did. What you need to do is adjust the bolts to effectively lengthen the front control arms a bit to add caster.

You may have already done most of this, but if not, here's what else to check. Get under the front of the truck while someone starts it up and saws the steering wheel back and forth a 1/3 turn in each direction or so. Watch the ends of the front trackbar to see if there is any play there. Also watch the tie rod ends, and the ball joints. Lastly watch the relation of the wheel to the ball joints (not the rotor) to see if there is play in the front wheel bearings. If it is the trackbar, the bolts in the bracket often wallow out because Dodge is too cheap to use a shouldered bolt to mount it. They also get loose and need to be torqued to the tight end of the spec. If the ball joint on the end is blown, best is to replace it with a moog part, or one of the other aftermarket heavy duty versions. IThe track bar will cause a loose off center steering feel which is the usual symptom. Death Wobble is either from one severely worn, one with cracked mount brackets, or some other contributing factor along with a marginal track bar. The track bar needs to be really bad to cause DW and if that is the source, you should see it while cycling the steering. Lastly, you can many time minimize the wiggle down to almost nothing by setting a degree or two of toe out on the front alignment. You said you added the steering box stabilizer, that's good. My bet is on caster adjustment needing adjustment to account for the leveling. Steering stabilizers just mask the symptoms and don't fix the underlying problem.


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## bigfishtx (Jul 17, 2007)

You can go to diestruckresources and dodgetalk, both sites have plenty of threads about this issue. I have had it on my one of my trucks and also on a jeep, so I know what you are going through.

The BFG tires are pretty common in trucks with this problem. Also, front leveling kits seems to be involved in a lot of the cases. 

Adding postive castor, and the Thuren Track bar should help. Get rid of the front leveling kit and go with some different tires and I almost guarantee that you will solve your problem.

I have two of the trucks now, a 2001 and a 2007, and both are stock. They are both ranch trucks, and spend a lot of time on rough roads. I have over 400,000 miles combined on them and neither one has given me any trouble.
I had a 98 model that developed the problem at 70,000 miles, and the dealership was clueless on fixing it. 

I know people that used the Thuren track bar and all of them said it fixed the problem.


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## Red Tide (Jul 26, 2010)

As pocketfisherman said check for worn parts, steering box brace or more dampers will not fix DW only mask it. Also do the steering upgrade, The cross-over T type design is a much better design.



In the end it almost always comes down to bad tires and worn parts (bad tires wear out parts).


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## oneneo3 (Feb 7, 2008)

I've done alot of research on this. So far I have not had any problems with mine, and I have a 3" leveling kit on my 05, w/ 35" Nittos. Its most likely in the leveling kit. It probably threw off your Castor. You might need the extended track bars to keep the proper Castor angles. Might be able to install a adjustable upper ball joint to help add more Castor in. Also, load range E tires have a harder sidewall and will reduce some of the walk around. Good luck.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

oneneo3 said:


> I've done alot of research on this. So far I have not had any problems with mine, and I have a 3" leveling kit on my 05, w/ 35" Nittos. Its most likely in the leveling kit. It probably threw off your Castor. You might need the extended track bars to keep the proper Castor angles. Might be able to install a adjustable upper ball joint to help add more Castor in. Also, load range E tires have a harder sidewall and will reduce some of the walk around. Good luck.


A track bar does nothing for the caster angle, it aligns the axle laterally to center it under frame. Longer control arms will change the caster angle. If you lift more than 2 inches or so, you should go with a longer, or adjustable track bar, or new mounting bracket points to re-center the axle because the lift effectively shortens the track bar. E range tires are good, but kill the ride comfort on a 1/2 ton. PS, "Castor" is a bean or constellation.


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## oneneo3 (Feb 7, 2008)

Pocketfisherman said:


> A track bar does nothing for the caster angle, it aligns the axle laterally to center it under frame. Longer control arms will change the caster angle. If you lift more than 2 inches or so, you should go with a longer, or adjustable track bar, or new mounting bracket points to re-center the axle because the lift effectively shortens the track bar. E range tires are good, but kill the ride comfort on a 1/2 ton. PS, "Castor" is a bean or constellation.


LOL, Thanks bud, I meant Caster. You had a way better way of explaining it, but I was just talking about getting that wheel centered properly back under the axle. Thanks for the correction.
I said E range tires only because I thought I read 3/4 ton.
Green out.


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## elpistolero45 (May 9, 2010)

My 94 2500 with Stock Everything got a Death Wander at about 129,000 miles.... an aftermarket steering box replacement did the job. 60,000 miles later... Still Goin STRONG.. I'll likely have to Jack up the Body and Drive the Chassis under a new Skin..:wink::wink:


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