Death Wobble – "Y" vs "T"

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PerfEm

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I have a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500SLT with about 175k miles on it. Several times in the last few months I’ve been driving down the freeway of life when I hit a bump, or a step going onto or off of a bridge, etc. and the front end of my truck has taken on a life of its own!! Both front tires start shimmying with enough violence to toss me over into the next lane!! Scares the H.!! out of me, my wife, and my poor dog!

I started to address this problem with a new double steering stabilizer setup from Rancho. The old Skyjackers were long past their prime, and I could move the pistons easily by hand. That helped, but didn’t fix it. Then I replaced all 4 shocks with KYBs (they may have been original, I don’t know, but they were in worse shape than the Skyjackers! That helped, but didn’t fix it.

Next up was a steering gear brace. I could feel a real improvement in the way it steered with that. Much better, more precise, but it didn’t fix the Death Wobble. (If you ever experience it with your truck, you will know immediately why it has that name!!)

Okay, time to get serious! I looked around the Forum Tech areas and started reading every article on the Death Wobble. It didn’t take long to find that the steering system was one of the main culprits. Everything I had done to that time helped and was needed, so I wasn’t throwing money away, but I hadn’t targeted this area.

Mine is a Gen 3 truck. I don’t know about the other generations, but this worked on mine. Your mileage may vary. One solution does not fit all. I am posting this for your entertainment at no cost, and if you find that it doesn’t work for you, I will cheerfully refund everything you paid for it. I’m just telling you what I found effective on my truck. (Okay, the lawyers are happy!!)

The Gen 3 was first made with a steering linkage called the “Y” design (also called Design #1). It was a problematic design (boy, was it ever!!!), so it was replaced sometime after my truck was made. I had the “Y” design. The new design is the “T” (also called Design #2). Please refer to the picture for the differences between these designs.

Y vs T Steering.jpg

In the “Y” design, a drag link runs from the Pitman arm directly to the steering arm of the right wheel. Some distance from the right wheel, the left tie rod attaches to the drag link and runs to the left wheel. This puts a ball joint in direct line of action between the two front wheels. As seen in the inset, that part on my steering had a torn boot and lots of play in it. In effect, the left wheel and the right wheel could move independently of each other! Hit a bump, and they can take off in different directions! Definitely increases the pucker factor! With 175,000 miles over 15 years, mine was prime for it, and that’s what I had.

In the “T” design, the drag link runs from the Pitman arm to a point on the tie rod near the right wheel. The right wheel and the left wheel are connected to each other by a solid tie rod. No joints. Even if the drag link/tie rod ball joint went bad, the two wheels would still move together at the same time. MUCH, much better!!

The new steering linkage came in a long box, and it was assembled as shown in the picture, ready to install. Well, not quite! You will notice that there are no nuts on the tie rod and drag link ends. My Dodge dealer didn’t have them in stock, but said they could order them. They quoted me $27- for the three of them! The hardware store was no help, and the McParts stores I checked didn’t show them on their systems.

Rock Auto has a complete steering linkage with these nuts for only 150% what I paid for the setup on Amazon. Finally found the right nuts at our local friendly Fastenal store. $10.15 for all three. If you decide to do this fix, plan ahead and make sure you have what you need, especially if your truck is your only transportation!

Another problem I found was one of the stabilizer bar links. You can see the problem in the picture.

IMG_20200720_155341_edited.jpg

I replaced the stabilizer bar bushings and the links, not expecting to find this, but just because I was in the area and they had 175k miles on them. Good call!

Prior to this repair, my wife complained about the rattles every time I hit a bump or a driveway. It was loud and obvious. No more! The loose, sloppy and bad parts are gone, replaced by brand new ones. The two front wheels are now working together. I took the truck on a 55 mile test drive on paved country roads and the interstate. It passed with flying colors!! Sure, there are still a few wobbles as I hit the bumps that used to throw me into the Death Wobble. The difference is that, where the Death Wobble builds on itself like a harmonic frequency, now the wobble is much less violent and damps itself out. The ride is quieter and smoother and the truck is easier to steer.

Now we can make that long highway drive to go down and see her mother!
 

MikeT

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Good write up...Thanks. I have a 2006 built in late 2005, no death wobble (Yet), I'll be looking into the design of the front end real soon.

Mike
 
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PerfEm

PerfEm

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I don't want to mislead you. It doesn't ride like a Caddy, and it doesn't handle like a Jag. It handles like what it is, a 3/4 ton truck. But it handles and rides like a new one! (A new one that's 15 years old, that is!!)

The "T" linkage I found on Amazon for $285-. It is a genuine Mopar service part, not the lowest price part from somewhere on the other side of the planet. Sure I could have gotten it for less, but some vehicle systems aren't worth what it ultimately could cost to "save" a few bucks!
 
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MikeT

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I don't want to mislead you. It doesn't ride like a Caddy, and it doesn't handle like a Jag. It handles like what it is, a 3/4 ton truck. But it handles and rides like a new one! (A new one that's 15 years old, that is!!)

The "T" linkage I found on Amazon for $285-. It is a genuine Mopar service part, not the lowest price part from somewhere on the other side of the planet. Sure I could have gotten it for less, but some vehicle systems aren't worth what it ultimately could cost to "save" a few bucks!

If mine road like a Caddy, I would trade it in on a real truck. Mine rides like a real truck as it is...No complaints. Thanks for the info.

Mike
 
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PerfEm

PerfEm

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I was so sure that this had fixed the wobble, but it didn't. Next thing to try - the track bar! (See my thread on that.)
 

Dodge trucker

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I was an alignment guy for around 20 years. and replaced LOTS of suspension parts over the years. More than I care to remember. And still do 95% of my own work. Only thing I cannot do, is I don't have my own alignment rack//so that, I unfortunately have to farm out (once I check out the front suspension and replace anything that needs it) the alignments. I wish I could find someone to let me do my own on their rack.
Having said that, I don't see anything in the 2 diagrams that is enough different to make much different besides new parts/old parts. and that the tie rod end on the passenger side that connects to the wheel to wheel drag link, comes in from top on one and the bottom on the other.
Now I must say, I DO NOT consider a "torn boot" in and of itself, enough reason to condemn a part. Especially if it's the greseable kind. Now if its bound up? sure. Its junk. If its loose and sloppy? Yup. junk. But I've seen loose and sloppy parts with perfectly intact boots too. Torn boots by themselves don't warrant replacement of the part as I grease my suspensions at every oil change. That means every 4k miles.
and neither of those linkage setups looks like a "T" to me. Both look like a "Y" configuration.
 
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