Death Wobble Causes

[FlatbedHemi]

I have had my truck since 2016 and have close to 92k miles on it. Been running the same tires for the last couple of years and never had any problems. But, the last 2 times I have driven a particular road, in the same spot I have experienced severe death wobble. Been driving all over the state without an issue, but in that particular soot it gets so violent that I have to pull over to get it to settle down. Once I get out of that particular 1/4 mile stretch I am back to normal. Recently had an alignment and the front end checked out tight. Just wondering what else might cause the issue besides just the road. Is it something with the truck that is exasperating the problem, or is it common for these trucks to do that on rough road?

 

[2003F350]

I haven't heard much about death wobble in most things aside from older Ford Superduties. It very well could just be the road if it was damaged and repaired, or just plain built improperly. There is a section of road near me that bounces vehicles so bad the only vehicles that run in one particular lane are gravel trains, and even they have issues with it.

There's a possibility you could have something else going on, like shocks wearing out (don't know how old yours are) or possibly a u-joint in the front axle going bad (this can cause it, but it seems like it would do it other places than one particular stretch of road). Regardless, I'd go over your suspension closely to make sure nothing is starting to go bad.

 

[Travelin Ram]

Lots of components can do this, basically any joint where side to side play can result in the front tires.

Track bar ends
Tie rods
Drag link
Wheel bearings
Ball joints

The tolerance in all the parts can stack up so the total is more than the individual motion at any one place.

Seems less common in the HD trucks than lighter stuff, but I have experienced the same in one of five HD Rams I’ve had.

 

[muddy12]

"Trust, but verify."

Just because the shop said it's all good, doesn't mean that you don't have worn parts.

Just like Travelin Ram said, a little bit of slack in multiple joints(each one still in spec), can lead to "the shakes".

In my case, I kept getting the response of "It's all within spec." from the shop. When I finally had time to dig into the front of my 1500 myself, I found several of the rod ends and ball joints to be worn. each one was just under the maximum allowable play, but combined, the front end was "loose as a goose".

On a 25/3500's, I'd start with checking the steering linkage, including the box itself, and the track bar bushings.

 

[crazy jerry]

I haven't heard much about death wobble in most things aside from older Ford Superduties.

the new fords are plagued with it. do you live under a rock ?

 

[2003F350]

the new fords are plagued with it. do you live under a rock ?

No, I just haven't heard about it. Of course, I don't know how much its actually a plague - I know a few people with newer ones who have never experienced it on their trucks.

 

[jaflowers]

No, I just haven't heard about it. Of course, I don't know how much its actually a plague - I know a few people with newer ones who have never experienced it on their trucks.

My buddies 2016 Ford 2500 had it. He just got it fixed, in theory, a few months ago. Even though it's a Ford design issue they still charged him to do the fix they have implemented. Crazy.

 

[crazy jerry]

No, I just haven't heard about it. Of course, I don't know how much its actually a plague - I know a few people with newer ones who have never experienced it on their trucks.

have a look through ford-trucks.com in the '17+ super duty section.. hardly a day goes by without a death wobble thread on the first page.

 

[SeppW]

Death Wobble causes:
-Track bar
-Steering stabilizer
-Tires
-Alignment, normal wear and tear of components, etc

 

[lpennock]

What brand and model of tires are you running?

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[bigdodge]

At that mileage I would just get a new Trac bar regardless.

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[wallacemf]

Agree on the track bar, although most of the previous posts are valid. Here is an interesting article about death wobble from Thuren Fabrication-

https://www.thurenfabrication.com/tech/death-wobble-in-depth.html

 

[John Jensen]

FYI
I have a relative and a friend who own 2004 Ford F350, 6.0 diesels. Both experienced the wobble and no one could find the problem. Upon close tire inspection, they found rear tire/tires were coming apart. Replaced the tires and no more death wobble.

 

[FlatbedHemi]

Well, the tires are cupped pretty bad because of being out if alignment, but the alignment is now fixed. I don’t experience the problem anywhere except that one spot, and I drive all over the place on some pretty rough farm to market roads. Shocks are not that old. Maybe 20k miles on em. Steering stabilizer is almost brand new , replaced a couple months ago.

 

[Hydraplane]

Lots of components can do this, basically any joint where side to side play can result in the front tires.

Track bar ends
Tie rods
Drag link
Wheel bearings
Ball joints

The tolerance in all the parts can stack up so the total is more than the individual motion at any one place.

Seems less common in the HD trucks than lighter stuff, but I have experienced the same in one of five HD Rams I’ve had.

And also the trust but verify mentioned, sometimes "slack" is an opinion. With big tires it doesn't take much to allow the death wobble. Don't rule out any rubber mounted parts. I have seen it in Fords, Chevys, Jeeps and RAM...

 

[FlatbedHemi]

What brand and model of tires are you running?

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

Cooper ST Maxx

 

[Narg]

Sounds like you need new shocks.

 

[sam darakjy]

I think any of these items from Rough Country would help with this situation.

https://www.roughcountry.com/dodge-...rrec=true&find=2018-dodge-ram-2500-4wd-739640

https://www.roughcountry.com/steeri...rrec=true&find=2018-dodge-ram-2500-4wd-739640

https://www.roughcountry.com/forged...1004.html?find=2018-dodge-ram-2500-4wd-739640

 

[Six8888]

Well, the tires are cupped pretty bad because of being out if alignment, but the alignment is now fixed. I don’t experience the problem anywhere except that one spot, and I drive all over the place on some pretty rough farm to market roads. Shocks are not that old. Maybe 20k miles on em. Steering stabilizer is almost brand new , replaced a couple months ago.

Cupping is a sign of bad shocks not alignment. Get new shocks.

 

[Big D's Ram]

I had this issue with a 2008 Chrysler 300, it ended up being the front lower control arms. Everything looked fine but when I took it apart you could see the bushing (where it mounted to the engine cradle) had cracked and deformed.