PerfEm
Junior Member
It has been many years since I have been so frustrated by a vehicle problem as I have been with this darned "Death Wobble"!! I've tried a lot of things, but haven't found the magic part yet that would make it all go away.
So far I've tried:
- new Rancho steering stabilizers (double shock set)
- new KYB shocks all around
- new steering linkage
- stabilizer bar bushings and end links
- and a bunch of other stuff that my mind is too fried right now to think of (been a long day!)
Everything helped, and the test drive went well, so I took the love of my life out for a spin to brag a bit. Spoke too soon!! There is a freeway bridge on I-15 just north of Blackfoot that is so constructed as to induce the death wobble traveling north or south at 75 mph. I hit that and was all of a sudden all over the road! The love of my life, a very patient woman who has financed me through all this, was definitely not impressed!
So I ordered a new track bar with new bushings. It came on Wednesday and I immediately installed it.
The new bar is much heavier and stronger than the OEM bar, especially at the ends where it attaches to the bushing housings. You can see it in the pictures.
Zooming in closer you can see that the old bushings have had it. Just like steel, rubber fatigues and wears out. The old bushings were badly cracked. The track bar runs from the frame near the left wheel to the bottom of the right strut. It basically holds the axle and frame in their proper positions. With the bushings shot, I was probably getting about 1/8" play at each end, so sideways forces on the wheels could allow the axle to move horizontally (left and right) up to 1/4".
Two things to see in these two pictures. 1) notice how much bigger the wrists are on the new bar! 2) notice the cracks in the rubber bushings of the old bar. The rubber has been weakened enough there to allow the bushing sleeve to slop around in the bar. Not good!
There is one 3/4" (wrench size) bolt through each end, and the 13/16" nut on the other side where it's hard to get to has a long steel tab welded on to it so it hits the frame and won't turn when the bolt does, either direction. Very considerate engineering!
The new bar made an immediate difference in the ride, road feel and handling! Well worth it for those attributes, but I got it to address the death wobble.
It didn't! Front end still danced going across the ends of that bridge. Spousal support unit (SSU) started making impatient noises about how long this cure was taking, and other resources it was also taking. I couldn't argue with her! I was starting to feel terminal discouragement, too!
And that is why the red vehicle in my driveway tonight looks more like a 2012 Nissan Rogue than a 2005 SLT 2500 Big Horn! I know when I'm licked. Hated to do this, but the Rogue actually meets our needs better than the Ram. We bought the Ram to pull our 30' 5th wheel camper, but a maple tree fell on it before I could bring it back out here from MN. So I don't need the truck any more. And, oh, by the way, I more than doubled my mpg on the trade.
So far I've tried:
- new Rancho steering stabilizers (double shock set)
- new KYB shocks all around
- new steering linkage
- stabilizer bar bushings and end links
- and a bunch of other stuff that my mind is too fried right now to think of (been a long day!)
Everything helped, and the test drive went well, so I took the love of my life out for a spin to brag a bit. Spoke too soon!! There is a freeway bridge on I-15 just north of Blackfoot that is so constructed as to induce the death wobble traveling north or south at 75 mph. I hit that and was all of a sudden all over the road! The love of my life, a very patient woman who has financed me through all this, was definitely not impressed!
So I ordered a new track bar with new bushings. It came on Wednesday and I immediately installed it.
The new bar is much heavier and stronger than the OEM bar, especially at the ends where it attaches to the bushing housings. You can see it in the pictures.
Zooming in closer you can see that the old bushings have had it. Just like steel, rubber fatigues and wears out. The old bushings were badly cracked. The track bar runs from the frame near the left wheel to the bottom of the right strut. It basically holds the axle and frame in their proper positions. With the bushings shot, I was probably getting about 1/8" play at each end, so sideways forces on the wheels could allow the axle to move horizontally (left and right) up to 1/4".
Two things to see in these two pictures. 1) notice how much bigger the wrists are on the new bar! 2) notice the cracks in the rubber bushings of the old bar. The rubber has been weakened enough there to allow the bushing sleeve to slop around in the bar. Not good!
There is one 3/4" (wrench size) bolt through each end, and the 13/16" nut on the other side where it's hard to get to has a long steel tab welded on to it so it hits the frame and won't turn when the bolt does, either direction. Very considerate engineering!
The new bar made an immediate difference in the ride, road feel and handling! Well worth it for those attributes, but I got it to address the death wobble.
It didn't! Front end still danced going across the ends of that bridge. Spousal support unit (SSU) started making impatient noises about how long this cure was taking, and other resources it was also taking. I couldn't argue with her! I was starting to feel terminal discouragement, too!
And that is why the red vehicle in my driveway tonight looks more like a 2012 Nissan Rogue than a 2005 SLT 2500 Big Horn! I know when I'm licked. Hated to do this, but the Rogue actually meets our needs better than the Ram. We bought the Ram to pull our 30' 5th wheel camper, but a maple tree fell on it before I could bring it back out here from MN. So I don't need the truck any more. And, oh, by the way, I more than doubled my mpg on the trade.
