Death wobble

[ka4bzz]

Glad to meet you Silver Bob.... I had all kinds of problems with that before I finally got it fixed....When I bought the truck used the previous owner had pulled a 5th wheel with it...(the hole pattern in the bed said so anyway)..I tried all kinds of different things to get it fixed ...The Dodge dealer mechanic acted like he had never heard of it ...so I just wrote him off...It seems to be fairly common on older Ram trucks with that solid front axle but the fix isn't easy.....also tires play a big part...my truck has 285- 17" tires on it.... they don't balance with little weight....makes you wish you could get tires trued now-a-days... so at least they would be round...I hope this helps this fellow.... u-tube is a wealth of information some good some not so good...but in my case it helped....again good to meet you

Joe (Ka4bzz)

[lanerd]

Originally Posted by Triker56

OP was about Dodge PU with a 5.9L engine steering problem not a Cummins engine problem.

So, then why did the OP post in the "Cummins Engine" forum?

[Dave Fernandez]

Since it is a 4X4 with a solid front axle I would also replace the ball joints. The AAM 9.25 front axle is similar to my 2008 Ram 4X4 which has ball joints.

Bad ball joints can cause the death wobble. Since you have replaced everything else ball joints are the next item on the list. You may also want to look at the unit bearings on the front hubs.

[ROLLNSMOKE]

Originally Posted by telcoman

Anyone had it?

I just bought a 2007 5.9 to replace my 04 Chev (the one with injector issues) and then heard about this. The truck feels a lot more uncomfortable to drive than the chev with what feels like a tendency to oversteer & wander. I had a lot of front end components changed like ball joints and i have just installed the BD diesel steering box brace. that made a big difference, but driving a truck with a solid front axle over the chev is still a big difference.

I spend 5 months a year in an RV in Mexico and they do not sell diesel PU's there so the only engine i can be assured of being able to get worked on is Cummins. I spent last winter babying my dmax back to the US from Guadalajara with is smoking badly from bad injectors. I did 4 sets of those in 125K at $5000 a shot. 2 of the 4 sets wee covered under warranty.

The lastest steering upgrade from Dodge is the fourth gen style. That style is the most up to date they have and it will be going on my 2002 ram 2500 why my front end wears out.
The steering brace help but the death wobble seems to happen most on a loose front end or one that has the wrong settings something to do with camber i believe. The suspension colapses when u hit a certain bump and thats when most get death wobble.
My truck has never had it for some reason??
I would definately get the upgrade kit though. Call the dealer and ask for the lastest "kit". It's quite a bit beefer too than the old set up.

[ROLLNSMOKE]

Update, I said "the latest steering update was the fourth gen set up" I was wrong. I dod go with the beefier (3rd or 4th gen?) set up and it works great on my truck.
But this is only a direct bolt on for 2001-2002 25/3500 trucks I believe.