Death wobble

RDF

MEMBER
1999 DODGE RAM

Four Wheel Drive Automatic 140000 miles

My truck is a v 10 I believe a factory lifted 4/4 1999 I had the power steering replace and when I picked it up I couldn't drive it for more than 35 mph the steering vibrated so much I thought I was about to die because the wheels would fall of soon
I understand this is called the death wobble and can be caused by a number of front end issues can you suggest the most common fix and what I should look for when determining what should be replaced

1 Reply

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

This issue is common on a twin I beam suspension set up when something in the steering, suspension, or tires are worn.

Here is a guide that will talk about some of these items but not all:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/steering-wheel-shakes-when-accelerating-or-braking

The most common cause of this is a weak steering dampener or a worn tie rod end so those need to be checked first. Next is tires so rotate them front to back and see if the issue goes away.

Lastly, I am not sure which truck you have but I am not aware of any factory lift kits so if the truck is lifted, it is most likely aftermarket. If that is the case, then this needs to be checked as well for correct installations.

To check the dampener, we need to remove it and see if you can move it by hand. If you can then it has failed and needs to be replaced.

Please run through this info and we can go from there. Thanks