Hey guys. I have a 1995 Dodge Ram 3500 5.9 12 Valve and I might think I have death wobble. I'm not totally positive it's death wobble because all the videos I have seen on it are pretty bad. Only I can feel my steering wheel shake back and forth when I hit around 40-50 MPH but it doesn't really shake the whole truck like in the videos. Its definitely annoying but I don't want to just start throwing front end parts at it without knowing the cause. I just bought the truck a few weeks ago and the previous owner showed me the receipts of the majority of front suspension parts, like track bar, pitman arm, etc. And if I keep driving it like it is will it hurt anything like wear my tires? Any help would be appreciated on what I could do.

 

Does it always happen when you're driving 40 - 50 mph? or only if you hit a bump at those speeds?

It can be a few things, the best thing to do is get under your front end and have someone else shake the steering wheel. Watch all the joints for any movement at all, in the pitman arm, tie rod, drag link, track bar ball joint and the lower track bar bushing. Those are all common potential places.

Secondly it could be the unit bearing. Jack one front wheel up at a time and try shaking them in and out from the top to bottom, they should be solid and not move at all.

Even new parts can be defective, and crap out on you.

 

a vibration could also be felt at them speeds by u joints
but if its in the wheel probably a front end part

 

Thanks for the replies.

I feel like it is always happening but sometimes it will be very mild and i can feel it a little bit in the steering wheel but then other times it can be pretty bad and I can feel it in the steering wheel and in the bottom of my seat. But you can't hear anything like in most videos I've watched.

Okay thanks for the info. I will start checking for any movement when I can get another person to move the wheel .

Tell me about it, I was helping my friend replace a radiator from Auto Zone and we got 2 cracked radiators in a row...

If i keep driving on it will it hurt anything?

 

if it's happening at consistant speeds like you say it could be just a tire out of balance or even a slightly bent rim.get the tires checked out first, check your wheel bearing hub & those u joints as some else said.i experienced the death wobble earlier this year,it was pretty scary,i nearly lost control of the truck @65mph.with mine it i knew i needed new shocks,replaced them no problem since.hope this helps narrow it down for ya.

 

Alrighty. Thanks for the help guys. I will post a result when I find the problem. Soon hopefully!

 

has the truck been aligned recently? i would get it aligned i had terrible death wobble after leveling my truck i put a hell bent steel steering stablizer bar on it a solid steel industry adjustable track bar and re aligned it all at once and that got rid of it... probably just needed the alignment...

 

I had the death wobble a while back would hit a bump and there it went shaking like crazy. changed the shocks out and it is mostly gone, still feel a little vibration. Should just need a quick alignment. Good luck hope you can find the problem quick before spending too much money.

 

i have experienced the death wobble also, when a person has never experienced it and it happens it was probably the closest i have ever come to crapping all over myself in a vehicle. i fixed my problem by changing the tract bar it had a bad bushing the drag link was also in bad shape so i changed it also. the problem went away but that slight nervousness when i hit a bump is always there.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys!

It was just recently aligned about a month ago when the front end parts were replaced before I bought it.

But! I found the problem...
After checking for any play or movement in the front end I went and jacked the passenger front side up and got a pry bar underneath the tire and the whole tire was wobbling like crazy.. ALL 8 lug nuts were loose.. I don't know if someone is just retarded and forgot to torque them or some punk kid in my neighborhood loosened all of them trying to vandalize my stuff (not the first time). It just happens that the passenger front is the only wheel I'm missing the center cap and the lug nuts are exposed.

At least all of the death wobble is gone and I didn't have to go through the front end. Thanks for all the help guys!