Death wobble????
 

I just bought an 01 2500 5.9,with 150000miles on it. I was taking it to the tranny shop to get it rebuilt. On the wy there i had my first experience with the dreaded death wobble??????? What the hell is that all about? Being that its the first dodge truck I've owned I had never heard or experienced it till the other day. Headed down the highway 70mph hit a lil bump in the road and the front end started shaking violently had to slam on the breaks to about 30mph and get pulled over to the shoulder of the road and pull the seat cover outta my a#$ because itscared the crap outta me! So I needed to ask y'all where do i start trouble shooting this? I checked the ball joints,tie rod ends,they seemed tight??have any of y'all experienced this before?? HELP please:scare2:

Check your caster.

Also with the truck off and the key on turn the wheel back and forth slightly and watch the front end, if the whole truck moves and the wheels stay where they are check the track bar while doing this for play. Mine had wobble starting at 30 mph and my track bar took a crap. Replaced and all is better now.

Track bar for sure. Check your ball joints too. They are notorious for going bad.

Yes what you have is not the death wobble. The death wobble is the play in the steering wheel because of how the steering box is setup on the truck. What you have is most likely a worn out track bar. I just replaced my neighbors for the same reason. I drove theirs, hit a bump at 60, and thought i was going to die lol. I also replaced all the bushings in the control arms since theirs were gone. Now it drives great except for the death wobble :lol88: but i told them to get a sterring box brace from BD and it cures it. Hope this helps :c:

Thanks for the input folks! Is It a common thing? Never owned a dodge so i've never delt with it b4. I guess ill start with the trac bar and go from there.I already checked the ball joints they seemed fine,also checked the tie rod ends and didnt have no play in those either? Thanks for the info again!

Any solid axle 4x4 truck can have this problem when the track bar is worn out. Usually its on the higher mileage trucks but if the trucks has been driven hard on rough roads then it will happen sooner. Its not specific to Dodges. Once you replace your track bar and that fixes it (hopefully), i would recommend getting the steering brace. It takes almost all the play out of the steering wheel. Thats all the "death wobble" is. Extra play in your steering wheel due to the bad design of Dodges steering system. If you look underneath your truck at the steering box, there is a stud with a nut that is the pivot point for the steering shaft to the front axle. Thats where the play comes from. How did you check your ball joints?

Without a doubt the track bar. Its an EXTREMELY easy fix. I did two in the past week. Axle mounted bolt is 18mm I think, you will have to play with the steering a bit because the tie rod is right there. Remove the cotter pin, and the castle nut on the top is 19mm, air gun and a long extension is the easiest way to get her off. Reverse the steps installing it, and no more death wobble :tu:

Death Wobble, No Doubt
 

And judging by the DW starter kit listed in the OP's sig, I'm betting on the ball joints.

Below would be incorrect:
DW can manifest from various different worn out front end parts, or combinations of worn out front end parts, tires, and alignment. But the result is always the same, just as the OP describes: a violent front end shaking.

The death wobble has always been linked to the steering setup on these trucks. Thats why there is companies selling the steering brace boxs to correct it. Ive never heard of it being the shaking in the front end. If it was i would think they would of started calling it the death shake. Just saying. It has always been the excessive back and forth play, or the wobble, in the steering wheel due to the poor design. I have also never heard of ball joints causing a violent shaking like the one described here. At 150k miles and if they havent been replaced then im sure the are needing to but without a doubt his track bar is the main problem.