Death wobble while braking?

[texas503]

My truck (1997) just started to have the death wobble only while braking. I only does it sometimes. The first time it did it the wobble was bad. There was no slight vibration that has built over time. I did recently replace tires. Do you have any words of wisdom?

[fire176969]

Check your track bar, ball joints, tie rods, and 4 link bar bushings. Mine recently started the death wobble every so often due to the track bar. It never got to bad to handle so I ignored it. The one day the output shaft of my steering box snapped in half. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[Mopar1973Man]

Never assume anything... :smart:Fire176969 I'm glad you not hurt or caused any damage with your truck. As for the Death wobble it seem more common with oversized tires and lift kits than with stock trucks. But yes even stock trucks can get it as well and all front suspension part have to be looked at closely. (Ball joint, tie rods, steering shock, shocks, track bar, etc.)

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

balljoints are my suspicion as i have a vibe on left tire and the balljoints are going on that side.

[dorkweed]

balljoints are my suspicion as i have a vibe on left tire and the balljoints are going on that side.

Ball joints IMHO, are usually not the "true" cause of DW,,,,,,,,,,,but may surely contribute to it because they're loose. The most likely causes are worn track bar bushings, steering box play, and lift kits via blocks only (as it changes the camber and shifts the axle slightly to the drivers side putting stress on the control arms and their bushings)!!! For some reason that I cannot figure out, it also seems that DW occurs more frequently with BF Goodrich All Terrians TA's. That's solely based on all the DW threads I've read over the years on various forums.

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

Ball joints IMHO, are usually not the "true" cause of DW,,,,,,,,,,,but may surely contribute to it because they're loose. The most likely causes are worn track bar bushings, steering box play, and lift kits via blocks only (as it changes the camber and shifts the axle slightly to the drivers side putting stress on the control arms and their bushings)!!! For some reason that I cannot figure out, it also seems that DW occurs more frequently with BF Goodrich All Terrians TA's. That's solely based on all the DW threads I've read over the years on various forums.

well ive replaced everything with 1 ton components, new trackbar, steering box brace. it was after i hit a pile of what i thought was snow was actually ice and it tweeked the balljoints plus took the alignment off a bit. i may have bent the hub itself so i got some work to do... my fault lol

[Clanton24v]

That is a scary pic of the pitman arm wow

[texas503]

Well I have no lift kit and as far as tires, they are 265/75/16 Michellins. How do I check the track bar etc... The DW has been very intermittent, but started so suddenly, I don't really understand. I have put about 20,000 miles on the truck since I bought it. The guy I bought it from mentioned some vibrations he had at one point, but had said new rotors and pads had helped alot. I have had no issues since buying it. Is the track bar hard to replace?Has anyone had any experience with the BD steering box brace?Thanks

[stodg73]

When braking, do you feel a little bit of pulsing through the pedal?Have you had to do any hard braking lately?If any of these are true, you have warped rotors.

[Haggar]

Texas,You have to inspect the front suspension! You can do it at the house with jacks, prybars and a friend. Or take it to a GOOD alignment shop. I mean GOOD. Forget the chain stores for this, talk to the manager and tell him what you are looking for.What you are looking for is ANY relative movement in any two adjacent components. lay under the truck, and with the engine off, have a friend start slowly rocking the steering wheel left and right. put your hands on each of the joints TOUCHING both components of the joint. If you feel one part move and the other part not move, it is bad. Even just the slightest bit!!!! NO, just a tickypoo is NOT ok!!!! This will get your steering. (turn engine on, and have him grind it left and right to look at steering box/frame movement.) steering box type trouble usually only happens with wider than stock tires and or lift kits.Now put the frame on jackstands. Wheels off ground. use a pry tool (4' long 2x4) to lift a wheel. Put your hands on upper and lower ball joints to steering knuckle. while buddy is lifting wheel, have him grab tire at 12 o'clock and rock it in and out of wheel well. Keep feeling, and looking for funny movement. If you feel it or see it, it is wrong. Check the control arm bushings!!! have buddy try to move wheel fore and aft. since the frame is supported and axle hanging, you should feel movement in the control arms if they are bad.Track bar is a bit harder to check, but it is sort of the same situation. Have buddy jump up and down on bumper compressing and extending the front suspension. feel for relative movement of track bar to frame or tack bar to axle. (both ends should only rotate, no movement in axial directions.)Since you are wobbling on braking, I believe it is a toe change during wheel drag. So it is most likely steering related.GL HTHHag

[stodg73]

Here is an article on Death Wobble

[fire176969]

That is a scary pic of the pitman arm wow

Yeah, luckily it didn't break while driving. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[Haggar]

Stodg,That is a great write up! I had read it many moons ago, but couldn't find it again. The only thing I respectfully disagree with, there should be 0 (Zero) movement. The part is worn if it moves (excepting old style 2pc wheel bearings, but then it becomes a game of not enough/too much movement). I agree that many of us "let it go a bit" but we know we are on borrowed time, and are giving up some tire wear etc, for a more convenient time to change the parts. Hag

[mr.mindless]

Track bar is a bit harder to check, but it is sort of the same situation. Have buddy jump up and down on bumper compressing and extending the front suspension.

Very good and thorough writeup - this is the only point I have a comment on. The track bar is put under load when steering so this movement can be looked for at the step where the tires are on the ground, steering back an forth. The track bar/ axle/ frame will be moving side-to-side relative to one another with worn joints or bushings in the track bar. One other thing to potentially look for is tie rod or drag link deflection possibly indicating a weak spot or crack. I once got in a fight with a curb while maneuvering a trailer in a TIGHT spot and bent my tie rod; a couple days after I straightened and sleeved it I got bad steering play. Under 100 miles later my drag link was in 2 pieces with a cracked adjuster sleeve. Thankfully it happened on a city street again maneuvering my trailer and not on the interstate 10 miles sooner. I dug for a pic but I guess I didn't take one of the hanging steering linkage...

[fire176969]

Very good and thorough writeup - this is the only point I have a comment on. The track bar is put under load when steering so this movement can be looked for at the step where the tires are on the ground, steering back an forth. The track bar/ axle/ frame will be moving side-to-side relative to one another with worn joints or bushings in the track bar. One other thing to potentially look for is tie rod or drag link deflection possibly indicating a weak spot or crack. I once got in a fight with a curb while maneuvering a trailer in a TIGHT spot and bent my tie rod; a couple days after I straightened and sleeved it I got bad steering play. Under 100 miles later my drag link was in 2 pieces with a cracked adjuster sleeve. Thankfully it happened on a city street again maneuvering my trailer and not on the interstate 10 miles sooner. I dug for a pic but I guess I didn't take one of the hanging steering linkage...

My track bar was really bad but didn't show any movement just turning the wheel back and forth. I put a pry bar between the track bat and frame and the ball and socket end had about 3/8 of an inch of movement up and down. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[texas503]

Thank your all for your help, it looks like I have a little work to do.

[CUMMINSDIESELPWR]

since i do a lot of offeoading my trackbar bolt wallered out the hole on te axle side and it had play in it. so i took a chunk of 5/8" steel, stuck it in the box where the trackbar sits in and no more movement on that side. some weld a heavy duty thick washer to the hole to do the same. im still going to do the 3rd gen trackbar upgrade next year. plus new steering box and pump. the steering brace took a lot of slack out of the worn sector shaft movement and im very pleased with it!

[fire176969]

I checked my ball joints yesterday. I tried jacking the truck up and using a prybar and had no movement but saw the camber angle change when I was jacking the truck up. The only way I saw the movement was to actually watch the balljoints while jacking up the axle. The steering knuckle would actually not start moving up until the play in the balljointswas taken up, about 1/4 inch in my case. So it is time for balljoints for me. Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[Haggar]

Fire,Good catch!!! That was what you were looking for!! That little bit of relative movement.Glad you found it!!! Replacing them can just be a bear. They can be TIGHT in the axle.Hag

[texas503]

Well it was track bar. Thanks for the help.