Death Wabble

[AH64ID]

Unsprung weight is huge, I am getting ready to increase mine by quite a bit. I have slowly been prepping the front end for it over the last few years. I have a steering box brace, Bilstien shocks, Dynatrac ball joints, and Yukon hubs. I am also guessing that with my alignment tomorrow in will find out I need to replace steering components as they were starting to show west at my last alignment 10K miles ago. They haven't had the easiest life with a FAW that is generally over 5K lbs and plenty of nasty roads.

Good timing on my part as the current 08.5+ steering now is eve. Stronger than a year or two ago.

As far as unsprung weight you have to get fairly heavy to have a greater than stock impact. The steel wheeled dually will have the heaviest stock weight with the DRW spacers and heavy steel wheels. The wheels weigh 41.5, tires 51, and I cannot find a weight on the spacers but I would guess about 10lbs each. The front end is the same on all of them, so I would guess that it was designed around a 100lb tire/wheel combo.

[dorkweed]

Just a quick question here……………..

 

The spacer/block/puck style leveling kits………………..are they flat or do they have a slight wedge shape  to accommodate the rotation/arc of the axle after install???

Edited January 2, 2014 by dorkweed

[AH64ID]

No they don't. They are uniform, the spring compensates and the length/design of the control arms is such that the axle doesn't rotate. It does move foreword and aft a little, but no real rotation.

[JAG1]

 Mike and others,  

 

My 02 when it was still stock needed a new track bar because the upper bushing was worn out at 29,000 miles. It was a big surprise with so little miles.

 

The 03 track bar solved this problem with a stronger beefier upper bracket. No more small knuckle bushing. The only reason to spend a little more money for the adjustable was in case I ever wanted a leveling kit

 

 Next the steering box shaft was moving side to side and the area the steering box mounts to was flexing the frame. I was very surprised.  Not only was it hard on the shaft bearing, but, the frame being soft in such a critical area could cause future metal fatigue.

 

The DSS was deigned by an engineer to stop all movement of the shaft and frame flex problems.

Edited January 3, 2014 by JAG1

[Gamble]

I am not entirely sure if its allowed but I am going to agree with both parties and present why!!

 

My last truck was an 06 Mega cab at around 120k miles when sold.  I was running stock tires/wheels and regularly checked my front end for play.  I was on a trip with some family where I hit a rough road to bridge junction and like to have **** my pants because the death wobble was so violent. To give an idea, it shook my truck so hard, when we went to leave our destination my truck wouldn't start because it shook the battery cables off the drivers side battery. (and they weren't loose)   I knew what it was from a previous Cherokee relationship but had not experienced it in my truck ever.   Fast forward I replaced the track bar bushings and shortly there after placed a leveling kit along with 325's on it.  I could tell a noticeable difference in the steering feedback but did not have any DW issues after replacing the bushings.   Having checked bushings on a regular basis it was easy to determine that these are large and heavy trucks and the ability to check these bushings isn't always as easy as we think.

 

Fast forward some more to my current truck.  My 99 has a fully rebuilt front end under it along with a PSC brace and 35's.  My 99 has such better steering than my 06 ever had and I can tell there is no slack anywhere in it.  I intend to put a leveling kit on my truck in the spring as I am tired of the raked look.  

 

The reason I am on both sides of the fence is simple.  Common sense says things that weigh more or stick out further place additional stress be it a large or small amount matters in the sense of TIME.  Larger stresses result in a shorter time before issues arise and like wise the opposite for smaller stresses.  However, the aforementioned portion of a weak factory design IS an issue.  Maybe it met all the standards that it needed to meet, but that does not make it sufficient for all aspects.

 

I am confident my truck would not drive as well as it does without the PSC Brace on it.  I commend Mopar for having two trucks that have done so well but it's a catch 22 for some folks.  My truck would be miserable to drive with 4.10's and stock tires.  I avoid 70 mph like the plague now because of the tach gauge screaming at me, even with the higher gear ratio provided by the 35's.  I can't fathom a 245-265 tire under my truck.  If I can find a 37" tire that doesn't break the scale or the bank I will go up again. Otherwise I may do a front and rear swap. I have confidence in my front end as it is either way.  I have addressed the factory faults and kept the stressors down as best possible. 

[ADawg]

I never had a problem with my truck and the DW until now and I have had my Fabtech 4.5 inch lift on for 8 years now. I didnt think anything of it when my Track bar bolt snapped I was wondering what the heck. I have never experienced the DW it was not until I changed my dampener is when it started. But two months before I replaced the dampener  I would hear this pop/thud. So I had my brother turn the wheel and I could see the dampener move thats why I thought that was my problem. When the real problem is my track bar bushings. Although depends on who you talk to some say get an adjustable track bar because the bigger tires wear the bushings out faster and some say just replace the bushings. Why am I replying with this I dont know I just thought why not