# death wobble



## woosha (Sep 28, 2003)

My friend just got a 2006 dodge 1500 quard cab 4x4 4.7
He put a 2 inch lift in the front and now if he tows his trailer he has death wobble.:realmad:
Or when he puts in 4x4 it shakes side to side
Truck has 12000 miles on it.
How can we stop this. Woody


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## terrapro (Oct 21, 2006)

he needs to shim the front diff. his trans axle is out of alignment


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

woosha;453558 said:


> My friend just got a 2006 dodge 1500 quard cab 4x4 4.7
> He put a 2 inch lift in the front and now if he tows his trailer he has death wobble.:realmad:
> Or when he puts in 4x4 it shakes side to side
> Truck has 12000 miles on it.
> How can we stop this. Woody


Did he remove the track-bar?
http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=49686

Dodge trucks do not have a "trans axle" so how could it be out of alignment?


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## terrapro (Oct 21, 2006)

SnoFarmer;453583 said:


> Did he remove the track-bar?
> http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=49686
> 
> Dodge trucks do not have a "trans axle" so how could it be out of alignment?


actually i was just about to come back here and say i do not know a damn thing about dodges though!lol

so how do they transfer power to the front end if there is no form of trans axle?


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## Mark Oomkes (Dec 10, 2000)

terrapro;453587 said:


> actually i was just about to come back here and say i do not know a damn thing about dodges though!lol
> 
> so how do they transfer power to the front end if there is no form of trans axle?


I think it's safe to say you don't know anything about trucks, period.

I don't think any trucks have transaxles, at least none that I'm aware of.

Transaxles are in front wheel drive cars where the engine is mated to the transmission, one assembly more or less, in layman's terms.

Trucks on the other hand, are rear wheel drive vehicles. Engine mated to transmission mated to transfer case. Normally, rear driveshaft turns, engage 4WD by pulling lever\flipping switch and the gears engage the front driveshaft sending power to the front axle.

Go with SF's advice, that's more than likely the issue.

This may not be 100% accurate, but it is at least 95% accurate, which is about 95% more than your initial advice.


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## terrapro (Oct 21, 2006)

Mark Oomkes;453603 said:


> I think it's safe to say you don't know anything about trucks, period.
> 
> I don't think any trucks have transaxles, at least none that I'm aware of.
> 
> ...


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## payton (Nov 3, 2005)

dodge has a bulletin out on the dodge front ends.. shimmy at varying speeds.. to fix the problem it calls for inner out tie rod and some other bull ****. my buddies wife is a service writer for a local dodge.. so i can pull the info on my truck at will.. its kinda nice..

payton


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## woosha (Sep 28, 2003)

*wobble*

this truck has had it when it was brand new!!!
More so when its in 4x4.
dodge cant find nothing wrong!!
Says its the 2 inch lift.
but did it in 4x4 when the lift wasnt there.!!!


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

terrapro;453587 said:


> actually i was just about to come back here and say i do not know a damn thing about dodges though!lol
> 
> so how do they transfer power to the front end if there is no form of trans axle?


Trans-axles are in front wheel drive & rear engine driven cars where the transmission is the axle ,thus a trans-axel.

No big deal the other terminology is the same.
front drive shaft. front axle, differential, transfer-case.

A 2" lift is modest, he will not need to shim up the axle.
actually it may have an adjustable front end as mine does
( just a few turns of a wrench)

Plus his stock track-bar will still work o.k.
He can get an adjustable one from an aftermarket vendor.
Look in any off-road mag, for one.

payton, 
Just be careful when at the dealer they like to sell a lot of extra front end parts as it = big $$$.

But you are right it could be a tie rod but he mentioned he lifted his truck which leads me to believe that he removed the track bar?


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

woosha;453633 said:


> this truck has had it when it was brand new!!!
> More so when its in 4x4.
> dodge cant find nothing wrong!!
> Says its the 2 inch lift.
> but did it in 4x4 when the lift wasnt there.!!!


Is it a vibration or does the steering wheel shake too?
a vibration would have me looking at the front drive shaft?
steering wheel shaking=track bar or steering componets.

My first track-bar went bad at 32k.

I ran in to this at the dealer too, they put it on the alignment rack ,
then told me it was in specs??
I said:::realmad:The D$mm thing shakes, the track bar is bad !

They say

I say,
Put a new track bar on it as it is still under warranty.

They say
but we will do whatever you want if YOU want to pay for it?

I say: put it ON!

When I go to pick it up they hand me the keys and say.
No charge, 

No more wobble...


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## payton (Nov 3, 2005)

who goes to the dealer? my buddies wife works at the dealer he owns and runs his own shop. he has all her pass words and log on info for dodge direct or what ever its called.. we log on from his shop. mine did the same thing after i put the leveling kit it .

payton


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

payton;453714 said:


> who goes to the dealer? my buddies wife works at the dealer he owns and runs his own shop. he has all her pass words and log on info for dodge direct or what ever its called.. we log on from his shop. mine did the same thing after i put the leveling kit it .
> 
> payton


Hummm
I installed new springs that gave me 21/2" lift with no wobbles or problems.

warranty= dealer


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## gotsnow? (Mar 28, 2007)

I just added a 2" leveling kit on the front of my 97 1500 and I have some death wobble when the plow is on; however only every once in a while..... ? I know on jeepsunlimited.com/forums (which I used to frequent when I drove a jeep) they always preached a track bar adjustment would be needed to remedy this issue. David-


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## pinepointe (Jan 3, 2006)

If you own a Dodge 1500 and not a Dodge 1500 Heavy Duty you have a arm suspension with torsion bars. If you own a Heavy Duty 1500 you have a AAM solid front axile. Figure out which type and then figure out a fix.


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## DAFFMOBILEWASH (Dec 9, 2006)

Is the wobble dependent on speed?? At a lower speed is the wobble more agressive than at 50km/h. If so, look for a tire with a broken belt. Had the same issue on a 03 1500 Dodge. Turned out to be caused by the tires were too light duty for the application. By what you said in the post it seems the truck is used for work more than for pleasure.

DAFF


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## cepp (Dec 8, 2006)

ok... dodges track bars are junk, except for the new trucks which have a changed design, which has a eyelet on both ends instead of a ball and socket. none the less they are still prone to wear out. but not as bad as previous year dodge rams. one thing u mentioned is u have a 2" lift or leveling kit on the truck. one concern is when u install a 2" leveling kit on a dodge ram, it kicks the front axle over toward the passenger side becasue of the track bar being solid and non adjustable. death wobble can be contributed to poor alignment. which is what the leveling kit has done. it changed camber and caster on the front end as well. my suggestion is to look into solid steel industries adjustable track bar for your truck. its made for straighting out the front end after a leveling kit. once u get that installed, take it and have it agligned. u could also do a little searching as dodge and cummins forums are huge and the knowledge base to maybe get u better suspension set up tips and specs other than the ones that dodge or anyother alignment shop would have. where u could just print it off and take it to them and have them align it to these specs.


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## plowboy21 (Nov 14, 2007)

did he put the 2 inch keyways on it then crank the **** out of them if so he is binding up the front short shafts on the front between the diff and the hub this hapend to me on my old gmc and it wore the front out with in 20,000 mile so tell him to back them off they r built to level the truck not lift it but that is only if he went keys which i think he did cause i cant find 2 two inch for any dodge truck unless i do a leveling kit with seperat blocks or add a leaf so i desided im going with the one ton 4" lift on my dodge 2500


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## 92XT (Nov 30, 2007)

upon installing a lift kit , an alignment is your next move
caster / camber


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## JCStrasser (Dec 11, 2005)

Check out Thuren Fab for front end parts that work.

http://thurenfabrication.com/products.html

He even had an online mpeg movie showing a "Death wobble"
http://www.thurenfabrication.com/dw.mpeg

John


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

92XT;454927 said:


> upon installing a lift kit , an alignment is your next move
> caster / camber


Caster and camber is set in the axle no adjustment.

Their is an adjustment on the control arms to roll the axle. 
( to put the axle in the proper orientation.)


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## cepp (Dec 8, 2006)

yes.. the adjustable cam bolts adjusts caster... sorry. no camber adjustment yes u are correct.. my bad..



> did he put the 2 inch keyways on it then crank the **** out of them if so he is binding up the front short shafts on the front between the diff and the hub this hapend to me on my old gmc and it wore the front out with in 20,000 mile so tell him to back them off they r built to level the truck not lift it but that is only if he went keys which i think he did cause i cant find 2 two inch for any dodge truck unless i do a leveling kit with seperat blocks or add a leaf so i desided im going with the one ton 4" lift on my dodge 2500


dodges have a straight axle on the front, not torsion bars. just a fyi.

death wobble is when the front axle shifts side to side usually after a bump is hit with the passenger front wheel. sending the truck into a violent shake which can only be riden out. cant hit the brakes or accel to get out of. usually due to poor suspension compents or poor alignment. just another fyi..


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

cepp;455668 said:


> yes.. the adjustable cam bolts adjusts caster... sorry. no camber adjustment yes u are correct.. my bad..
> 
> dodges have a straight axle on the front, not torsion bars. just a fyi.
> 
> death wobble is when the front axle shifts side to side usually after a bump is hit with the passenger front wheel. sending the truck into a violent shake which can only be riden out. cant hit the brakes or accel to get out of. usually due to poor suspension compents or poor alignment. just another fyi..


Correct..

"My friend just got a 2006 dodge 1500 quard cab 4x4 4.7"

?? Does he have one of those IFS trucks??
they tried it for a couple of year-s

If so all of our advice is out the window
If so then take a good hard look at the front drive shaft and axle shafts anything that rotates and the angles
Jack up the front and rotate everything by hand does any thing bind up or is there any slop?

Look at all the u-joints use a small bar and try to wiggle them any slop and they need to be replaced.


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## plowboy21 (Nov 14, 2007)

the new 1500 do not have straight axles unless they just changed back to them i know the 2500 and 3500 do becauce i have a 2500 hemi in the spring im putting 1 ton lift springs in and that the reason that i wwent with the 2500 is for the straight axle i can go to my uncles dealler and see but im pretty sure that they have IFS with a coil over set up putting a leveling kit on will still mess up the short shafts and then cranking up the springs would be the same as cranking the 2" torsion keys all theway up


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## ctc5 (Nov 10, 2005)

okay pretty much everyone here is wrong on the type of front suspension this truck has.Plowboy is right though. The 06 1500 rams have an all new front suspension (no more torsion bars). It is independent front suspension using a strut like you would have on a car it sucks. There has been alot of people complaining about this front end shimmy,some have with out 4x4 on and gets worse when engaged and the 2 inch lift makes it even worse. I didnt have the shimmy without my 2" lift know I do in 4x4 most likely it caused by the harsh cv joint angles go and checkout dodgetalk.com alot of info on this subject.


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