2013 death wobble

[Big Block 88]

Im at the end of my rope here with the lml. I can not find what the issue is but the truck has developed the most extreme death wobble i have ever seen even our old dodge trucks never shook this hard

Rotated tires, replaced tires, balljoints are tight, new tie rod ends, aligned 3 different ways. No help, somthing has to be bent or failed but i cant find it....

The wobble occurs at 55 and continues through 72 mph. It will damn near rip the wheel out of your hand. The truck has 80k and runs around 30k gcwr 90% of the time. But the wobble only happens while unloaded so i am not sure how long it has been doing it, as the truck is rarely unhooked.

I need some help here guys and gals, i cant figure it out. Tires are showing cupping on the outside tread on both sides. Center link bent?

 

[Dmax87]

What tires are you running? Are they e-rated? Have you checked idler arm? I know what it feels like buddy, I had an 03 dodge a few years ago that I replaced everything on but the gearbox, I put dual steering stabilizer shocks on it, band aided enough for me to sell!!!! But don't sell your lml. No reason for something to bent unless you bent it ha, have you checked underneath while somebody rocks the steering back and forth? Don't jack it up, just rock the wheels back and forth to see what's flexing. Maybe do some research on a steering gearbox as well.

 

[PACougar]

I've had the exact same thing and it was a bad upper ball joint. Have you replaced the steering stabilizer?

 

[duramaxzak]

My 2011 did not come with a steering stabilizer from the factory. Did your 2013 come with one? I ended up buying a Biltein one for my truck.

 

[Big Block 88]

Mine has a stabilizer. The ball joints felt very tight. The tires are cooper at3 and i have had several sets on different trucks never an issue.

I was by myself while wracking my brain underneath it. I had to send the truck to tx today with a full load and im not to comfortable about it hauling if there is an issue but the 3/4 couldnt handle it or even half of the load and the 03 is on its last leg.

I do have a dual stabilizer for my 07 i havent mounted i wonder if it would fit? The stabilizer is identical to the lbz. The center link does look larger for sure. Also have cognito pitman and idler arms maybe they fit?

Btw how much lower are they gonna make these damn air damns? My big head barely fits under it.

 

[Awenta]

Give it to me. You'll sleep better

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[jlawles2]

Have you checked the control arm bushings?

The dodge death wobble is a combination of things starting with ball joints, pitman arm, tie rod ends, and tire balance.

Might also try rotating the tires.

 

[Chevy1925]

what were the outcomes at the last alignment?

 

[Big Block 88]

I tired 2 different alignments one with the trailer and it loaded about 50% weight. The pin weight is definately affecting the front camber. The truck was unhooked and test drove no change put the truck on the rack and put to factory specs, drove with no change.

The truck will be back tomorrow and im putting it back on the rack and if i dont get anything it goes to the dealer. Tires have been rotated and even replaced.

The cupping or onion peeling it is getting on the fronts point me to camber being off do you all agree? The nose lift is somthing we are working on airbags did not help much as the pin weight on the trailer can sit around 10k pretty regularly but when it exceeds that i can measure a 3/4-1.5" lift on the nose. Its no different than a sled truck hooked to the sled as it hits the throttle the nose comes up quickly, difference is the weight is a constant with the bigger 48' trailer there is a 2000 lb pin weight difference between the narrow 48' and the draft width 48'.

Im open to about anything as the dealer here is just terrible and the truck has to leave for the east coast in 4 days.

I will look into the control arm bushings and see what they feel and look like. Ball joints are tight but i am replaceing all of them tomorrow.

One thing i have not tried is turnng down the t-bars.... Perhaps that would help some? I have never had to do it before on the lb7 trucks but they were all 2wd and the lml is a 4x4.

Luckily we love the truck and its our main money maker right now till around june when we will grab another 1 ton but we arent givin up on it.

 

[messejme]

I would advise against adjusting the torsion bars. Most likely the problem you're having is only occurring under the high load conditions of highway driving it will be difficult to duplicate those in a static condition. I would start with ball joints as a possible culprit also look for play in the steering box or in the idler arm. you will need to pry on these things with the assistance of a long prybar or something else to give give you extreme leverage.good luck and let us know what you find

 

[messejme]

also make sure the output shaft on the steering box is not moving in and out of the box.

 

[Big Block 88]

Ok took truck to the dealer they put it on their rack and it showed perfect alignment, and they claimed a slipt belt on 2 tires. So staight to the tire store we went, dismounted the tires and had the wheels checked for balance and round. Both steel inner wheels were bent and out of round. So while the tires were dismounted i had 4 new cooper HT3 tires put on the alcoas and left the steel wheels off the truck, they ended bought back the AT3 i just installed. Went back to dealer and had them check steel wheels and they saw they were out of balance and out of round. Replaced on the inner wheels on warranty i also had the axle checked for bentness. As i thought both inners being bad was odd, axle still showed the factory camber so it was good.

So in conclusion very happy with our local tire shop buying back the tires and hookin us up with new ht3 tires. Happy gm stood behind the wheels when we dont truly know what caused the failures. The truck is riding like a 1 ton caddy again slight vibration still but we will see how it is when loaded, i can deal with a slight vibration over what we had.

Thanks for the help and ideas i hope this helps someone in the future