[texasbbj]

I found good information on this site in reference to a problem called
the "Death Wobble" so I wanted to give back to it and give others
the info to the solution for me. Dodge 2001-3500 Ram 2 wheel drive.
Being a 2 wheel drive and having the "Death Wobble" seemed to be
rare, compared to 4 wheel with a lift kit, where most of the wobbles
seemed to come from. I had SEVERE-Earthquake-wobble in my front end
after hitting "some" potholes. Not All. Very Irregular times-different speeds
and some 400 miles apart, some 10. Took truck to 2 Dodge Dealers-Who
said they could find nothing, everything was tight just probably needed 2
front tires. But that did nothing, $350.00 later. Still had the death wobble.
In case no one has been thru that...well my description is what I might
imagine it would be like...to drive thru "The Gates Of Hell". Anyway....
went to Struhals tires...no help....alignment specialist....no help. Called
3 other dodge dealers....no help...Finally I was referred to "4 Wheel Parts"
in Houston, Texas.....and FINALLY...someone understood the "Death Wobble"
Said it was NOT typical for a 2 wheel drive and after a 10 minute inspection
that revealed a bad pittman bar AND a bad idler arm. Both had alot of
play in them. Apparently Dodge Rams have 0 tolerance level for those type
of problems. They replaced those items and I have not had the problem
since! And I went back to the Dodge Dealerships that said they could find
nothing wrong, and told them they should hire better mechanics that would throughly research a problem. Made me feel better anyway!
The one thing that I found after my net search was that 2 wheel
drive Rams...that had this problem....seems to be the ones that pull 5th
wheels alot as I do.
Well that was my solution and hope that this helps someone in
the future.

 

[Grantman31]

Thanks for the great info! I am sure someone on here will find it useful when they research death wobble and find your post. That is odd that the dealers didn't suggest that in the first place. It seems they would want to make money on those parts and would try anything. Well, thanks again, I hope I don't ever experience that.

 

[chizzle1]

just as some added information: what causes the death wobble are vibrations occuring from worn parts, like the above stated idler and pitman arm. With enough play they can create harmonic vibrations that will reach the point of being a 'death wobble'.
i think the reason it occurs more often on 4x4 vehicles is the added vibrations from the front d/s and axel creating additional vibration and harmonics.