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My experience with Death Wobble

2K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  trm205 
#1 ·
I just recently got done "revamping" my front end so to speak and I just thought I would share the experience with everyone. I always thought I was lucky not to get the dreaded DW everyone is always talking about on the Forums but it finally happened. Talk about scary, I was afraid to drive over 50 for quite a while. I gathered the parts up over a period of about a month, this is everything I did:

Ball Joints
Axle Shaft U-Joints
Shocks
08.5 Steering Upgrade w/ Pitman Arm
Energy Polyurethane Control Arm Bushings (Upper only I already have HD lowers with Poly bushings)
Energy Polyurethane Sway Bar Bushings
BD Diesel Sway Bar End-Links (Holy Cow these things are heavy duty!)
Billstein SS Steering Damper
Steering Box Brace from Dodge Ram Steering Gear Box Stabilizer - Don's braces are top notch and the customer service is excellent!
Luke's Link Track Bar Bushings

Most of the work was pretty straight forward but the shocks were a straight up nightmare. The [Captive Nuts?] both broke so the bottom shock bolts would only spin in place. After spending a few hours trying to get wrenches and sockets in place with no luck I put some jack stands under the diff unhooked everything and lifted the truck up so I could pull the coil springs out and weld those nuts in place. Other than that the job was pretty easy and I have absolutely 0 traces of DW left. My steering is tighter and much more responsive almost like a little car with R&P steering. My truck has 211,000 on the clock and I have no plans on getting rid of it so it was money well spent!
 
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#2 ·
What was the price of it all roughly if you don't mine me asking? My truck doesn't death wobble excessively but it shakes a little bit when over 45 and i want to rebuild my front end soon. I'm sure pricing on a 2nd gen will be a little different.
 
#3 ·
This is just off the top of my head so its more of an approximation but here goes:

Ball Joints 400ish (this price can very depending on the brand i.e. Carli's are more in the 1000 neighborhood)
08.5 Steering 300
U-Joints 100
Shocks 300-400 for all 4
Energy Control Arm Bushing Kit 100
Energy Sway Bar Bushings 30
Billstein Steering Damper 80
BD Diesel End Links 100
Steering Box Brace 120
Luke's Link Track Bar Bushings 40

Those are just approximations but all in all it was right around 1200 bucks to do everything and that was with me doing all the work. Having done all of this I can say it was well worth the money IMHO.
 
#5 ·
What ball joints did you go with? That's the #1 issue with dead wobble these 3rd gens have. I went with Dynatrac back in 2010 and love them. So far, so good!
 
#8 ·
I'm sure it varies from truck to truck but for me it was the track bar bushings giving me the most trouble. All the components in the system have to work together so I'm not sure that you can really rank one above the other. This setup isn't really as bad as some people make it out to be, if you take care of it than it will take care of you.
 
#10 ·
What u-joints did you install that were only $100??

Best price I found on Spicer 5006813 were $126 shipped for a pair...no way I was using anything other than the Spicers. Good list of parts there. I also have to ask - when did you replace your hubs/wheel bearings or are you already running a free-spin kit? A truck with over 200k on the clock is surely needing some new hubs/bearings, especially when it is so easy to replace them while tearing it down to a ball-joint install level of dis-assembly.

Good job on the install though, glad it improved your ride.
 
#13 ·
Hey Mike I was checking out your sig and I was looking at the Ultragauge. Seems pretty cool for $70. How do you like it and will it read rail pressure? Just curious I might grab one...
 
#15 ·
Hey man, sorry for the late reply...yes I definitely enjoy the Ultragauge...best $70 I've spent on anything car/truck related. In fact, the one that is in my Cummins was originally purchased back in 2009 for my '05 V6 Accord. Ran it in that car for about 4 years, bought the Cummins, put the old one into the truck and bought a new one for the car.

I really like them though. They will show trouble codes, pending trouble codes (ones that a problem is developing but has not yet tripped the check engine light), tons of parameters, and yes it will show rail pressure. Rail pressure is dependent on the rail pressure sensor on our trucks though, so if that sensor ever goes out then it would read incorrectly. But mine has been spot on for rail pressure readings. It does not show oil pressure or oil temp (something the much more expensive ScanGauge might show), but the newer versions may show this...again, mine is 4 years old in the truck but I'm sure a call to the UltraGauge folks could clear that up.

I use it to show rail pressure, coolant temp, battery voltage, intake temp, engine load, and a few other odd and end parameters. I think you'll enjoy it for $70. Plus it's something that can be hooked up to any car to read trouble codes, help learn how to drive a particular car more efficiently for better MPGs (as I did with my Accord), etc. Hope that helps.
 
#16 ·
It connects the axle to the frame keeping it from "tracking" one way or the other its about 3' long or so and about 1inch in diameter. I replace my bushings with the moog problem solvers
 
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