Cummins Diesel Forum banner

3rd Gen QCLB 4x4 Blown around on the freeway towing and not towing

2K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  Dudeonthenet 
#1 ·
Here's the deal guys, I bought this truck about a month ago and drove it back from Oklahoma. Its got 116k on it all stock. It did the death wobble on the test drive and the dealer replaced the tires (Hankook MT's 285-70-17) and it was fixed. It has the steering brace upgrade and ball joints are not stock. The truck drives straight and steering is firm. The left side wheel bearings were also replaced. When driving back from Oklahoma the truck would get pushed around by just about any vehicle that passed me or I passed. I have heard that the new tires can play a factor in the wandering affect but what I am experiencing seems a bit extreme to be related to "new tires". I now have about 3000 miles on the tires. I just had the first opportunity to tow with it as I had to bring my empty toy hauler (18 ft) in for some work about a 150 miles away. I will be damned if this rig is just a freaking handful to drive. It is a constant state of correcting from getting blown around by passing or being passed by medium sized cars. It really gets hairy when cars are staggered on the left and right. Several times i found myself getting sucked over the line into the other lane.

The truck has a leveling kit, stock suspension other than that and the Hankooks Dynapro MT tires.

I have towed this trailer with a 2004 Silverado 1500 gasser, and with a 2014 QCLB CTD with no issues. The trailer is level and I am using weight distribution bars. The trailer weighs about 4500 lbs empty. Normally, I would think this is towing setup issue but the truck behaves the same without the trailer just not quite as bad unless there a a decent amount of crosswind.
Does any one have any ideas or experience with this on these 3rd gens? I have read all about the death wobble and have that problem solved. Is there anything else I am missing here? Thanks!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
08.5 steering upgrade may help?
I got the same issue.
I thought it was tires at first but they got 2000 miles on em and it's still not better.
Honestly it makes my truck no fun to drive. Constant battle to keep the thing going straight.
 
#3 ·
I am still investigating exactly what components are involved with the 08.5 steering upgrade. I do know that the left wheel bearing assembly has been replaced, the ball joints, steering stabilizer and the steering box brace kit. My next move is to check the front end alignment and dial in the toe as well as well as the rest of the alignment specs per recommendations with others who have solved the death wobble issue.

I am right with you that this truck is no fun to drive. After experiencing the death wobble at 75 mph in a sweeping interstate turn and now I get blown into other lanes I am beyond frustrated.

While its on the rack I will be checking for any play in the suspension components (control arms, steering linkage etc).

Any other suggestions are appreciated.
 
#4 ·
My upgraded gearbox helped out a lot with mine. I had a lot of steering wheel play that caused constant correcting. My nittos also caused a lot of wandering compared to other tires. Might try having someone turn wheel back and forth and see if any play is present in the track bar and other bushings. Its also hard to find a shop that knows hoe to properly align a lifted truck. If the caster (I think) is too far back it will have a lot of bump steer.
 
#5 ·
Get the alignment checked, make sure the toe is set correctly and set the caster to 5.25 or greater. This will help make sure the dw stays away and should help it track straighter under the conditions yoh see.
 
#8 ·
#6 ·
Truth ^^^

The other part of that is check to see what's worn out, have someone wiggle the steering wheel 20-30 degrees while you watch the linkages. More than likely your trac bar will have slop and the draglink will have slop. Also jack a wheel and check the ball joints. If anything has play replace everything at once that is bad.

The alignment being proper is the biggest thing though
 
#9 ·
Sorry to hear of those issues -- that certainly takes a lot of the joy out of driving a truck. Tires can make an incredible difference in the stability of a vehicle, and not just worn vs new tires. I have had tires on vehicles that had lots of tread, but handled terribly and wandered, then put better quality tires on, and had it drive and handle like a different vehicle.

I guess I was lucky -- I bought a 2004.5 a few months ago -- one owner, Quad cab, short bed 4x4 2500. It was a local dealer trade in on a new truck. The new car dealer brought up all the deferred maintenance -- new brakes all around, a bunch of new front end parts, and a few other items. It has 139K on it now.

Honestly, I am amazed at how solidly it handles, towing or not, considering the miles on it. The steering box must be still in very good shape, or was replaced?, as the truck does not wander at all. I recently drove it through the Palm Springs, CA area of I-10, where all the huge propellers are (allegedly the windiest place in the world), through a terrible wind and dust storm that had motor homes wobbling like they were going to go over. I could feel the truck get buffeted by the winds, but it hardly seemed to move it off track at all. The dust and lowered visibility and avoiding driving next to high profile vehicles that looked like they could tip over were my only problems. My truck already had Michelin tires on it, which was a plus for me, as I have always found Michelins to handle very very well.

Good luck sorting out your handling issues!
 
#10 ·
You could have other problems but tires DO matter. A local tire shop pushes Hankooks and they talked me into a set. I knew in one block that was a mistake. It was treacherous to drive! ANY wind blew it off track. On the way home, I gunned it on a curve and I went all over the road and over the curbs. It felt like I had all flat tires. They get a little better with miles on them but they're still squirrelly. I had them switched to Michelins and they were even a little squirmy til broken in but now I may not ever buy anything but Michelins. I fly and rent a lot of cars and anything with Hankooks is the same. I wouldn't put Honkook on a wheel barrow! I just rented a Kia with Kumhos and they were also squirmy in any wind. Craig
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top