BFG's and Death Wobble

CM19039 · 10-18-2010, 10:32 PM

I have the death wobble on my 2006 Mega 2500 4x4 and was just wondering if you guys think my 315 bfg's could be the problem? Took it to the shop and they said all front end components were fine. They did replace the ball joint that connects to the pitman arm. I guess they had to find something.Had the truck aligned and the same old crap on the way home. Only mod is a 2 1/2" leveling kit. Told the guy I wanted positive castor on it but don't think it was done.

Squidward · 10-19-2010, 01:03 AM

Do a search on DW, you'll find tons of info. Some blame the BFG's, some blame alignment issues due to leveling spacers, some blame worn or broken suspension parts, some blame any combination of the above. Seems to be as many reasons for DW as there are cures. All I can say from personal experience is that I put 100K on an otherwise stock truck on BFG 315's and never had a hint of DW.

Dodgezilla · 10-19-2010, 05:21 AM

I've been on these boards a long long time and have read countless topics on the Death wobble. The one constant that seems to pop up in probably 90% of them is larger tires combined with a leveling kit. Because of this, I will never put leveling spacers in anything I drive. I have never felt the DW.
On the other hand, I have witnessed the DW on a stock looking older Range Rover before and my brother had it in his 05 Excursion that was totally stock...

floridascuba · 10-19-2010, 11:25 AM

I run 305's BFG A/T. I replaced the steering stabilizer. Didn't help. When I bought new tires, it went away. Replaced with BFG A/T.

surfram · 10-19-2010, 11:54 AM

Death wobble is caused by bad steering geometry and tall/heavy tires only make it worse. I ran D-rated 285/70/17 BFGs for 58,000 miles and my current set of E-rated 305/65/17 BFGs are at 26,000 miles. No death wobble.

bradly11 · 10-19-2010, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by surfram

Death wobble is caused by bad steering geometry and tall/heavy tires only make it worse. I ran D-rated 285/70/17 BFGs for 58,000 miles and my current set of E-rated 305/65/17 BFGs are at 26,000 miles. No death wobble.

Exactly...larger tires exagerate an existing problem. Make sure they are balanced correctly. Then you need to jack up the front of your truck and check hubs, ball joints and ALL steering componets. BFG s are a high quality product and I would doubt that just the tire is the actual issue

CM19039 · 10-19-2010, 07:58 PM

I'm going to find out Thursday. I have a buddy with some wheels and tires I'm going to try. I've only had the truck a few months and I'm fed up with it.

Gummin · 10-19-2010, 08:12 PM

I dont know if this will help you at all but heres my 2 cents. I have a 2002 Grand Cherokee with a 3" lift and 265/75/16 balanced BFG all terrains. I used to get awful DW until I lowered the psi in the front tires... haven't gotten DW since.

Dodge4829 · 10-19-2010, 10:09 PM

i wouldnt say larger tires cause the DW, my dad had an 08 with just a leveling kit and stock tires and it had less than 20,000 on it and it had it. Many things can cause DW, larger tires and leveling kit cause's things to wear faster witch in case cause's it. now my dad had an 09 with a leveling kit and 35s and he did the steering stabilizer kit and he never got it so witch in case leaves me to say, each person with the DW could have a diff issue. Many things can cause it Alignment, shocks, balljoints, bushing's bad, tires worn bad, mudd packed tires, and i hope no one says to add dual stabilizers because that does not fix the problem it covers it up. I hope you find a fix

240dan · 10-19-2010, 10:27 PM

I have the same setup (leveling kit and 315 BFGs), I got death wobble after I had the truck aligned before a road trip. Found out the alignment shop took some caster out of the truck

. I maxed out the caster and no more death wobble, ever. These trucks like more caster, I've since bought control arms that allow even more caster than stock arms will allow.

***CD in NM*** · 10-20-2010, 11:04 AM

I'm on my second set of BFG 315's, I got 55K out of them, with no problems whatsoever. I have run them on several different trucks, no problems whatsoever. I rotate mine at every oil change, 7500 miles. I have a KORE 2-1/2" leveling kit, not spacers.

Stock trucks with stock tires have DW, it's a known fact, blaming one brand of tires is rediculous. Take the time to read the DW threads, there have been many who have solved the problem with a new steering stabalizer, some have solved it with a new track bar. It seems that no two trucks are the same, but Chrysler actually had a procedure in a TSB that they go through to determine what is causing it. Ultimately, in the 2006's and 2007's they upgrade the steering components to the 08.5 components. I do not believe that the entire fix is in the upgrade since newer trucks are having DW too.

You could try maxing out the caster to see if it stops your DW, a lot of people have also done that and DW goes away and never comes back.

CD

Danderson · 10-20-2010, 11:49 AM

My take is running around with these butt heavy trucks on a tire that'll only take 50 psi is nuts. Doesn't say much for the structural integrity. I'd consider the Bridgestone/Firestones with excellent build quality and a 65 psi i that size.