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Ford Death Wobble

Luvnlife

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Friend of mine has a 2012 Ford diesel 4x4 and is starting to experience a shaking in the front end. It will just all of a sudden start and then he has to get below forty for it to stop. Quick search says it's called The Death Wobble. Anyone experience this and what was the fix. Thanks
 

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I have experienced this on an 08. Had to slow down to 40 as well to get it to stop. Its usually the tires. BFG tires cause this but other brands will to. The truck I was in that did it had a leveling kit that made the caster angle almost 0* so that didnt help either. Check the caster angle and the tires. We had an 06 that did this. Everything got replaced in the front end and even a new lift kit and it still got the death shakes. Finally replaced the bfg tires that still had 70% tread with toyos and everything was fixed.
 

JD D05

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It very very common with Dodge. I had it in two of them I owned, never in my 2012 Ford. One time the stabilizer shack was blown.

One time it almost got me ran over by a dump truck on I-15.
 

rivrrts429

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Go over to the Ford Trucks dot com forum and all your questions should get answered. There is a sticky and Ford alert on the wobble.

I know my dealer makes it a point to check for any issues that may lead to the wobble. Unfortunately I can't recall what it is but the tech came out and explained it last trip in for service. Clearly I wasn't concerned and didn't pay attention lol
 

DILLIGAF

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I HAD THEM AND THEY WERE WILD WHEN IT HAPPENED. GOING INTO A CORNER COULD BE CATASTROPHIC.

sORRY ABOUT THE CAPS...

I resolved mine for the most part by adding a stabilizer to the front. Now, I don't lift any trucks anymore as I don't want to deal with that shit ever again.
 

JD D05

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I HAD THEM AND THEY WERE WILD WHEN IT HAPPENED. GOING INTO A CORNER COULD BE CATASTROPHIC.

sORRY ABOUT THE CAPS...

I resolved mine for the most part by adding a stabilizer to the front. Now, I don't lift any trucks anymore as I don't want to deal with that shit ever again.

Non of my trucks were lifted...
 

Waffles

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I HAD THEM AND THEY WERE WILD WHEN IT HAPPENED. GOING INTO A CORNER COULD BE CATASTROPHIC.

sORRY ABOUT THE CAPS...

I resolved mine for the most part by adding a stabilizer to the front. Now, I don't lift any trucks anymore as I don't want to deal with that shit ever again.

Stabilizers just mask death wobble temporarily, not fix it. My answer is based off everything that ive ever read on the jeep forums which has always been that DW is caused by loose or damaged steering components, and/or incorrect suspension geometry. The FIL had this problem after he was rear ended into a semi in his f250 and DW was present right after he got it back from the body shop. He let it go for a while which led to the front tires scalloping. He took it in to the tire shop for whatever reason and they swore up and down that his tires were the cause of his DW. I told him it wasnt and that this reputable tire shop was full of shit. Long story short, they suckered him into buying a new set of tires(which he needed anyways) that, you guessed it, never got rid of the DW lol.
 

Meaney77

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I experienced it on my 06 all the time and it was terrible and could never replocate it when I took it into the dealer. Only did it after I lifted, eventually went away once I replaced my rims and tires and never did it again.
 

DILLIGAF

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Stabilizers just mask death wobble temporarily, not fix it. My answer is based off everything that ive ever read on the jeep forums which has always been that DW is caused by loose or damaged steering components, and/or incorrect suspension geometry. The FIL had this problem after he was rear ended into a semi in his f250 and DW was present right after he got it back from the body shop. He let it go for a while which led to the front tires scalloping. He took it in to the tire shop for whatever reason and they swore up and down that his tires were the cause of his DW. I told him it wasnt and that this reputable tire shop was full of shit. Long story short, they suckered him into buying a new set of tires(which he needed anyways) that, you guessed it, never got rid of the DW lol.

I just hope I don't have them anymore but I do agree with you looking back on things.
 

JD D05

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Stabilizers just mask death wobble temporarily, not fix it. My answer is based off everything that ive ever read on the jeep forums which has always been that DW is caused by loose or damaged steering components, and/or incorrect suspension geometry. The FIL had this problem after he was rear ended into a semi in his f250 and DW was present right after he got it back from the body shop. He let it go for a while which led to the front tires scalloping. He took it in to the tire shop for whatever reason and they swore up and down that his tires were the cause of his DW. I told him it wasnt and that this reputable tire shop was full of shit. Long story short, they suckered him into buying a new set of tires(which he needed anyways) that, you guessed it, never got rid of the DW lol.

In one of my cases the stabilizer shock was blown replaced and it never happened again, again was 50K miles. Truck had 12K on it when it happened.
 

dezertrider

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Get a heavy duty cross stabilizer bar and a dual shock stabilizer. The stock stabilizer bushings get loose and the death wobble gets worse over time. Im not sure if I have the correct name but its the bar that holds the front end from going side to side
 

Meaney77

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Im not sure if I have the correct name but its the bar that holds the front end from going side to side

Track bar, make sure its torqued to factory spec, something ridiculous like 400 ft lbs. I know when I experienced it, I did my research- I replaced the stabilizer, an re torqued everything and nothing fixed it until I replaced the rims and tires.
 

pronstar

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Any vehicle with a live front axle is susceptible to DW.

While BFG A/T's often contribute on 3rd gen Ram trucks and likely others, worn components is basically the cause and it can be masked by stabilizers.

I'd follow in the footsteps of others and read up on the forums. Each make tends to have slightly different, but related, solutions.
 

HavaToon

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I've owned many Jeeps and dealt with it on most of them. It is always a CASTER issue or a worn part of the steering or suspension. Stabilizer are not a fix they are a bandaid and so is blaming it on tires.
 

Instigator

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I have never had a GM Product do this! Might be possible but I have never had one.
As to the OP fix for the Death Wobble, Buy a GM Product!:D
Just Sayin:D
[video=youtube;8EuQ6f8rgT4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EuQ6f8rgT4[/video]
 

JD D05

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I have never had a GM Product do this! Might be possible but I have never had one.
As to the OP fix for the Death Wobble, Buy a GM Product!:D
Just Sayin:D
[video=youtube;8EuQ6f8rgT4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EuQ6f8rgT4[/video]

IFS...Whole other set of problems.
 

Waffles

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I have never had a GM Product do this! Might be possible but I have never had one.
As to the OP fix for the Death Wobble, Buy a GM Product!:D
Just Sayin:D
[video=youtube;8EuQ6f8rgT4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EuQ6f8rgT4[/video]

Straight Axle > IFS all day.
Id rather have a bit of death wobble than have gm/chevys infamous glass tie rods fail on me on the road ;)
 

RogerThat99

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I had an 05 F-350 with 35" Toyo MT's. It would get the Death Wobble every couple of years. They would replace a trailing link or something in the front end (I can't remember who it was called) and it would fix the problem until it wore out again.

For mine, a dip in the road, like a slightly recessed manhole cover, would cause it more than a bump would. You couldn't ride it out. The only solution was to slow down to about 40 mph.
 

Hondo-407

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FYI... Not a Ford expert or owner. My previous employer had a large fleet of F-250's with numerous ''Death Wobble" complaints from the foremen driving them on a daily basis. Almost 2 years of trial and error by both the dealer and our shop it was determined the rivets attaching the suspension components to the frame had came loose. I recall the fix being removing ALL the rivets and replacing them with Grade 8 bolts...
 

pronstar

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I have never had a GM Product do this! Might be possible but I have never had one.
As to the OP fix for the Death Wobble, Buy a GM Product!:D
Just Sayin:D


I've never had the front control arms rip off my 3/4-ton Dodge truck when off-roading.
The fix for this is to buy a Ferd or Dodge, just sayin' :skull
 

spectra3279

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I have a dodge 4x4 with bfgs. I have never had this problem. On the dodge diesel boards it usually ends up being track bar related. Lifted trucks and stock track bar. It throws off the geometry. Most of them went with an adjustable track bar and set correctly for their lift.
 

AzGeo

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Caster ...........
 

RogerThat99

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On the dodge diesel boards it usually ends up being track bar related. Lifted trucks and stock track bar. It throws off the geometry. Most of them went with an adjustable track bar and set correctly for their lift.


I couldn't remember the name of it, but the track bar was the problem on mine.
 

Luvnlife

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Truck is all stock with Michelin tires. He balances and rotates every 6000. Truck is a Starbucks Queen, never off-road and babied freeway miles 168000 miles. I said all stock but has Fox shocks
 

HavaToon

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Truck is all stock with Michelin tires. He balances and rotates every 6000. Truck is a Starbucks Queen, never off-road and babied freeway miles 168000 miles. I said all stock but has Fox shocks

He needs to have the alignment checked and all the steering and suspension joints. Something is worn out.
 

HOSS

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As already stated, BFG`s do this and you need the correct balancing machine for this. Especially on E rated skins. DW is 99% of the time from incorrect alignment.
 

Riverbound

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As already stated, BFG`s do this and you need the correct balancing machine for this. Especially on E rated skins. DW is 99% of the time from incorrect alignment.

My dodge had this issue for ever....once I switched away from BFG the problem went away. prior to that everything I owned had BFG on them, now I run toyos on everything and haven't had any death wobble issues. Stright axle trucks that are prone to this are very wheel and tire sensitive. also make sure all front end components are I good condition and not worn in any way.
 

575cat

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Dodges need later model steering linkage upgrade [ 08 knuckle to knuckle link ] instead of pitman arm to R knuckle , solid trac bar , steering box brace .
 

nordictom

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http://www.wcmotorsport.com/ < This :thumbup:

Find a good alignment shop, I only use JC's Alignment in HB. Had a discussion with JC, he indicated that the manufactures set the caster / camber (I can't remember which one) so women can steer them easier.

There is also a alignment shop in/ near the Auto Center at the 5/405. They are suppose to be pretty good. (sorry, can't remember the name)

NT
 

AzGeo

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http://www.wcmotorsport.com/ < This :thumbup:

Find a good alignment shop, I only use JC's Alignment in HB. Had a discussion with JC, he indicated that the manufactures set the caster / camber (I can't remember which one) so women can steer them easier.

There is also a alignment shop in/ near the Auto Center at the 5/405. They are suppose to be pretty good. (sorry, can't remember the name)

NT

CASTER ........
 

Luvnlife

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Well he has Michelins. He changed the steering stabilizer and it didn't do it for two weeks. His next step was to take it to an allignment shop but we'll never know, he traded it in on a new truck[emoji23]
 

Flying_Lavey

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Straight Axle > IFS all day.
Id rather have a bit of death wobble than have gm/chevys infamous glass tie rods fail on me on the road ;)
A $200 kit that is damn near indestructible fixes that (heimed tie rods). Btw, I have never seen or heard of one failing ON road. Only offroad
I've never had the front control arms rip off my 3/4-ton Dodge truck when off-roading.
The fix for this is to buy a Ferd or Dodge, just sayin' :skull
I have beat the shit out of my '01 1/2 ton Chevy and the front suspension hasn't even flinched.
http://www.wcmotorsport.com/ < This [emoji106]

Find a good alignment shop, I only use JC's Alignment in HB. Had a discussion with JC, he indicated that the manufactures set the caster / camber (I can't remember which one) so women can steer them easier.

There is also a alignment shop in/ near the Auto Center at the 5/405. They are suppose to be pretty good. (sorry, can't remember the name)

NT
Like AZGEO said, Caster. It's the angle of the imaginary line that would go directly through you upper and lower ball joints. Too much caster and it's much more difficult to steer, too little caster and the tires don't want to track straight as well. Although too much in either direction can give all kinds of issues.
 

fishing fool

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I have a 05 that had the death wobble. Got new tires rotate them often and got external steering stabilizers.
 
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