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Death Wobble and Steering Dampner

9K views 20 replies 14 participants last post by  ACD2 
#1 ·
My truck has been in numerous times for the death wobble. They've blamed it on tire balance. Still continued after balance. Blamed it on tires. New tires didn't fix it. I've had the track bar, track bar ball joint, track bar ball join again along with short & long drag links.



Just got back from service and told them it is still doing it. Shakes violently around 70mph when hitting a pothole, transitioning to uneven road, or making sweeping freeway turns. They said everything is fine. They are blaming it on my aftermarket Bilstein steering dampner. They said the truck is not designed to have a single gas dampner. They said replacing with a stock will fix my problem.


Is what they told me correct. Should I not run with the Bilstein?



What have you guys done to correct your death wobble?


Thanks in advance!
 
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#2 · (Edited)
I have not had Death Wobble.
I have used an original Motorcraft, a Bilstein and a NAPA.
None have caused Death Wobble.
They are mounted on genuine Ford parts.

Its a topic that has been discussed before so you might find some good threads with a keyword search until guys respond.
 
#3 ·
Just drive under or over 70.
 
#7 ·
Ever drive through W Texas on 10 at below 70? It's bad enough at 80.

Spoke to the tech guys at Bilstein USA. They stand by their product and it's application on my truck. The state 'our product will not create a 'death-wobble'". I tend to believe them over the dealer. My Bilstein is only 6 months old. But, I will to put on an OEM and see what happens.
 
#4 ·
Read where Jeeps have same issues. Jeep engineers claimed found the problem. They say it’s the dampening. So they suggesting new redesigned damper. Redid gas chamber, valving. Hence they issued TSB or recall or something to change to improved damper.

What they found was gas and valving in their stock units major contributor to wobbles. Especially in cooler climes. Gas will contract, defeats the fluid dampen effect.

Humm, maybe?

Question - are Jeep eng smarter than Ford? LoL.
 
#5 · (Edited)
So gas shocks work fine in cold weather but steering stabilizers don’t?

Headscratch.

Good luck and if it was me, I would keep it under 70 until I get it fixed.
 
#6 ·
I can’t imagine that a Bilstein steering damper would cause death wobble unless it’s old & worn out. I suppose you could check their diagnosis & try a stock damper & see how that works. When that doesn’t work, ask them, “Now what?”.
 
#8 ·
Its a castor and camber problem. It has nothing to do with your damper.
 
#9 ·
You should buy a set of Centramatic wheel balancers. Years ago I had the balance problem and I bought a set of the Aluminum Centramatic wheelbalancers for my 245-70-16 E Michelins on Alcoa classic rims. These wheel balancers are a disc with a rolled tube at the end, filled with a thin liquid oil and BB type shot. As the wheel spins after 23 mph the gyro effect starts working and it will balance the tire/rim 100% all the time. If you have steel rims you get the steel disc wheel balancers. Aluminum rims you get the aluminum disc. At 200-250.00 for a set of four they are worth their weight in gold. When I had new tires installed at Costco the Tech did not torque the nuts at 140 ft. lbs., they were about 90 lbs, some less. When I left the shop I could feel the balancers not working. I went back and had the Tech hand Torque the lugnuts at 140 ft. lbs. and the van runs like a new Benz now at 80 MPH plus. When you let your hands off the wheel you can feel the gyro effect and the van tracks straight with no drifting. When you order a set get a live person on the phone (Not just a website buy with no help) and tell the tech what kind of truck, rims and mods you have and they will design a set for your truck. On the rear I had a small clip on the drum (emergency brake) part of the system, so when the disc balancers went on I had the tech remove the small clip so they would be perfect flush with the drum. I have the 4 wheel ABS brakes, but there is a small clip on the rear and I wanted them to mount perfect. They said did not need to do this, but why not?


What makes these great, if you go 4-wheelin and have mud packed on one side of the rim (usually on the inside where you can't see it) these wheel balancers will correct the imbalance from the packed mud and will keep the tires/rims 100% balanced all the time. The tread wear also wears across very even and gives you so much more life from a set of tires. I bought mine back in or around 2001 and they still work perfect with the lifetime warranty.

Even with other issues you may have, these wheel balancers will help you so much, may even correct all your problems.Look at the videos how they work.

Tire Balancers, Tire Balancing, Wheel Balancer and Wheel Balancing from Centramatic


You will thank me after you get them running. All the best,
 
#10 ·
Disconnect it, drive it, still doing it? If so, not the dampener. What about the wheel bearings? Have those been checked? Front shocks been checked? How are the tires wearing? Clue to me that it is suspension related is you said when you hit a pothole. If it is fine and smooth prior to impacting a pothole, then the pothole is upsetting the fine balance somewhere. A shock could have enough give to cause the wheel to bounce enough to cause the oscillations to start up, once they start they will continue until something else settles it down, such as slowing down.

It is a shock absorber, it softens the blow when the wheel hits something that forces it out of straight ahead, it won't cause the entire steering to go wonky though. If worn it won't help, but wont be the root either. Test with out it connected and see. Then when it still does it, take it back and say, What dampener? If it is still there, but you notice that it is far worse, then replace it with the OEM one as it is worn.

I would also try taking it to an independent shop that specializes in truck suspensions and get their take on the issue.
 
#11 ·
I pointed out the Jeep wobble, what Jeep engineering recognized and their discovery, and a proposed correction. That correction could make many Jeep owners happy, not experienced wobbly driving.

Sorry I didn’t capture the story, adding more details of their efforts, discovery of cause/effect, and corrective actions. The main thing they home in on was temperature effecting the damper functions, especially cooler ambients.

Personally my truck is not a 4x4, twin I-beams setup, have no wobble effect. Know a few Ford owners who experience wobbles, and maybe help a bit. As a teen, was able to drive the old, earlier WWII Jeep, and that thing wobbled a bunch. Found out to stop the wobble take steering move it left-right in big way to wiggle steering straight again.
 
#12 ·
I had the wooble and the dealer worked on it several times to no avail. Finally the tech seen the stock track bar would flex when moving the steering back and forth. Replaced it with a track bar from XDP and solved the problem.
 
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#18 ·
You need more positive Camber

From the couple of things I have read and videos I have watched, some folks think it is linked to having too much negative or close to zero camber.
Similar to what BS Hauler said.
If someone lifts their truck with a leveling kit or some type of kit that doesn't keep the syspension geometric the same as stock setup, (cheap kits), then you induce more negative camber and need adjustment shims to bring the alignment back to positive camber specs. The negative camber while good on a car that races in tight corners, is bad for our trucks.
I'm no mechanic and this is just what I have seen suggested.
You can buy some shims anywhere auto parts are sold, but here is a link (I have no affiliation with Oreillys)
Then get a new alignment with the shims and ask for as much positive camber as they can get you, I have seen a video saying two to three degrees positive camber will not have a wobble.


websiteaddressafterthis: www .oreillyauto.com/shop/b/suspension---steering-16778/alignment-components-16764/caster-camber-alignment-bushings-15769/6c6a7b078bf5/2017/ford/f-250-super-duty
 
#19 ·
Hey Op, I just got an F350 and while I have not experienced "Death wobble", I do get wheel shimmy hitting bumps, and a lot of feedback in the steering wheel. The poster above has the answer. There is a video that explains in good detail the issue and how they corrected it.



Unfortunately, the kit he installed if for 2010 and older trucks, but if you can find an alignment shop that can add a degree or two of caster, that should fix your DW.
 
#20 ·
Get rid of the crappy Ford front shocks. I put an Icon 2" leveling kit on my truck and viola... never had another issue. It was pretty repetitive before the front end lift and I kniw how scary it can be.
 
#21 ·
I replaced the what looks like a brand new OEM Motorcraft dampener with a Bilstein 5100 one. It made a huge improvement. By no means does it cure the issue, only correcting Caster will, but it did take the shock out of the wheel that I felt and when I hit hard bumps it no longer wants to tear the wheel out of my hand and any shakes that happen quickly stop.

Next year I plan to find a shop that does heavy truck alignments and have a set of these installed.
 
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