Hello All, great site here ! Glad to have discovered you all...
Don't have a Cuda / Challenger, yet, but certainly looking.
I DO have a 1996 Ram 4x4, and have dealt with this issue, so I couldn't resist commenting.
Yes, I concur, the death wobble is quite related to 2 or 3 primary causes:
1) Worn / loose trac-bar. (4x4 Ram trucks only) This is the only link designed to hold the axle side to side - the ball / stud joint which mounts in the DS frame bracket can come loose, allowing the axle to move an inch of side to side travel - NOT good.
I rebuilt my trac-bar with a Luke's Link - a very cost effective solution - $ 80 vs $ 300 for a new trac-bar. Luke's makes it greaseable & adjustable.
www.LukesLink.com2) Worn out shocks. This should be an obvious contributing factor - Heavy truck, heavy engine (Cummins, especially so...), heavy springs, BOING, BOING......death wobble on the way....Many great shock solutions out here...I prefer Rancho R9000's for their adjustability & warranty.
3) Worn out / poorly designed lower steering column bearing:
This is a 'stealth cause' /contributing factor....more on the "steering control" end of things, rather than the suspension / alignment end of things.
Apparently, Dodge knew the columns in the 2nd gen Ram truck had issues - early on (94-96 or so...) they gave Ram owners who complained new columns. After a while, it looked like a money pit....so they began ignoring the issue, or just allowed this cause to be passed off as some other cause - until guys started replacing every single from end part, only to find the steering wander, play or 'clunk, rattle' noise issue to get worse. That was me. Thankfully, I discovered these 3 factors: trac-bar, proper shocks & worn / bad column bearing, and dealt with them, short of replacing all the front end components. Truck is now solid in all conditions, towing heavy load in crosswinds, etc - no worries.
Here's the column fix:
www.RockSolidRamTruckSteering.com
Cheers, hope this helps someone chase down the gremlins.....RamPatriotExpress
