I have a 1997 191,000 mile club cab 5.9l that starts hopping when i'm slowing down. I've replaced the inner and outer tie rods and the ball joints about a year ago. I did my own alignment because i can't find anyone local who will align it. They all say I have the wrong lower ball joints even though they are identical to the ones I took off that are factory original. I'm thinking the original shocks finally gave up the ghost but it could be brakes or alignment or just about anything really. I've been looking online for a solution and everybody seems to refer to replacing the motor mounts so I figured I would ask some fellow Dodge owners before I spend alot more money than I have. It wouldn't hurt to replace everything anyway but I'm kinda wanting to solve this problem first and fix the other stuff in the next few months. Does anybody have any idea?

 

Just letting off the gas, or while braking? If it's while braking, it's most likely bad rotors.

Welcome to the DodgeForum.

 

Both actually. Seems like about 20 to 30 mph it does it. Sometimes it does it while accelerating through that zone but its rare and doesn't hop much. When slowing down it seems like I'm getting 5 or 6 inches of air. I have to get this fixed quick. It's been doing it for about a month. If I turn the wheel a little it won't do it but the alignment isn't hardly off much. Surely that less than an eighth inch isn't making it jump like that. Thats why I'm leaning toward shocks myself. Could be brakes though. BTW, thanks for the welcome.

 

anybody thinking wheel bearings? i'm starting to

 

have you shook the wheel to see if it is wobbling? that would be a sign of bad bearings shocks might cause it if they are bad or a tire way off balance what kind of tires are you running on your truck? by the way welcome to DF

 

IIRC sounds like you might have the Death Wobble, check your trac bar out to. You can type in death wobble and see a few vids on youtube to see if it's related .

 

bridgestone dueler at 265/75/16. i havent shook it yet but plan on it shortly. i just put them in so maybe i got some sand or something in there and didnt notice. im thinking if it were a balance issue it would shake all the time. the symptoms of a bad wheel bearing fit somewhat. it does pull to one side a little when braking. still could be anything or everything. ill post what i find while im under there

 

I've had problems with the death wobble in the past. It usually happened in the 45-60 mph range when I hit a small bump in the road. A new set of tires fixed it. Last time I was a the dealership, the service advisor told me my tires were almost three years old and Dodge recommends replacement after three years even if the tread is fine.

 

wow... good call on the death wobble. wtf???

 

ah ye forgot about the death wobble i looked that up just recently and dont know much about that. but i know my BFG A/T's bounced a little in the rear while braking but new shocks fixed it and a rotation and rebalance