So I just picked up a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 w/ the Big Horn package two days ago, so now I am back over here on Dodge Forums... nice to be back here.

I just noticed that if I hit a bump on the highway (above 45mph) while in a slight turn in either direction the truck's steering gets all kinds of crazy on me... to the point that if I wasn't paying enough attention I might swerve into another lane.

Is this a normal issue? or should I be slightly concerned? I crawled under to take a look for disconnected Sway/Stabilizer bars but don't see anything that would make me concerned, everything looks pretty firm.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

does your truck have the Y or T steering in it?

Y steering looks kinda like a scissor steering where the drag link connects to the passenger side spindle, and the tie rod connects the drivers side to the drag link...

T style steering, the tie rods are directly linked together and the drag link connects to the top of the tie rod on the passenger side.

 

I ask because 2008 was the year they switched...early 08's had the y steering, 08.5 and later had the T steering.

The T steering is far superior to the Y steering..Y steering can cause camber to go out of whack when you hit a bump...

 

I would assume that it is the Y steering from your description of the problem they encounter, because it feels just like when I had a camber plate fail on me on an old track car I had at one point.

But it might have been lifted by the previous owner, but I don't have another Dodge Ram Big Horn to compare to so I have no idea.

It's raining cats & dogs here in NJ today, so I won't be checking until it gets nice out.

Another interesting discovery I've made is that if I have the wheel about 5-10 degrees off center (either left or right) around a corner at speeds of 60+ MPH I can feel the steering shake, is that also a characteristic of this "Y Steering"?

 

Is this a non megacab 1500? If so you wont have the Y or T steering, you'll have rack and pinion under there. From what you're describing it almost sounds like the toe setting is out causing the "toe-out on turns" to be out to lunch, which also impacts camber while turning, therefore causing the truck to dive across the road.
How does it steer in a straight line? How do the front tires look?

 

Front tires look fine can't see any real noticeable wear on one side of either of the tires.

In a straight line the truck drives fantastic, but with a little bit of a turn and a bump it exhibits characteristics of the phenomenon I see described as "Death Wobble" but it is only while turning, if the truck is straight I don't feel it happen much at all.

Never drove a truck that does this, so I am baffled.

Oh and it is a 2008 1500 Big Horn Quad Cab w/ 4x4