This is only a problem with my Dodge. The other vehicles I have access to and regularly drive don't experience this problem so I'm pretty sure it's a dodge thing.


There's times when the road seems to grab a tire and steer my truck for me. It can be a little scary at times. There's a bridge, for example, on a highway here that has some slight potholes. The speed limit is 70 in the area. At 70 my truck damn near careens into the neighboring lane if I find myself not gripping the wheel hard when I hit that patch of rough road.

The truck has stock wheels and tires (well, tire size/type). Would a product like this help?

http://www.dodgeramsteeringstabilizer.com/

Edit - Did some searching, it would appear I don't have the death wobble. As per the video in this post: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2994853-post10.html

That looks horrifyingly terrible.

 

True Death Wobble is a seriously scary thing.

What you are describing sounds kinda like it, but I would say it may be a few other things.

1) Worn Outer Tie Rod ends can cause this.

2) Broken belt inside the tires can cause this.

3) Under inflated tires can grab grooves in the road and cause similar problems

4) Broken anti-roll/sway-bar linkage can cause this.

5) Lift kit creating bad axle angles can cause this.

If they are OEM tires, I would suggest that you rotate the tires and see if it happens as bad as it does now, and if so I'd check over all my suspension components before buying new tires.

If that still doesn't solve the problem then you might be experiencing Death Wobble... but it usually only happens in 1500 Mega Cabs, as well as 2500's and some 3500's.

 

Just an update...

The steering wheel has play when I grab it at 6:00 and turn it side to side, accompanied by an internal knock sound (i'll get a video later)

I followed the steering shaft out and found that the play is actually in the steering gear in the rack... there's also some fluid leakage there. Looks like the rack is worn and has play, allowing the road to grab the wheels and steer for me.

I'll be replacing the rack and tie rod ends soon, hopefully that fixes the problem.

 

Any vehicle can get death wobble, it all depends on how worn the steering components are. However, what you are experiencing is called bump steer.

It seems you have already found the culprit, steering racks are a common failure point in these trucks and Ive even seen a couple reman'd units come back with the same issue months later. I'd try to find a new one if feasible, or a good reman with a good warranty. Remember, you will need an alignment after changing the steering rack.

 

Reman steering racks are quite frankly, ****.
My dad's Ram went through 2 in the span of a day. Literally while the shop was out testing the truck.

They went to the Dodge house and picked up a new Mopar rack. Been fine ever since.