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2009 ram 1500 unstable

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Old 08-17-2015, 09:59 PM
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Default 2009 ram 1500 unstable

When you are drive at 50 or 60 mph going over a dip in the road, truck seems to bounce up and down and side to side. Almost scary. The shocks are new front and rear, made no difference. Under normal driving it seems fine.
Thoughts anyone?
 
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Old 08-17-2015, 10:07 PM
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Been happening way before the 2009....sort of like bounces and almost jumps in next lane. Lose total control of truck.
 
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Old 08-17-2015, 10:19 PM
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Default 2009 ram 1500 unstable

Totally, can't figure it out though. All suspension
Seems fine
 
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Old 08-18-2015, 09:12 AM
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Wondering if it has anything to do with the locked diffs.
Maybe tires over inflated.
I know I am not the only one, some of my friends have Rams and complain about the same thing.
 
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Old 08-18-2015, 10:17 PM
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Check the rear panhard bar. Mine had a loose nut and wallowed out the hole in the axle bracket, made the rear sway around.
 
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Old 08-19-2015, 01:07 AM
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My 09 had these problems at about 36k miles. Not sure what's wrong with yours but mine was in the steering. Dealer changed the rack and pinion assembly. I thought it was the tie rod ends because it felt like they had some play in it. Well it would only happened when you hit a bump while doing 55 plus on the freeway. It would jerk left to right and I would have to get a grip on the steering wheel to control it. Especially when you were in a turn and hit a bump. Seems like it's doing it again after adding another 50k plus more miles on it.
 
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Old 08-20-2015, 02:43 AM
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Originally Posted by yugoboss
When you are drive at 50 or 60 mph going over a dip in the road, truck seems to bounce up and down and side to side. Almost scary. The shocks are new front and rear, made no difference. Under normal driving it seems fine.
Thoughts anyone?
This is known by those that have had that trouble (and it is fairly common) as the "death wobble." If I'm not mistaken, Chrysler has gotten into a bunch of trouble over certain of these trucks doing this.

You can go to the official Ram website and look for "recalls", put in your VIN number and it will tell you if your truck is listed for any recalls.

http://recalls.mopar.com/
 
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Old 08-20-2015, 11:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Palm
This is known by those that have had that trouble (and it is fairly common) as the "death wobble." If I'm not mistaken, Chrysler has gotten into a bunch of trouble over certain of these trucks doing this.

You can go to the official Ram website and look for "recalls", put in your VIN number and it will tell you if your truck is listed for any recalls.

http://recalls.mopar.com/
"Death Wobble" is a condition that specifically effects SFA trucks regardless of manufacturer and it's been written about since long before I was old enough to drive. Nobody has ever really definitively determined the exact causes.

The OP has an IFS truck, it may be handling like a turd over bumps, but by definition it's not "Death Wobble".

I'm not aware of Chrysler getting into any trouble due to death wobble issues, I'd like to see this. Link please.

I'm inclined to believe a situation similar to oldjeep's is what's going on here. An abnormally worn component is likely the culprit...
 

Last edited by HammerZ71; 08-20-2015 at 12:02 PM.
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Old 08-20-2015, 04:31 PM
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The only thing positive about DW is that if it ever happens to you, you will always hold on to the steering wheel just a little tighter no matter if you think it's been fixed or not!
Jay
 
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Old 08-22-2015, 02:45 AM
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Originally Posted by HammerZ71
"Death Wobble" is a condition that specifically effects SFA trucks regardless of manufacturer and it's been written about since long before I was old enough to drive. Nobody has ever really definitively determined the exact causes.

The OP has an IFS truck, it may be handling like a turd over bumps, but by definition it's not "Death Wobble".

I'm not aware of Chrysler getting into any trouble due to death wobble issues, I'd like to see this. Link please.

I'm inclined to believe a situation similar to oldjeep's is what's going on here. An abnormally worn component is likely the culprit...
Don't know how you missed it my friend, it was all over the mainstream news not long ago. One of the reasons that they are in trouble is because of their not taking care of recalls in a timely manner.

I had this experience myself with the pinion nut recall---It took them nearly a year to fix mine and I had to keep calling and going to the dealer to finally get it taken care of. I would say that a steering problem that could cause a driver to lose control would classify as a "death wobble". Note that this particular problem was only on 4X4's although I have read reports of it happening on two wheel drives, but I can't qualify that.

Link you requested below.

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/...y-back-500000/
 

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