Death Wobble: What is it, what causes it, and why is it so talked about?

Let's attack this in reverse and establish why it's talked about endlessly. Money, it's about sales- everyone's product will solve it....or so their marketing dollars say right? The answer is yes & no because there are MANY different parts that contribute. So what parts contribute to "death wobble?" 

• Track Bar ends- controls the lateral position of the axle
• Tie Rod ends- connects the wheels to one another
• Draglink ends- connects the pitman arm of steering box to passenger side knuckle
• Ball Joints- connects outer knuckle to inner C
• Control Arm ends- connects axle to frame
• Wheel bearings- connect the wheel to the axle
• Steering box- sector shaft connects to pitman arm

Track bar ends when worn will allow the whole axle to shift left & right. These should be checked off the list first, but don't just stop there. Worn or wearing parts will transfer energy to others and accelerate wear, so make your way down the line and check them. 

Next up is tie rod ends. When worn, they can cause an individual wheel (or both) to oscillate left & right as they're rotating. In the driver's seat that feels like a vibration when it starts, not violent shaking unless they're really bad.

Draglink ends attach the steering box/pitman arm to the passenger side knuckle and allow the steering wheel to push/pull that knuckle- the tie rod mentioned above simply connects each side. 

Ball joints can be checked by taking most of the weight off the vehicle, putting a pry bar under the tire, and checking for vertical play and lateral play. Pay attention to lateral play when testing these as it can come from a wheel bearing, or tie rod end.....so see where that movement is originating from. 

Control arm ends can contribute if worn and are easy to test, just pry on them with a pry bar looking for excessive movement. Worn ends will affect the vehicle's ability to stabilize the front end and the whole axle will "walk" around or can. Typically, these are paired with the trackbar joints in the fact they both help control lateral axle movement...check them. 

Wheel bearings are easy to check when you check ball joints, look for that same movement and where it comes from. These tend to make some level of grinding noise and generate heat when they're going bad. Drive it for a bit and see if they're hot.....might not grab it firmly at first- you've been warned. 

Steering boxes: while less common, steering boxes can develop slop inside and can be adjusted to an extent so keep this in mind as well. 

American Iron makes what would be considered a "ball joint" so why mention all the other parts?

We don't want to be the company selling the secret sauce that doesn't work when it might not be your ball joints because you can see the list of parts involved above. What we DO want you do is come to us for your needs in this specific case because of a few things and let's talk about them. 

A traditional ball joint magnifies the intensity and possibility of creating "death wobble." Why? A traditional joint has misalignment where it doesn't need it....think of what happens to adding movement where it's 100% not wanted at 80mph....great idea huh? 

A Ball Joint Delete™ System helps stabilize that connection and doesn't allow for unwanted movement by using clamping force instead of a plastic liner stuffed inside and only being retained from one end. 

So now that you know the basics of what causes what's known as "death wobble" go check your front end and fix what needs fixed the best way possible because fixing it twice ends up being more expensive. If you need us, you know exactly where to find us!