96 dodge ram bounce?

Question

I have a 96 dodge ram. When I hit a bump in the road the front end will bounce until I slow down. I was told it was shocks. I replaced them and it still does the same thing.Any ideas?

Answer 1

Is yours a 4x4?

If so this sounds like the infamous Death Wobble! This is basically a resonance in the front end that causes everything to wobble side to side. Thats why shocks wont really fix it. This is a fairly common occurance, one of my friends had it happen on his Dodge. It took the service dept about 5 times to figure it out and get it right. They kept telling him his alignment was in spec and that it was the shocks. We finally printed out an alignment spec sheet that was shown to help with the DW and other reports from other trucks with the DW about replacing the track bar and such. After so long they were actually willing to listen and the truck was fixed.

Cures are proper alignment, replacement of the worn track bar, sway bar and tie rod ends. Non stock tires, wheels or a lift kit can aggrivate this problem.

Thuren makes an adjustable trackbar & steering stabilizer that really helps.

Do a search on Yahoo or Google under the title "Death Wobble", there are volumes of reading on this and it can occur on just about any solid axle vehicle. Dodges, old Chevys, solid axle Fords and Jeeps are prone to have it when the front end gets modified or worn out!

Here are some videos of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj9PNNChVm4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqVQuFL2QYY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehAE0zeSkFM&feature=related

Finally here is a good explanation of what causes a Death Wobble and how it can be fixed. This site is tuned toward Jeeps but the causes for a Death Wobble are the same for any solid axle vehicle.

http://www.yuccaman.com/jeep/dw.html

Answer 2

It shouldn't bounce once you've replace the shocks. Are you sure you don't mean shimmy? If it's a shimmy problem an won't go away then it's one of three things. First, if you have any loose tie rods, or steering links loose, replace them and make sure you have 1/8 to 1/4 inch toe in. Second, if the tires are getting worn down on tread, this will cause shimmy.And third, if the caster in the front alignment has too much positive in it or none at all, it will cause shimmy. The third condition is rare, so go with the first two first. And if you DO mean bounce, forget about the springs. They are just doing what all springs do if the shocks aren't working properly.

Answer 3

weak springs? this problem should be looked at a.s.a.p.. no matter what the problem winds up being, you could lose control of slide on wet roads because your tires aren't being held securely on the ground. take it to a service garage and let them test drive it. it's not worth guessing.

Answer 4

In addition to the ball joints make you have the tie rod ends checked