- Joined
- Sep 26, 2010
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- 9,791
I am currently on a road trip to YNP and on the way, just north of Idaho Falls, there was a white late model Dodge 3/4-ton 4x4 that passed me on north highway 20 at 70ish mph. Just as he came alongside, we crossed a short bridge that had a few chuck holes in it and his axle started bouncing to the point that he started losing control. He began braking hard and veered across in front of me. I immediately recognized what was happening and braked hard (luckily the car behind me saw it and braked as well) and he missed me by a couple of feet.
The axle was bouncing to the point that the tire was impacting the underside of the wheel well and parts of the plastic liner began breaking off. Steering control was completely lost but he eventually managed to stop the truck partially sideways on the shoulder. I am absolutely certain that he needed a shower and a fresh change of underwear. I wanted to stop and check on him, but the traffic was not forgiving on the curved part of the road.
I could see him throwing his arms up while trying to explain to his wife what had happened and it seemed like he had no idea what caused it. I recently changed all of the OEM steering equipment on my Rubicon (drag link, tie-rod and ends, trackbar, and steering stabilizer) to prevent death wobble from every having a chance to rear its head. I would guess that his trackbar bushings were toast and the crimped ends likely loosened. Scary stuff to be sure…
The axle was bouncing to the point that the tire was impacting the underside of the wheel well and parts of the plastic liner began breaking off. Steering control was completely lost but he eventually managed to stop the truck partially sideways on the shoulder. I am absolutely certain that he needed a shower and a fresh change of underwear. I wanted to stop and check on him, but the traffic was not forgiving on the curved part of the road.
I could see him throwing his arms up while trying to explain to his wife what had happened and it seemed like he had no idea what caused it. I recently changed all of the OEM steering equipment on my Rubicon (drag link, tie-rod and ends, trackbar, and steering stabilizer) to prevent death wobble from every having a chance to rear its head. I would guess that his trackbar bushings were toast and the crimped ends likely loosened. Scary stuff to be sure…