91 6.2 "death wobble"

I have the occasional death wobble of the front end when coming to a stop. (Mostly happens when I have a trailer. Is it time for new tires? What causes this?

1991 6.2 with 127000 miles

You just have to go through the list of possible causes.

1.) Tires that are way out of balance or badly worn.
2.) Check steering linkage, ball joints & control arm bushings.
3.) Check the steering dampening shock absorber.
4.) Check for a cracked frame or loose bolts where the steering gear box bolts on. Have someone turn the steering wheel while you look at the gear box from above.
5.) Check for a frozen brake caliber or warped rotor.
6.) Check for a bent or loose wheel.


Good luck
John

Good list, but add:

Separated tire cord. This is common on old, but not necessarily worn out, in appearance. Jack the wheel off the ground and give it a spin. If the tread walks back and forth, or it's out of round, it's a possibility. Any obvious bulges are suspect.

Wheel bearing(s). Check while the wheel is off the ground.

I think I found the culprit. Bad outer tie rod end. I jacked the truck up and was able to move the tire about an inch side to side. I'm going to replace the inner/outer tie rod and adjusting sleeve.