Anyone balanced their driveshafts?

[steved]

Ok, I have been dealing with the dreaded 72mph vibration for over a year now... dealers are worthless, deny that there is a problem... telling me it is the nature of the CTD (if so, why didn't my 99 do this worse then?? Duh, I'm a little smarter than this... ).



So, I am pretty confident (in my readings and past experiences with driveline vibs) that it is the front driveshaft out of balance... anyone had their's balanced and if so, how much weight was it out???



I'm actually taking both driveshafts in, the place told me balancing with the damper (on the rear shaft) shouldn't be an issue.



And for those of you that balanced your driveshafts... did it cure the vib??



steved

 

[MMiller]

I had a driveshaft man tell me to put 3 hose clamps around the tube of the drive shaft snug, but so they would still slip around the shaft. One at each end and one in the middle. Go for a drive, they would locate themselves, and then tighten them down. Go for a drive and see if the problem goes away. Then you know where to put the weight. According to him, this is how they balanced shafts.



Michael

 

[steved]

I had a driveshaft man tell me to put 3 hose clamps around the tube of the drive shaft snug, but so they would still slip around the shaft. One at each end and one in the middle. Go for a drive, they would locate themselves, and then tighten them down. Go for a drive and see if the problem goes away. Then you know where to put the weight. According to him, this is how they balanced shafts.



Michael

Yeah, I heard about the hose clamp thing... one guy I talked with had his front driveshaft out of his 04. 5 balanced (by a machine) and it was over 4. 5 ounces off... that would definately be more than 3 hose clamps...



I guess I'm just curious if anyone else has had them balanced and how much weight it took... seems that would be the first thing DC should look for when hunting a vibration.



steved

 

[GTX]

I had my front shaft balanced. It was out about 1 ounce. Made no difference in the vib. Vib is gone with the front shaft out. I have tried the hose clamp thing on both front and rear, it has not helped. Make sure the drive line shop has the adapter for the front yoke before you take the shaft in. Otherwise you will have to wait for them to get it in.

 

[p59404]

I had a slight vibration at 70 mph, the dealer balance the rear and front drive shaft plus changed the rear ujoint on rear drive shaft, now the vibration was felt from 73-84 mph (vibrated more). They took front drive shaft off, drove it and all vibration was gone. Dealer ordered complete new front drive shaft, had new drive shaft checked for balance and it checked good, dealer installed drive shaft, and vibration is gone, run real smooth. Litha's of Great Falls, Mt is the dealer who fixed the problem. Hope this helps you.

Pat

 

[steved]

Hmmm... well, then there is something wrong with the shaft itself besides balancing... well, this is good to know. I will have the shop check the entire shaft out... unless the yokes/flanges were machined wrong, the only other thing it could really be is that the ujoints are out of phase (welded wrong).



I have 55k on my truck and the dealer gave me the run around about this several times... I hate to say this, but this WILL BE the last new dodge I ever own. Warranty isn't worth the paper it is printed on... and every dealer I have used in this area has basically screwed me.



Well, then we shall see what the shop can tell me on Friday.



steved

 

[p59404]

Good luck and let us know what you found out.

 

[steved]

Well, after a call to the shop, they told me that if there is an issue other than balancing, they will find it when they balance it... the machine will hold it in place like it is in the truck... an they can spin it to 10k (that's scary... hope dodge built them well) so they should be able to "see" any condition the driveshaft is causing.



Hopefully... short of that... selectable hubs.





steved

 

[Mike B.]

Steved,



Balancing the shafts did nothing to help my 05. Both shafts were sent out, one oes perfect and one was out 1 oz. The hose clamp trick only changed the speed at which the vibe started and ended. On my truck it had something to do with both shafts being installed at the same time. Removing either shaft made the issue go away. They even tried shafts from a truck in the lot that didn't have any vibe issues at all. My 05 showed no improvement using those shafts. That truck was bought back by DC.



It may be a haul for you but you should try Ralphs Dodge in Prince Frederick MD. Those guys really went to bat for me with DC. Ask for Greg in the service dept.

The number is (410) 535-1200. Mine was the second or third 3rd gen truck that they sold and was bought back by DC. You'll love an 06, smooth as a babies butt.



good luck

Mike

 

[willysrule]

any respectable driveline shop can balance a shaft pretty cheap, it's a pretty easy process if you have the correct equipment...

 

[steved]

any respectable driveline shop can balance a shaft pretty cheap, it's a pretty easy process if you have the correct equipment...

Yeah, that's what they said... they even got a little defensive when I asked if they would be able to find the problem... building a driveshaft is one thing, diagnosing issues is another.



The buy-back is out... too many miles. If this $45 balancing doesn't work, then I'll put the dynatrac hubs on it since I believe they finally came out with that kit.



And FYI, I took the shaft out and went for a spin... MOST of the vibration was gone... I still have a little, but not much... attribute that to the other shaft, and it is at least liveable.



steved

 

[steved]

Well, took the shaft to Hartman Driveshaft today... they didn't have the companion flange (for the axle end of the shaft) in stock (whoever said it, good call!)... BUT...



They took and checked out what they could... the ujoints are out of phase by 0. 6 degrees... not really anything significant. The splines have some play in both the twist direction and the "leverage" direction (the spline will sorta move like an elbow) slightly...



Now, my other "trucks" were 10 times worse than this with no vibs, but the shop said that was my issue... $250 to replace the spline.



Got to think this one out some... NOt really sure that is the issue...



steved

 

[Maverick]

I HAD THE SAME VIBE. REMOVED SHAFT & vibration WAS GONE. MACHINED CENTERING HUB & HAD LOCAL SHOP BALANCE . THAT REMOVED 90% OF PROBLEM TURNED SHAFT 180 VIBE GOT WORSE( NOT AS BAD AS STOCK) BEFORE BALANCING TRY TUNING SHAFT. FRONT SPLINED YOKE NO CENTERED (HARD TO BELIEVE FACTORY CANT MAKE A SIMPLE SHAFT! ) FOR BALANCING IN NE. CALL 413-527-0820 D&D AUTO PARTS THEY HAVE SETUP YOKE & CENTERING HUB ( PS MY FIRST POST) HOPE THIS HELPS

 

[geusterman]

My 04. 5 is fine but reading over the last couple years of those with a vibe I heard of 2 fixes not mentioned in this thread: One was something wrong inside the transfer case. The other was Carlton Dodge was buying the "buybacks" and aligning the Cummins engine correctly. Evidently they can be installed with some room to be offset and that was causing the driveline vibes. FWIW. George

 

[steved]

Well... this was interesting.



On the advice of the driveshaft shop, I took the shaft (out of the truck) to the local dodge garage. Told them that the shaft was causing a vibration and that I was done ignoring it. So, they took a look at it... I told them I had it at the local driveshaft shop (who also balances and straightens their driveshafts)... and that they had told me it was bad. The service tech agreed with me that the shaft didn't really seem that bad, but as I explained to him... I wasn't arguing who was right about whether the shaft was worn out, but that with the shaft in the truck it vibrates, with it out of the truck it doesn't vibrate... he agreed then that the driveshaft must be the problem even though it looked fine... at this point I figured it would get ugly.



Well, they decided that the shaft was covered under the 7/70 warranty... OK. Now what? Well, believe it or not, they simply order me in a new shaft which I picked up last night (traded my old one in and $100 for the deductable). So, with new driveshaft in hand, hopefully I will get to install it tonight (if I don't end up driving to Maine) and hopefully the vibrations are gone... if not, well, looks like maybe dynatrac will be getting a phone call.



I would recommend this to anyone with the vibs... take your truck in and have (insist on it) them take the driveshaft out to see the before and after difference... it is amazing the difference at all speeds with the shaft out (you really don't realize how bad it is).



Will let you know if this is the fix. I have already seen an increase in mpg's from not having the shaft in... must really be some drag from that front end. you would thin that DC would be putting hubs on trucks since they are shooting for higher CAFE numbers... calling the PT Cruiser a truck will only work so long...



steved

 

[ChrisKringle]

i have the noise, seems to have lessened with age. 55k miles. balanced the front driveline, was already perfect from the factory according to six states drivelines. the rear driveline was replaced with an aluminum one from a d-max, took the dampner off and just balanced it with the transfer case yoke on the driveline, no issues to date with the rear.



have forgotten about the front harmonic drone, just turn the radio up.

 

[DMcAnulty]

I'm not going to forget about the harmonic drone/vibe on my 2005 CTD 3500 SRW. I filed a Lemon Law complaint with the Texas Department of Transportation as of a week ago. If it turns out that the 2006 models don't have the vibe, I want to know what was changed on the '06's from the 05's.



Dodge has been most unresponsive to my complaint about the obnoxious noise that starts at 70 mph. Otherwise, the truck is great; I wish it could be resolved.

 

[steved]

Well, I know I said I would have it in sooner, but a lot of stuff (and rain... my garage has no sides or roof for that matter) came up so tonight was the night it went in... and the verdict... NO VIBRATIONS!!



Completely cured. The new shaft did not have any of the previous signs of wear the other shaft had... not a bit of slop in any direction... the ujoints were also lined up better. I have no vibrations (other than the road) and it is so nice, HOWEVER... it was much better driving with the shaft out... steering didn't feel "heavy", it didn't feel like it had as much "drag" when accelerating... my mileage was averaging (yes averaging in mixed driving) about 19. 2 mpg... 600/5600/4. 10s... not too shabby, and I can live with that... but I feel it will drop now the front shaft is back in... might be going with a Dynatrac system after all... we shall see how much of a drop I see then do a "cost" analysis.



steved

 

[geusterman]

Steved... thanks for posting results. Stay with us on mileage issues as well if you would. Highly curious about the cost of front driveline permanent ingagement. George

 

[steved]

Well, I have now put several hundred miles on this combo... mileage is down very slightly (about 0. 5mpg), BUT, the vibration is back.



So I guess that next step is a dynatrac kit... it took a while for the vibrations to come back, but they did and with almost as much force... the only difference is they now start at 75mph, not 72 like before.



So the driveshaft was NOT the answer, even though initially it seemto be the cure... I got to recheck stuff tonight and see if the bolts might be loose, but I doubt it.







steved