Checking u joints

[Randomrunner12]

Hey all is there a way to check u joints without removing the drive shaft?

I've got this vibration when doing 75-80 that seems to vary depending on the road.

Example if I'm on DNT it's not there but if I drive on say 75 or 635 or 35 in Dallas I get a free shiatsu massage.

There's no clicking or popping coming from the rear that I've been able to find.

Truck has 189224 miles on it at time is post with factory joints.

 

[lpennock]

More likely to be carrier bearing or at least I would start there.

 

[Randomrunner12]

Sorry should have listed, carrier is 4 months old. That was replaced about 5k ago

 

[lpennock]

Can you tell if the vibration is from a single corner or end of the truck?
Have you checked the tires for belt slippage?

When the belts on my Nexum started slipping it first appeared at 75 then worked it's way down to 45. By 45 was pretty obvious slippage and was fairly easy to tell which corner was having the issue.

When the belts started slipping on my BFG the vibration wouldn't consistently be there but would appear at time on roads I knew were smooth the previous time I travelled them.

 

[Randomrunner12]

I haven't checked that before but I'll definitely take a look.

 

[seafish]

IMO, the EASIEST way to check ujoints on these trucks is with an IR laser pointer thermometer (available from Harbor Freight for a reasonable price)

After a test drive at highway speeds to warm the driveline up, stop and park safely and aim the IR thermometer at EACH and EVERY u joint cap on the driveline, including the center bearing. Ujoints that are going bad will show a substantially elevated temperature over the others. Its that simple.

Secondary method on these large trucks is to chock and block then safely lift the back of the truck with jack and place on jack stands. Then shift to neutral so you can spin the drive line by hand (a helper is useful here to turn the wheels/driveline for you)...then using a soft blow hammer and pry bar, inspect each and very u joint for movement in the cross piece. You generally MUST hit and/or pry the joints BEFORE and/or while inspecting them as these heavy trucks tend to lock up the driveline joint bearings in a way that simply tying to find for movement with your hands only (like you can on a smaller vehicle) will NOT succeed.

Just my .02

 

[KATOOM]

Unless you have a 2wd truck, you have a non-CAD 4wd system which means that your front driveshaft is spinning at road speeds along with the rear driveshaft. Dodge eliminated the CAD system in 2002 which caused many many reported cases of highway vibration issues. So much so that you'll find numerous threads and posts about it throughout many forums...

Then Ram brought back the CAD system in 2014, and I'm betting it was to get rid of the front driveshaft vibration problem.
So I'd check your front driveshaft first since the double cardan joint is notorious for wearing out faster due to the angles and lack of lubrication in the center ball. You can even remove the front driveshaft and see if that changes anything. Its OK to run without one...

 

[RVTRKN]

Thats how the drive line shop figured out my vibration on my 04.5, removing front drive shaft. It was the front drive shaft U-Joints.

 

[mfurrh55]

I thought mine was center bearing , because i pulled driveshaft and could move all u joints pretty easy, took it to a shop to get new support bearing pressed off and mechanic said support bearing is good, told me to go take it apart and look at ujoints, took it apart and bearings fell out and were rusted, anyway i changed all 3 and vibs went away, next time i was in traffic and barely moving and started feeling a vibe , speed up and it would go away, slow down and it was back, got under truck and tried to find which one was bad but couldnt tell until i removed it, then could tell which one it was

 

[Wayne M.]

I developed a hi speed buzz years ago and it took days of pondering on my commute, debating on where I should begin looking. Then on the next day, I had to park along the wall of my shop, and I heard that tell tale “squeak squeak squeak” as I was inching up parallel to the wall. I did both of them (single shaft) and half the cups were powder or becoming powder.

 

[Wayne M.]

Usually a hangar bearing will sound like a old roller skate at about 20 mph and there will be slop. I change em all the time in the F550’s. The salt runs off the spreader body and right onto that.

 

[Randomrunner12]

Found a shop, drive shaft king in Dallas that can do all joints and carrier plus balance for 325+ tax. Thinking I'll have them change them all on the drive shaft.

Truck is 2wd not sure why sig isn't posting so no front shafts. Tires also aren't spinning on the rim so that rules that out.

 

[mfurrh55]

Found a shop, drive shaft king in Dallas that can do all joints and carrier plus balance for 325+ tax. Thinking I'll have them change them all on the drive shaft.

Truck is 2wd not sure why sig isn't posting so no front shafts. Tires also aren't spinning on the rim so that rules that out.

That's not bad, dealer wanted 136.00 just for the carrier bearing

 

[mfurrh55]

Yours is 2 wheel drive? Thought when i saw it yesterday it was 4X4, Good luck and Thanks again for the clutch and was glad to meet you, Monte

 

[KATOOM]

Found a shop, drive shaft king in Dallas that can do all joints and carrier plus balance for 325+ tax. Thinking I'll have them change them all on the drive shaft.

Truck is 2wd not sure why sig isn't posting so no front shafts. Tires also aren't spinning on the rim so that rules that out.

A driveline / u-joint vibration is COMPLETELY different than a vibration from tires / wheels. Make sure you know which one you're experiencing otherwise you'll be throwing money at problems.
Driveline vibrates fast and harmonic. Imagine holding a high speed vibrating tool...
Tires vibrate like a large fan with a missing blade. Wobbly and shaky...

 

[RVTRKN]

The General tires I had on my 07 C&C did the seperation, but prior to, it was a slight vibration. Lost one on the road and used inside dual for spare, picked up a new set of Michelin MS2, in Vegas on my way home. No more vibrations!!!!

 

[Randomrunner12]

Yes this is more a wobble shake than anything. I'll have the tires checked and see if Maybe I missed something

 

[KATOOM]

Have the tires balanced on a "road force" balancer to look for any internal separation. I always watch them spin up the tires on the balance machine too just to see if the tread moves more than it should. Generally if the tread moves up and down more than a 1/4 inch then you'll have tire vibrations even if it balances. And if the tires need more than 1 to 2 ounces of weight per side then its likely they're hard to balance and might vibrate at higher speeds.

 

[Randomrunner12]

Good to know. I'll be sure to have them checked this week at discount.

 

[Randomrunner12]

So I did the IR temp gun trick and all the joint caps read 64-72*. The only ones that were higher were the ones at the trans and they were 86-88* but I attribute that to be at the trans where there isn't much air flow.

I am having my tires rotated and balanced today so if the vib is still there I'm going to have drive shaft king in Dallas just go ahead and replace all the joints/balance the shaft and check the carrier even though it's only a few months old and looks great and doesn't have anymore play than when it was new.