Frustrated New Owner.. Help!

[Wingate]

As the title says, im getting pretty frustrated with this truck and looking for suggestions/help.

This truck has a horrible vibration in it from about 50 mph up. It comes and goes as you drive down the highway. Its NOT related to road conditions as I have found some of the smoothest roads in Texas to test it on and it still does it.
So far I have had all the tires/wheels road force balanced
tried it with my fifth wheel attached to alter the pinion angle and load the rear end more
I have varied the air pressures
tried running it with 5th and 6th locked out.
I have rode in a 2014 Tradesman with the Cummins/68RE combo with the steel wheels and 3:73 and it rides smooth as glass.
My truck has the Aisin with Alcoas and 3:42.
Thinking about seeing if I can have his wheels installed on my truck to test with or pulling the alcoas off the outer rears and taking it on a test drive.
The truck now has 1200 miles on it and is unbearable to drive!

I have seen others comment about the passenger seat back moving when empty and I have that along with the drivers seat shaking so bad it will cause you to let off the throttle to try and get the truck to settle down.

 

[JLandry]

You didn't say what brand of tires your truck has, but other owners with similar complaints and General brand tires have reported finding the tires are out-of-round.

I'd suggest warming the tires up first by driving at freeway speed for at least 15 minutes, then jacking up and rotating one tire at a time checking to see if it's round. This can be done without fancy tools by simply using an object placed close to the tread surface as a reference... something like a brick or block of wood.

If you do find any of the tires out of round, take it back to the dealer and ask them to measure it.

Chrysler Service Bulletin 22-002-14 "Tire Flat Spotting Identification, Prevention and Resolution" dated February 26, 2014 may also apply.

Best regards,

John L.

 

[Wingate]

Ill check it maybe next weekend as see. Ill just put it on jack stands and run it. I have not liked the tires from day one as what experience I have with them(General) has been less than favorable. Guess I could put in on a chassis dyno and see if I can locate it?
I have wondered if it was that or possibly a wheel that is defective.
Im going to give them another chance to fix it before I really twist off on them.
How do I view that Service Bulletin?

 

[Wertles]

Got the same issue. I have only heard these complaints from dually owners, Aisin transmissions, Alcoa rims and general tires. You tell me which one the culprit is. I had my tires rebalanced and it helped very little. I may have to wait another 30,000 miles until I need new tires to see if the generals are the problem.

 

[jgillott]

Guys, I test drove a Dually 4x4 Aisin with 4.10 gears a few weekends ago. It was a Big Horn with the steel wheels and chrome simulators and the General tires. It vibrated on the test drive. I'd rule out the Alcoas unless I happened to drive one that was the exception to the rule.

 

[Wingate]

Well, mine is bad enough that I will not continue to own the truck if its not resolved.
Its going back to the dealership at some point next week. I am working a lot out of town, so its hard to run it back every couple of days. Been thinking about seeing if my buddy will let me swap out the wheels with his truck. That would narrow it down to wheels/tires or another more evil issue. May have to buy his a case of beer!

BTW, his truck came with 17" generals

 

[Wingate]

Guys, I test drove a Dually 4x4 Aisin with 4.10 gears a few weekends ago. It was a Big Horn with the steel wheels and chrome simulators and the General tires. It vibrated on the test drive. I'd rule out the Alcoas unless I happened to drive one that was the exception to the rule.

This is what Im afraid of.

 

[jgillott]

That would be a good idea. It would narrow it down for quite a few owners dealing with this problem. The salesman at the dealership I test drove that 2014 told me that they had another truck that they sold that the owner complained about he same problem. Unfortunately, he didn't know the resolution to that situation.

 

[Wingate]

I sent a email to the service manager at the dealership. Hoping I can get them to just come get the truck and drive it back to the dealership. That way they will have to drive it down interstate about 30 miles and try to maintain 75 mph without getting sick to their stomach!

 

[S.Morris]

My sons 13 DRW 4x4 aisin 3.73, alcoas. truck also shakes. It is not bad but irritating and at approx 70mph. Does not matter if empty , loaded, or 3axle 5th in tow. He has also road force balanced as well as putting new tires (headed for another service truck) on in place of the Generals. Ended up putting Generals back on as no difference. There is now approx 35K miles on his Aug 13 delivered truck.

Real interested in finding the root cause here.

 

[Wingate]

OK.. so the more I sat here earlier the worse it got in my mind so here is what I did.
Jacked up the truck, put jack stands under both axle tubes and sat the truck back down with the tire off the ground. Had the wifey put the truck in gear and let the rear wheels spin. Really did not notice anything out of the ordinary.
Thought about it for a minute and decided to zip the lugnuts off both sides and kick the alcoas to the curb. Spun the lugnuts back up and put the truck on the ground. Took the truck for a drive as a SRW. Drove it down the same roads, travelled in the same lanes, etc... Made no difference!
This is starting to appear to be something more sinister like a pinion angle or transmission output shaft issue. What I have been trying to duplicate is that its MUCH more noticable at "cruise modes" What I mean my that is if you are in a high torque situation(heavy throttle) its not noticable. As soon as I back out and set the cruise at 75, it crept into vibrating!. It does it then stops. then does it, then stops... lay the wood to it at 55 with it vibrating and it stops all the way thru 90+ mph.
Not sure what all that means yet but thought I would share it and see if anyone else can duplicate it with their similarily equipped truck.

 

[Wingate]

Another thought.. doesnt the Aisin equipped trucks come with a different differential?

 

[LarryM]

I don't know if this will help, but I had a terrible vibration occur twice in the ownership of my dually. Alcoas, 4:10 gears etc. The issue both times was the generals. Two of them developed a tread separation causing a lump right in the center of the tread. It would rattle your teeth. The tire dealer prorated them and replaced them both, now the truck is smooth as can be. The others are probably ticking time bombs though. The lumps were subtle enough that they were difficult to see on the truck but made for a difficult ride.

 

[Wingate]

I don't know if this will help, but I had a terrible vibration occur twice in the ownership of my dually. Alcoas, 4:10 gears etc. The issue both times was the generals. Two of them developed a tread separation causing a lump right in the center of the tread. It would rattle your teeth. The tire dealer prorated them and replaced them both, now the truck is smooth as can be. The others are probably ticking time bombs though. The lumps were subtle enough that they were difficult to see on the truck but made for a difficult ride.

I have been skeptical of the Generals since I bought the truck. But the wheels have been off of it twice and its been "roadforce balanced" and driven home. Im thinking that they should have noticed it if the tire had a slipped belt of tread seperation. When i ran it today with the rear end offr the ground. the tires run pretty true and dont show any signs deformation. The truck has between 1500-1600 miles on it now.

 

[DonFitzwater]

Take it in and don't accept no or we can't find the problem as an answer. Too many dealers give up unless the bad part falls off in their hand.

 

[Powder Extreme]

My Dually Aisin was terrible, had the POS General's road force balanced, 3 or 4 of them were out of spec. Worked with my dealer to get 6 new Michelins, had those road force balanced, no more vibration. I too would notice the vibration worse when just loafing along and if I'd put the power to it the vibration would go away. I was thinking drivetrain based on that, but in the end it was definitely tires.

 

[sag2]

Let's think about this logically. Vibration does not occur when accelerating or slowing? Does not matter what gear? Is speed and throttle related?
So just based on that description it would seem that it could be pinion or drive line angle. When you said they road force balanced, what kind of numbers did you get for each tire? Did they match mount them to reduce the number? The only way for sure to pin it down is a vibration analyzer or swap a known good set of wheel and tires. Analyzer is the best bet.

 

[JLandry]

How do I view that Service Bulletin?

You can download it HERE.

Best regards,

John L.

 

[Dieselnerd]

As the title says, im getting pretty frustrated with this truck and looking for suggestions/help.

This truck has a horrible vibration in it from about 50 mph up. It comes and goes as you drive down the highway. Its NOT related to road conditions as I have found some of the smoothest roads in Texas to test it on and it still does it

I really feel for you. My 2014 DRW in my signature is smooth as glass up to 90 mph which is as fast as I've driven it. I have the Alcoa wheels and Generals. Alcoa wheels are pretty high quality so I doubt they are the problem.

These trucks have the two piece steel drive shafts which used to cause vibration problems on the 3rd gens. Like Sag2 said, logically sounds like a driveline problem.

I'd have them checking the drive shaft balance or maybe even broken rubber in the center bearing.

 

[DonFitzwater]

That bulletin shouldn't apply to this gent as he has over 1k miles.