2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission hopping front end after new tires

[Hootguy]

I just changed all 6 tires on my dually to Michelin MS2,,,and now i have a hopping problem in the front,,,like a tire out of balnce,,,i rotated the 2 fronts with 2 rears,,and still the same,,maybe a little better... anybody have any idea as to what else could cause this,,,worn rotors,,,wheel bearings,,etc???,,just trying to diagnose before thinking faulty tire,,,or tires,,which would suprise me from Michelin,,,

 

[TJJEEPER]

My guess would be shocks. They will give you the bounce effect when they get worn out.

 

[HBarlow]

New tires - new shaking when driving. It's a bad balance job on the new tires. Take them back and insist on a rebalance. Watch them on the balance machine and see what the tire monkeys are doing. Sometimes they don't sell many truck sized tires and don't know how to balance them properly.

 

[goodguys75]

make sure to ask for someone who knows what they are doing... not the 17 year old that dont care..... have them do a lug centric balance for the best results.....

 

[Hootguy]

the tire shop i dealt with is a high volume tire shop,,the do a lot of transport tires too,,BUT,,the tire guys dont seem to be the brightest in the world,,they all ready reblanced the fronts and the bounce is still there,,,maybe i should bite the bullet and pay another shop to balance them,,,i wish there where still old conventional static balancing stands around,,,we still do our racebikes that way and they are always bang on,,,you can't go wrong with gravity,,,

 

[HBarlow]

Try getting the owner/manager of your tire retailer involved. A tire imbalanced enough to create the front end bounce you described should be visible on a spin balancer. If the shop can't balance a new set of tires properly either the tires, balance equipment, or tire monkeys are defective. The retailer should rebalance your tires, reimburse you for having a skilled tire shop balance them, or replace the tires with a set that can be balanced.

I had a similar experience about ten or twelve years ago with new Michelins from my local SAM's Club. After several rebalance attempts, heated arguments with local management and complaints to SAM's HQ in Bentonville, replaced tires, reimbursement for proper balance done at another retailer, my local SAM's Club received new balance equipment, training by an expert from WM/SAM's headquarters, and the tire guys and I became good friends. The guys admitted years later that their original equipment was fine, they simply didn't know how to use it properly. I've bought many sets of Michelins and lots of batteries since that time and swear by the tires and service I receive from my SAM's Club.

 

[Hootguy]

the re-balnce was done with the boss nearby,,but not by him directly,,i doubt i will get anything elese as far as help from them,,and i'm also worried if it ends up being something other than the tires,,allthough everything seems to point in the tire or balance fault.

 

[mwilson]

the re-balnce was done with the boss nearby,,but not by him directly,,i doubt i will get anything elese as far as help from them,,and i'm also worried if it ends up being something other than the tires,,allthough everything seems to point in the tire or balance fault.

What are the "continuous wheel balancers" shown in your signature????



Mike.

 

[Hootguy]

Welll. . after visiting a friends shop,,,and adding balancing beads to the front tires,,didnt make much difference,,,but on a test drive with the same friend ,,he seemed to think the vibrationis comming from the front. . not the rear,,,he noticed no vibration in the steering wheel and thinks it's the rear,,any idea what could induce such a vibration,,,the shop that did the tires also changed my shoes,,,and turned my drums,,OUT OF ROUND... so my brakes kept chatering so i had to go back a week later to put new drums on too,,,the same vibration was present with the new drums that was there with the old drums,,,funny thing is,,i went in the tire shop with a smooth running truck,,,put new tires on. . and have been fighting with this vibration for 3 weeks now,,,not sure what to do next,,,the tire shop is useless,,,i have about $2500. 00 in this to now,,i'm starting to think about dumping the truck and moving on the newer ones,,

 

[Missouri Mule]

I put on Michilen M/S 2nd version. I had bounce in front plus vibration between 40 to 45 and at 75. Jacked up Mule at friends place used a old milk crate for a straight line and the front passenger tire had flat spot/out of round on it (spinning the tire the tread was about 1/8 inch away from crate. As the tired turned a bigger space appeared. ) The other three tires checked out Ok. But that does not mean that their isn't a hidden defect.



When I had the money and time to let the truck go to the shop I had all u-jount on the drive shafts changed. 75mph vibration went away but it still vibrates between 40 and 45 (lukcy I'm usually going slower or faster than that).

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

I would check for wheel/tire runout as Missouri Mule poinred out. One of the tire monkeys may have tried to break the bead but failed to insure the breaker lever was positioned properly and bent a rim. A tire, or tires may be bad. Once the tire shop confirms that the balance and installation has been done to the best of their ability it would be time to try a new set of tires. Also, when was the last time they calibrated the balancer?

 

[Hootguy]

those are what i have,,brand new Michelin LTX MS2's,,,not sure of when the machine got calibrated if ever,,,they pretty much told me they never balance tires on a dually,,which kind of took my confidence in them away right there,,,

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

I would then highly recommend following Harvey's experienced advice in post #6.

 

[HBarlow]

There is the additional possibility that the tire monkeys somehow got a jack under and bent a front or rear driveshaft. I've not heard of such an occurrence but marginally trained guys in a hurry can destroy almost anything.

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

There is the additional possibility that the tire monkeys somehow got a jack under and bent a front or rear driveshaft. I've not heard of such an occurrence but marginally trained guys in a hurry can destroy almost anything.

It does happen. I have seen a "$900 goof-up" on a Ferd Dually at a particular automotive service center where I was once employed. It was fully loaded (huge camper stuffed in the bed with everything but the kitchen sink tied to the top) and had a need for a couple of rear tires. Of course it would not fit in the lift bay so the sales lizard had the most knuckle dragging tire monkey use the "big Bertha" floor jack out in the parking lot. Said knuckle dragger placed the jack pad directly on the weakest part of ther rear axle - the tube - and proceeded to only "slightly" bend the tube, which even cracked one of the spot welds. Of course nothing was said - until the vehicle's owner came back a short time later with a vibration-hopping complaint. Long story shortened - Heated discussion in bay, in office... fingers pointing, tongues flailing... customers running away... camper unloaed on spindly legs in parking lot... two days later customer left with "new" rear axle assembly, courtesy of a particular automotive service center. Sadly, the sales lizard and knuckle dragging tire monkey still worked there when I left.

 

[HBarlow]

It does happen. I have seen a "$900 goof-up" on a Ferd Dually at a particular automotive service center where I was once employed. It was fully loaded (huge camper stuffed in the bed with everything but the kitchen sink tied to the top) and had a need for a couple of rear tires. Of course it would not fit in the lift bay so the sales lizard had the most knuckle dragging tire monkey use the "big Bertha" floor jack out in the parking lot. Said knuckle dragger placed the jack pad directly on the weakest part of ther rear axle - the tube - and proceeded to only "slightly" bend the tube, which even cracked one of the spot welds. Of course nothing was said - until the vehicle's owner came back a short time later with a vibration-hopping complaint. Long story shortened - Heated discussion in bay, in office... fingers pointing, tongues flailing... customers running away... camper unloaed on spindly legs in parking lot... two days later customer left with "new" rear axle assembly, courtesy of a particular automotive service center. Sadly, the sales lizard and knuckle dragging tire monkey still worked there when I left.

Amazing! That proves that if something can possibly be screwed up it will happen. Unreported incidents like that probably happen far more often than most of us know. The poor unsuspecting owner, a non-mechanically inclined and aware man or woman knows only that something is wrong and is unable or unwilling to take on the shop that did it so he or she is out a huge repair bill to correct.

 

[SSage]

I'm dealing with a bad vibration on my 2wd after new tires too. They seemed fine the first few days though. I'm thinking my left front shock went bad, but the shocks are only 3 years old with low miles... I run Centramatic balancers too, I wonder if they go bad? Mine are 9 years old now.

My front tires are cuppping, the left is worse than the right. Last time it felt like this, new shocks solved it. But, my front shocks have very little use on them, and they are not cheapos, yellow bilsteins.

 

[BigPapa]

Have you checked the dually adapters on the front hubs to make sure one or both are not loose?

 

[Hootguy]

everything looks tight,,,as per recomendation from a friend of mine,,i wil be checking the REAR wheels for balance or damage. .

 

[Hootguy]

well. . got to work on the truck today,,put the rear on axle stands and spun it up,,noticed the 2 drivers sides wheels acting funny,,,took them off,,cleaned the rust of the matting face that the tire shop didnt bother with,,,,then took all the weights they had put all over the place,,,then put the deramic balancing beads in all the tires,,,truck now runs smoother,,but still have a vidration at 60mph and above,,,but way less than before,,,i did notice the trans rubber mount is pretty badly beat up,,so i'll change that tomorow since its cheap,,,then it was suggested that take the whole rear driveshaft off and run in 4 wd to eliminate the driveshaft from the problems,,i'll seal the tailhousing with a cup temporarily,,,

One more thing i should mention,,,i removed the 96 rear driveshaft about 10 years ago when a friend of mine gave me a new 97 assembly,,,but the 97 front splined yoke would not fit the 96 transfercase splines,,so i had a driveline shop remove the 96 yoke and put in on the 97 shaft,,,BUT... . the 97 shaft had a huge balncer/damper ring on the yoke,,the 96 does NOT,,,could this cause exessive wear on the shaft and bearings,,,i have had to replace the OD rear output shaft bearing twice,,about every 5 years,,,just NOW wondering IF the fact that i do not have the big damper the 97 had could be causing problems,,,i am thinking NOW,,,that the much larger diameter 97 shaft NEEDED that big damper/balancer???,,,,any driveline experts that could tell me what they think,,,i'd love for my truck to drive smooth again,,,it's been years since i have felt smooth driving. .

thanks