Truck back in the shop!

[silverram03]

Just a quick run down, about two weeks ago I had the far rear u-joint and near front u-joint replaced due to a slight squeak from the rear. Any way now I have a pretty good vibration from 60 m. p. h. on up. Last night I was looking at the rear of the driveshaft and it appears that however the mechanic clamped the rear of the drivehaft he left two small symmetrical (180* apart) dimples in the rear just before the weld seam of the yolk and removed the ua-joint with a hammer and not a press and round bar marring up the driveshaft u-joint holes pretty good on the outside of them. Do you guys have any suggestions? I thought that the driveshaft just needs to be rebalanced maybe replaced since it is not truly round any more at the rear yolk and differential. The dealer thinks my tires have something to do with it but my truck has always been smooth as glass and the tires have about 15,000 miles on them so why would the vibration start now? Thanks in advance for the help guys, this is beginning to be a long hard battle, all be it the dealer has been very good and seems genuine in there intentions to track this down and fix it for me. Oh yeah truck has approx. 50,000 miles!

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

it appears that however the mechanic clamped the rear of the drivehaft he left two small symmetrical (180* apart) dimples in the rear just before the weld seam of the yolk and removed the ua-joint with a hammer and not a press and round bar marring up the driveshaft u-joint holes pretty good on the outside of them. Do you guys have any suggestions?!

I suggest you take it back and insist they replace the driveshaft

With all the torque the Cummins generates you run the risk of a failure. If not replace it have it repaired at a driveline shop and paid for by the dealer. Obviously whoever worked on your truck isn't much of a mechanic.

 

[p-Bar]

Ya tell em' the tires didn't go out of balance on the way home. The mechanic sounded like some shadetree yahoo.

 

[CPG]

There is no excuse for this poor quality work. I worked in professional shops for 36 years and this is not tolerated. These so called mechanics never lasted long. By all means take it back and insist on a new drive shaft with joints and an outside drive/line shop for a balance.



Chuck

 

[ENafziger]

Better get the shaft replaced. I had a rear shaft on another truck with a ding in it smaller than a dime, and it wasn't long until the shaft twisted in two and left me stranded. When the rear driveshaft breaks it also can cause other damage, such as cracking the rear of the transfer case... not a fun thing from personal experience. Learn from my mistake and take care of it now before the problem gets worse...

 

[Cattletrkr]

I think we need a description of the "dimple" before we can go ripping the mechanic. I was thinking "scratch awl" sized and everyone else seems to be thinking silver-dollar. "Marring" does not mean "large chunks of metal missing". My driveshaft got pretty beat up and we just filed the burrs off. No vibe. Not saying the mechanic didn't screw up, I just think some are jumping the gun a little.



A lot of guys here advise changing all the u-joints, not just the bad one. The bad one can start the others down the road to ruin. Maybe one of the others is now a little funky.

 

[silverram03]

Got the truck back today and this is the prognosis.

"Road tested vehicle, felt very slight vibration at 65 m. p. h. , Removed front driveshaft, road tested, vibration stayed the same, Swapped tires with known good vehicle, road tested, vibration reduced, found bulletin from Chrysler stating no update available for noticeable frequency primarily caused by the "bending" mode of the rear propshaft.



From Chrysler:

The 2003 & 2004 DR HD may exhibit vibrations while driving at highway speeds.



Axle disconnect is not available on 2003 DR 4x4 equipped vehicles. Without the disconnect system, a light or sometimes large first order highway speed vibration or beat may be noticeable if front driveline component is out of balance or has excessive run out. If vibration is felt and is excessive, utilize the MTS 4100 (vibration analyzer) to determine the vibration type, intensity and location front or rear. Note:if the vibration is first order, adjusting caster or driveline angles on a 2003 DR HD will not improve the vibration because a driveline angles affect second order vibrations.



The high speed vibration will typically be first order and will affect anything that rotates at propshaft speed.



Possible contributors of vibration include:

- front or rear driveshaft run out

- front or rear propshaft balance

- excessive tire road force variance

- wheel run out/balance

- incorrect indexing of front propshaft to yoke/flange

- T-case front output shaft run out or imbalance

- T-case front prop,yoke,flange,pinion excessive stack up of run out or balance



Note: A third order engine or second order driveline (booming/buffeting type noise at 60-80 m. p. h. ) frequency may be noticeable. No update available for engine vibration or the second order driveline vibration is primarily caused by the "bending" mode of the rear propshaft.



Sorry this is so long guys, but I thought you all would appreciate the update. As for the dimples on the shaft they are a non concern as they can barely be felt with your finger. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[DPKetchum]

So did it do it before u/joint replacement or after. Does it STILL vibrate? No repair done or indexing?

 

[silverram03]

I noticed it after, but in retrospect it might have always done it but I really noticed it when the U-Joints finally gave up. As for the dealer they did everything they could do. I have a whole rundown that they gave me on vibration diagnosis and repair but its way too long to re-type. Its up to chrysler to provide the solution. So until then I have documentation for down the road should something happen later.

 

[RKerner]

Placing the cross of the u-joint across the jaws of a vise or other solid object and then hammering on the weld of the shaft is an acceptable method of removing the old joint, at least back in my day. What it does is force the ear of the yoke outwards a little to aid installation of the new joint. It allows the C-clips or the cap end style clip to be installed without beating it in or grinding it down to fit because the ears of the yoke were bent inward due to using a press. I've done it dozens of times without issue. But, I'm sure the driveline guys may have have better methods.



There does seem to be issues with shortbox 3rd gens as my shaft was replaced around 34K miles for a vibe on accel after 4th gear lockup (between 50 and 60mph). the dealer seemed eager to put a new shaft in for some reason.

 

[steved]

Got the truck back today and this is the prognosis.

"Road tested vehicle, felt very slight vibration at 65 m. p. h. , Removed front driveshaft, road tested, vibration stayed the same, Swapped tires with known good vehicle, road tested, vibration reduced, found bulletin from Chrysler stating no update available for noticeable frequency primarily caused by the "bending" mode of the rear propshaft.



From Chrysler:

The 2003 & 2004 DR HD may exhibit vibrations while driving at highway speeds.



Axle disconnect is not available on 2003 DR 4x4 equipped vehicles. Without the disconnect system, a light or sometimes large first order highway speed vibration or beat may be noticeable if front driveline component is out of balance or has excessive run out. If vibration is felt and is excessive, utilize the MTS 4100 (vibration analyzer) to determine the vibration type, intensity and location front or rear. Note:if the vibration is first order, adjusting caster or driveline angles on a 2003 DR HD will not improve the vibration because a driveline angles affect second order vibrations.



The high speed vibration will typically be first order and will affect anything that rotates at propshaft speed.



Possible contributors of vibration include:

- front or rear driveshaft run out

- front or rear propshaft balance

- excessive tire road force variance

- wheel run out/balance

- incorrect indexing of front propshaft to yoke/flange

- T-case front output shaft run out or imbalance

- T-case front prop,yoke,flange,pinion excessive stack up of run out or balance



Note: A third order engine or second order driveline (booming/buffeting type noise at 60-80 m. p. h. ) frequency may be noticeable. No update available for engine vibration or the second order driveline vibration is primarily caused by the "bending" mode of the rear propshaft.

This is nice... after fighting with DC for over 2 years (and burning my warranty up in the meantime), they "admit" there is an issue... I hope DC is happy with the $$ they got out of me because I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER NEW DODGE AGAIN.



I told them time and time again mine was coming from the output of the tcase... I finally broke and bought a dynatrac kit to eliminate the vibes.



steved

 

[JKennedy]

Just replaced my U-joints on 04.5

I had a squeak coming from my driveshaft about a week ago. After some self diagnostics, I found the rear U-joint on the driveshft bad. I didn't want to go to the dealer and cover this by warranty for two reasons- 1) they take too long to fix anything, I would have been without my truck for two or three days and this will not work for me. 2) I didn't want the same cr@ppy U-joints that just went bad. I took my driveshaft to FleetPride and had the U-joints replaced (w/greasables) and balanced for $120. According to the dealer, replacment U-joints from them would have been $100 each + installation! I understand it's too late for you, however anyone else out there who might be having a simular problem could go the route I did. Sorry this info is too late, hope you work things out with the dealer.

 

[steved]

I had a squeak coming from my driveshaft about a week ago. After some self diagnostics, I found the rear U-joint on the driveshft bad. I didn't want to go to the dealer and cover this by warranty for two reasons- 1) they take too long to fix anything, I would have been without my truck for two or three days and this will not work for me. 2) I didn't want the same cr@ppy U-joints that just went bad. I took my driveshaft to FleetPride and had the U-joints replaced (w/greasables) and balanced for $120. According to the dealer, replacment U-joints from them would have been $100 each + installation! I understand it's too late for you, however anyone else out there who might be having a simular problem could go the route I did. Sorry this info is too late, hope you work things out with the dealer.

I went this route too... the shop I used replaced the AAM joints with 1480 Spicers (after grinding the retaining clips down)... they also balanced the shaft which was out, but it did nothing for the vibration in the front end...



steved

 

[sag2]

Silverram03

Did they replace the joints on the front and rear shafts, or just the rear shaft front and rear (no center support) joints. If they had the shafts out they need to check run on the ends of the shaft. I have found that no more than . 008 is good, more than that you have a chance of vibration. If it is out of spec they just need to index the shaft for minimum run out. I start at the rear of the rear and then do the front of the rear. I'm assuming the joint is in there OK, and not offset to one side slightly (remember . 008) causing the shaft runout.

I think you said they pulled the front shaft and it was no different, so that makes it a bit easier to find and fix. It also concerns me that you might be waiting for DC to fix it. They are not going to fix it, as your dealer has all the information and tools (except MTS 4100, but he can borrow that from his DC tech guy) to repair it. Especially if he did not index the shaft correctly when he reinstalled it.

 

[silverram03]

Sag2, They replaced only the two rear u-joints and as you can see they have tried everything. I however am far from waiting for a fix and considering taking the truck to a driveline mechanic that came very highly recomended by one of our T. D. R. locals. Thanks for the concern.

 

[sag2]

If your handy at all, try removing the drive line from the rear differental and rotate the shaft 180 degrees and reinstall. Note if it is better/worse. You might just luck out that it is not in the same location as when they removed it. Have one wheel off the ground or the trans in neutral so you can rotate it.