vibes at 70

[WStoops]

Has anyone heard anything new on the attempts to fix the dreaded vibration at 70 mph. Reluctantly, I have to start the lemon law thing with mine. I have 13,000 miles and they have tried to fix it unsuccessfully. In fact they actually made it worse on the last attempt. In Ct we have to start the process before accumulating 18,000 miles. I've had the drive train realignment and pinion angle adjustment. That messed up my front end alignment as I had no pull before they did that and a nasty one to the right after that. (and rapid tire wear, noticeable in only 800 miles). Those things changed the vibes from a starting point of 62 on up and now start, at 67 and diminishing at 75, very slight above 80. Then they did the front end alignment and the vibration is noticeable at 62, super nasty at 70 to 80.

Took it on a 600 mile trip yesterday, drove most of the way at 65, overhead said 17. 5, actual 20. 5, hand calculated. I guess now, after 13,000 miles, on a scale of 10, I'd give the Cummins engine a 10, my mileage a 10, the truck and leather seats a 5, the RB4 a 1, the dealer a 5 and DC a 0. Had an 03 gasser which I should have kept. :{ :{ :{

 

[bombero]

The lemon laws were put in just for cases like yours. Once some grease monkeys start fooling with all that stuff, you will never get it back to "like new" I would suggest that you really push the limon thing and hopefully you wont be out alot of $

 

[Matt400]

this TSB fixed my 70+ vib. It may not pertain to you if you have the updated hose. Also many have found that removing the front drive line cancels out the vib thus narrowing the fault there.

 

[BNH4221]

. Also many have found that removing the front drive line cancels out the vib thus narrowing the fault there.

Hey Matt,



When you say removing the front drive line do you mean the driveshaft? Anything else?

I have a slight to moderate 70-80 MPH vibration. I am thinking about removing the front driveshaft only to see if it affects the vibration.

Is this what you did?

If it did cancel the vibe, what did you do to the shaft? Balance I assume?



Also, is it OK to drive on highway without a front shaft? I would think so, but better to ask first then pay later.....



Having tires balanced first to rule that out. Then shaft removal.



Other than this little problem, what a machine!



Thanks for the assist



Steve

 

[WStoops]

They have narowed it to the front driveline. It goes away completely with removal of the front driveshaft. Replacement, rebalance won't fix it. The dealer says DC is working hard on a fix but I'm not buying it. They said they would call when the fix is out but I have not heard from them since July. The new model year trucks are out now and that is where they are focused. They have my 47K and I'm sucking dirty pond water. Thank god for the Lemon Law. If I'm successful there I'm not sure I'll go Dodge again. Will definitely consider F or G. :{

 

[jungledave]

I went through the same BS for about 7 months and 6 trips to the dealer. I would be happy that removal of the front shaft does away with drone. It made no difference with mine. They even tried some stupid exhaust bracket and it made it worse. Didn't need aligned. Finally they bought the darned thing back after 8000 miles. And like many others have complained; I wasn't too impressed with the leather in the Laramie and especially the vinyl back seat. I don't know how many times they replaced the drive lines before they figured out that it wasn't the driveshafts[at least on my truck].

 

[BNH4221]

They have narowed it to the front driveline. It goes away completely with removal of the front driveshaft. Replacement, rebalance won't fix it.

WStoops,



Not being a drivetrain specialist but suffering the vibration, I have to ask, WHY?

Why does removing the shaft get rid of the vibe but replacing it or balancing it doesn't work? It seems to me that if it were in the axle, for example, it would do it driveshaft or not? Am I wrong?

If driveshaft removal stops the vibe, I would point to that exclusively. Am I missing something?

Can you enlighten me?

I'd love to know so I can narrow my search for a cure.



Thanks

Steve

 

[Matt400]

Hey Matt,



When you say removing the front drive line do you mean the driveshaft?

Yes, they are one in the same.

Is this what you did?

No, I have just read where others found fault there.

Also, is it OK to drive on highway without a front shaft?

Yes

 

[Matt400]

WStoops,

Why does removing the shaft get rid of the vibe but replacing it or balancing it doesn't work?

My guess is there is trouble with the joint assembly on the shaft. Better off having a drive line shop make a good one that works and be done with it.



Its just like the crappy ball joints on these trucks, put the same ones back in and you can expect trouble.

 

[Pratcliff]

My truck vibrated hard at 69-75 mph. When the front driveshaft was removed the vibration was lessened but not gone. We rotated the large knuckle at the end of the front shaft 180 degrees(the knuckle was removed to put the shaft in the balance machine) We reinstalled the shaft in its original position and the vibration was completely gone. Note: Rotating the entire front driveshaft one-eighty did not help the vibration. Rotate only the large knuckle. Hope this helps.

 

[GTX]

Mine also has the vibe at 65 thru 75. The dealer replaced the front drivshaft and made it about 100 times worse. They have put in another drive shaft but that still did not fix it. With the drive shaft out the vibe is gone. I am going to get this one balanced and see what happens. I think if it balance says it is ok I will try what was said above and rotate the big knuckle 180 degrees.

 

[WStoops]

A fair question might be, why are we having to figure this out for ourselves? My dealer tried hard to fix this problem. I just got back from there as I was missing 1 receipt and got a copy from them. When I brought my truck in to the dealer in June, it was because they had a tech guy from DC come in to diagnose mine and one other which had had virtually everything in the front driveline replaced or rebalanced. The DC guy recommended the drivetrain realignment (whatever that is) and a pinion angle adjustment on both trucks. I learned today that DC has since bought back the other truck but the dealer now has another truck with the problem, besides mine. The joints on the front driveshaft are at quite an angle. To reduce the angle the cams on the lower arms which attach to the axle are turned to in effect rotate the entire axle in order to reduce the angles of the driveshaft universals. Since this is a solid front axle, it is not possible to adjust one without adjusting the other one an equal amount. In any event, the problem was not fixed and the alignment is "different". Truck now pulls right slightly. (see earlier post). Another possibility is that the vibration is in the transfer case as the output side is being turned by the front wheels since we can not disengage at the hubs.

A relatively simple fix would be to fit a manual locking hub to the front wheels. I would accept that. DC SHOULD be contacting those of us with the problem REGULARLY to keep us informed as to their efforts to fix this problem. My first call to the dealer was in May, 2 weeks after picking up the truck when I had 880 miles. Now I have 13,000 miles and still hear the same bull that they are working on it. Our motor vehicle department is closed in this state on Mondays but I WILL be contacting them first thing in the morning to start the lemon law buyback procedure and have sent the required notification to DC in todays mail. I am wondering if the 6 speeds have the vibration or is it only the 48RE. If that were the case I might go Dodge again with a hand shaker. :-{} :-{} :{

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

The last issue of TDR had a variety of fixes for the vibes. Maybe one of these will be your magic bullet?

 

[Matt400]

The last issue of TDR had a variety of fixes for the vibes. Maybe one of these will be your magic bullet?

That was an excellent write up and worth mentioning, everyone should check it out.

 

[bombero]

Lemon Law!! You are much to patient!

 

[Briman]

As some of you know, this has been going on for two years now. I can't tell you how to fix it because there seems to be more than one fault.



My best recomendation to any new dodge truck owner waanabe is take the truck you want to buy for a fast 100 mile drive.



If you don't feel any thing during that test than you will more than likely be all right.



I had the honor of DC buying back my '03 for this very reason.



I find it hard to believe that DC still has not fixed the problem. The Fuching DC corporate culture that won't allow this to be fixed needs to come visit me for some personal motivation.



This kind of thing has to be hard on new truck sales. After two years I would think that if the problem still existed that engineers and high management would loose their jobs.



I know that Ford and GM have their own problems, yet we get to drive down the rode like we had no feeling in our arse.

 

[BNH4221]

Guys, thanks for the info. Have to contact dealer and try to get things started to fix this.

I am wondering if the 6 speeds have the vibration or is it only the 48RE

I wonder the same thing. Mine is an auto. Could it be transmission related? Obviously only 4x4 related. Could it be transfer case related and perhaps the driveshaft is only transmitting the vibration?



Who knows???



Steve

 

[WStoops]

I don't know how tied in with DC my dealer is but they told me that DC is working on a fix and that they are pushing hard for it. They don't seem to think that any progress has been made and the farther we get away from the 04 model year the less likely a factory fix seems to be. One of the responders to this thread described his problem as a "drone". Not sure what he meant by that but mine is a definite vibration which can not only be heard but felt in the pedals, steering wheel, door windows, shift lever and dash board. All I know is that my 03 cost 30k and my 04. 5 cost me 47k, bought 1 year apart. I feel like 77k spent with DC in 1 year and I'm being ignored. Failure to contact us directly and keep us informed has really hurt their image with me.

Ignoring the problem doesn't make it go away, it just makes your customer angry. :{

 

[loncray]

I've had this too - in the pedals and steering wheel - but never enough to be more than an annoyance, and either it's gone away since I first noticed it, or I just don't notice it anymore. Considering how much fun the truck is (and it's two years to the day since I picked it up from the dealer), it's a minor thing. Oh, and I'm 6-sp, 4x4 if that makes any difference.

 

[DPelletier]

Another possibility is that the vibration is in the transfer case as the output side is being turned by the front wheels since we can not disengage at the hubs. :-{} :-{} :{

Bingo.

I bet you dollars to donuts a transfer case replacement would fix the problem. Oh, and FWIW I have heard of 6spds having the vibe, but it seems much more prevalent on 48RE's. 48RE, 4x4 and SWB seems to be the worst by far. The "steering wheel/pwr steering hose vibe" is a totally different thing and relatively minor.



Good Luck,



Dave