2018 3500 4x4 front end vibration

tj5085 · Jun 13, 2021

Good evening all. I recently bought a used 3500 and it initially didn't have a noticeable vibration. Now it is there at low speeds (25-45) almost all the time. Reading forums this appears to be a common problem. Has anyone done the locking hub upgrade and did it work? Just curious before I spend the $1800.00 to fix a problem that shouldn't exist in the first place.

crazy jerry · Jun 14, 2021

theres a old saying. a fool and his money are soon parted

can you give more details of this common problem ? i guess ive never heard about it

mtnrider · Jun 14, 2021

I have never heard of a locking hub kit fixing a vibration problem(ever). And our trucks have axle disconnect any way so locking hubs are a waste of time and money for the most part.
You either have tires out of balance or a loose/worn part in the front end (track bar, hub bearing, ball joints, tie rods etc). With that said, start with the simple stuff, get the tires balanced that's your most likely issue.

.

22hemi13 · Jun 14, 2021

2014+ trucks swapping to locking hubs is waste of money IMO. I use mine a “little bit” and never have a had an issue. Check the actual hubs lift front and spin a tire. Where do you feel the vibe? Does the wheel shake? Maybe a little more info could help.

RoadRamblerNJ · Jun 15, 2021

mtnrider said:
I have never heard of a locking hub kit fixing a vibration problem(ever). And our trucks have axle disconnect any way so locking hubs are a waste of time and money for the most part.
You either have tires out of balance or a loose/worn part in the front end (track bar, hub bearing, ball joints, tie rods etc). With that said, start with the simple stuff, get the tires balanced that's your most likely issue.

.

+1. ^^^^^THIS^^^^^

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

SeppW · Jun 15, 2021

Could be anything in the driveline. Any rotating mass out of balance or worn out would cause a vibration. Need to narrow it down where coming from. I'd start with the obvious first: such as: Tire and wheels. Balanced, tires worn, feathering/cupping, out of round, broken cord, rotated, alignment. I had an issue where my tires were causing vibration over 70 MPH. Had them road force balanced and issue solved. Not saying that is your case, because you say vibration is at low speed.

mtofell · Jun 15, 2021

My local tire does what they call a "shake down" every time they have a vehicle in the air. Basically, they push/pull things looking for loose parts (probably looking for work). This along with what others suggest about wheel balancing, etc. is where I'd start. Throwing $1800 at something as a guess is definitely not where I'd start.

Fwiw.... the front ends on these trucks seem to hold up pretty well. I'm at 110K and haven't had anything go wrong. My old 06 Chevy Silverado at front parts like crazy by this mileage.

SeppW · Jun 15, 2021

mtofell said:
My local tire does what they call a "shake down" every time they have a vehicle in the air. Basically, they push/pull things looking for loose parts (probably looking for work). This along with what others suggest about wheel balancing, etc. is where I'd start. Throwing $1800 at something as a guess is definitely not where I'd start.

Fwiw.... the front ends on these trucks seem to hold up pretty well. I'm at 110K and haven't had anything go wrong. My old 06 Chevy Silverado at front parts like crazy by this mileage.

Shakedown. I could see the irony potential there.

tj5085 · Jun 17, 2021

Thanks for your input everyone. There are many forums and videos online where people tried numerous tire changes and balances to correct the harmonic vibration to no avail. Google "Ram 3500 front end vibration" and you will be amazed at how broad the problem is including brand new trucks that Ram has turned their back on. I will take it to a local shop and have them inspect the front end for worn items before I disconnect the wheels from the axles with locking hubs.

crazy jerry · Jun 18, 2021

its unfortunate the internet can be some peoples very worst enemy as they havent the mechanical wherewithal to distinguish the good info from the ******** or the urban legend from the wives tales. not being able to make a sound logical decision leaves these people vulnerable to the misguided info thats plagued forums and youtube for so long.
prior to '14 im honestly not sure what the differences were between 2500 and 3500 front ends. ive no interest in those trucks so i could careless what differences there were. 14+ the 2500 and 3500 had identical front ends. why would 3500 have a so called broad vibration problem but 2500 doesnt. makes no sense . ive not seen anything suggesting these newer trucks have front end vibration, perhaps the older trucks did ?. but just the opposite, the newer models seems to do very well from everything ive seen. keep in mind a handful of negative youtube videos is only a drop in the bucket to the hundred of thousand of these trucks working just fine. even if it were a hundred bad videos its still only a drop in the ocean sir. not every truck will be problem free. that shouldnt be hard to understand i wouldnt think.
obviously not having any type of mechanical back ground, i suspect you may be misinterpreting the posts and videos youve seen.
put those lockout hubs on if you want (most will say its the dumbest idea ever though and i have to agree)

JRS950 · Jun 18, 2021

I also have a 2018 Ram 3500. How many miles are on the truck and does it still have the OEM tires? At 32000 miles I developed a vibration that I thought was coming from the rear of the truck. Turns out the passenger side front tire had broken a belt. 2 new front tires and vibration gone. Same thing happened to rear tire at 42000. 4 more tires and all is well. Check for a bulge in the tread area.

crazy jerry · Jun 18, 2021

yep tires is the first place i would look at. often times just spin balancing is not enough . roundness of the tire assembly should be checked and inspect for seperations or other defects. i had a new good year develop a seperation that could be seen on the outside

JRS950 · Jun 22, 2021

tj5085, any resolution to your issue? Just checking and curious about what you might have found or done?

tj5085 · Jun 22, 2021

JRS950 said:
tj5085, any resolution to your issue? Just checking and curious about what you might have found or done?

Rotated tires and looked for loose or worn suspension or tire separation but nothing found and no difference so far. It has 80,000 miles on it so I am replacing shocks and the steering damper. Then it will go in for an alignment and hopefully that will make a difference.

crazy jerry · Jun 23, 2021

for something to be the source of your vibration it needs to be part of a rotating assembly. in more rare cases it could be a worn out ujoint or bent driveshaft from offroading etc. but most times its going to be the tires.
change shocks and stabilizer if you want but theyre not part of any rotating assembly and couldnt be the source of vibration. me i would put the tires on road force machine before spending a penny on anything else

2018 3500 4x4 front end vibration

tj5085

Junior Member

crazy jerry

Senior Member

mtnrider

Senior Member

22hemi13

Senior Member

RoadRamblerNJ

Senior Member

SeppW

Senior Member

mtofell

Senior Member

SeppW

Senior Member

tj5085

Junior Member

crazy jerry

Senior Member

JRS950

Senior Member

crazy jerry

Senior Member

JRS950

Senior Member

tj5085

Junior Member

crazy jerry

Senior Member

Similar threads

Latest posts

Staff online

Members online

Forum statistics

Share this page