Intermittent highway vibration - SOLVED!!

[79Machine]

Soooo.. been battling the highway shimmy for a year now. New shocks - nope. Rebuilt the rear end - nope. Wheel bearings - nope. Upper control arms, nope. Lower ball joint - nope. Fixed the little crack on the airfoil under the front bumper and mounted a camera under there - nope. Wheels road force balnced - nope. 2 Dealerships couldn’t figure it out and wanted to sell me a driveshaft - **** of here. Said screw it and I did the lower control arms (Moog) when I did the headers, and VIOLA! Rides like a new truck. Can’t even believe how much better it handled. Thinking back, I was an idiot for not getting an alignment after a little leveling kit. I mean, it didn’t pull or anything, and I got used to it riding like crap. If you can’t figure out the phantom wobble/shimmy you get at like 60+ mph, kick your front tire and see if it bounces a little. Bet it’s your Lower CA’s. Your welcome! Proof that dealers are idiots!

 

[Jeepwalker]

Did you notice the balls joint were loose, or was it the bushings that were worn out? What were the exact issues with the LCA's?

Did you do anything with your wheel bearings? How many miles on your Ram?

 

[79Machine]

I have 114k. I did the RF wheel bearing and ball joint recently, still had the issue. All 3 bushings were off center after the LCA was off the car, so they were definitely fatigued and would only be worse under load. The only LCA bushings I’ve seen aftermarket were the strut fork ones, and the entire Moog assemblies weren’t too much $$. It wasn’t obvious they were bad upon inspection, so I tried everything else first and loaded up the parts cannon. With 114k though, all that other stuff was due to be replaced anyway. I noticed when I kicked the front tire (on the tread directly) it would kind of reverberate, now it’s solid af. Seriously rides like a new truck now.

 

[Rasworld84]

I have 114k. I did the RF wheel bearing and ball joint recently, still had the issue. All 3 bushings were off center after the LCA was off the car, so they were definitely fatigued and would only be worse under load. The only LCA bushings I’ve seen aftermarket were the strut fork ones, and the entire Moog assemblies weren’t too much $$. It wasn’t obvious they were bad upon inspection, so I tried everything else first and loaded up the parts cannon. With 114k though, all that other stuff was due to be replaced anyway. I noticed when I kicked the front tire (on the tread directly) it would kind of reverberate, now it’s solid af. Seriously rides like a new truck now.

Was your vibration in the seats and console or in the steering wheel? My vibration seems to be coming from the rear at 65-70mph. shakes my console and seats.

 

[Burla]

Congrats, good deal when those long journey's end in happiness.