Mystery Vibration

[kyman9000]

I have a 2015 Ram 1500 SLT. It's an 8' bed with a regular cab. It's the 3.6L gas 6 cylinder. The thing vibrates and feels just like a tire or wheel balance problem. Its got a brand new set of tires. A dealer tried to find the problem by switching all 4 wheels and tires from a new vehicle. No change. The vibration is most noticeable from 42-50 mph. They said the rear axle is ok and the driveshaft is ok. They checked their "forums" and said others have reported this problem and they don't know what it is. I'm tired of putting up with it and was considering replacing u-joints just to try something. Here's my question: It has a 2-piece driveshaft and I don't know whether to change all of the u-joints, just the end ones or just the middle ones. Has anyone had similar experience and/or any luck in changing u-joints to fix a vibration problem. Thank you.

 

[ramsare4real]

I haven't replaced it myself, but I had a vibration in the replacement driveshaft they installed under warranty. Replaced two days after.

 

[chopperman1]

Did it do it before the new tires? Common thing with new tires is the places not cleaning the mating surfaces of the rim and hub.

 

[jws123]

If it has the 2 piece driveshaft like a 8ft bed truck your driveshaft center support/bearing might be bad common failure.

 

[Daw14]

Carrier bearing in middle of drive shaft, check others while your at it .

 

[Jeepwalker]

A good yank on all those bearings can reveal wear and slop. Check the transmission/transfer case (whichever is your trucks final drive) output shaft for 'freeplay' as well. Would be a good idea to check the front driveshaft and all wheel bearings for free-play. They may have done all these ...they are kind of a standard approach to uncover vibrations. But some techs are sloppy and can miss things.

Ask the tire shop if they checked the tires on a Road Force balancer. If he says no, go find a shop which has one. They can detect broken chords, out of round-ness, and other faults a normal spin balancer won't uncover.

 

[indept]

Even though the dealer said the drive shafts were OK, get under & look at the u-joints, if there is any rust around the needle bearing cups that could be the issue. It may not have any noticeable play, if there's rust, the needle bearings are shot.

 

[kyman9000]

I haven't replaced it myself, but I had a vibration in the replacement driveshaft they installed under warranty. Replaced two days after.

Do you know if it was caused by the end u-joints or the carrier bearing?

 

[kyman9000]

Did it do it before the new tires? Common thing with new tires is the places not cleaning the mating surfaces of the rim and hub.

Yes but of course I thought it was the tires. I'm pretty convinced that it is not due to the tires or rims.

 

[kyman9000]

If it has the 2 piece driveshaft like a 8ft bed truck your driveshaft center support/bearing might be bad common failure.

Thank you. Do you happen to know if you can change the center support/bearing without disconnecting the ends of the driveshaft? I mean at the transmission and the rear end.