Unknown and inconsistent vibration

[tron67j]

Your tires can be balanced but still have a defect in the rim that would provide the sensations you describe. I would recommend having a reputable run shop thoroughly check each rim without the tires attached.

 

[670hoth]

Man! I'm impressed! Please! Share with me where you got YOUR 8 ball!

Direct experience. How about you?

 

[caulk04]

Have you checked to see if your parking brake shoes are performing as expected? And not hanging up, causing vibration. Whether you routinely use the parking brake or not.

Just a thought.

Parking brakes were rebuilt in March, no issues there.

Your tires can be balanced but still have a defect in the rim that would provide the sensations you describe. I would recommend having a reputable run shop thoroughly check each rim without the tires attached.

The tires are all wearing nicely and everything spins nice and true

 

[Sherman Bird]

As I was working my way down the posts I was thinking you need to find a shop with a vibration analyzer. See @Sherman Bird ’s post.

They are a bit costly for a home mechanic or one time user. Sometimes it’s worth paying a pro. Finding one is the hardest part.

My NVH tool alone was 2 grand.... and it requires an expansive oscilloscope which has to be loaded with and calibrated with software compatible with each other.... not to mention my dedicated diagnostic computer. Yes, the cost is in the 8 grand range all in. But, I do it for a living and have been misled by old fashioned methods of vibration diagnostics. An example is the Hondas which have that very expensive motor mount with a computer controlled vacuum chamber to smooth out engine vibrations. It is easy to point to that as the cause because these mounts have a history of failure. One of my Accord customers came in and had the dreaded vacuum operated mount vibration symptoms.... I installed my NVH equipment a found a 100 dollar transaxle to body mount, which was WAY cheaper to fix. Easier too.

 

[Daw14]

Parking brakes were rebuilt in March, no issues there.

The tires are all wearing nicely and everything spins nice and true

Maybe some of your recently changed parts are not holding up like they were designed to ,or might have got some knock offs.

 

[Wheatboy]

Years back, when someone ran a yield sign and t-boned me, insurance screwed me over and replaced my aftermarket step up bars with dodge crap ones and, sadly, I didn't notice until after I had an intermittent vibration which ended up being the bar's crap bolt/nut stripping/breaking. Ended up having to get both bars welded to eliminate it from constantly re-occurring.

 

[Tominator223]

Bad rim or tire. Even when balanced a tire can still be bad. Look at sidewall for bumps & waves . Tread as well.

 

[Hagar1]

I always try to get American made whenever possible. When I couldn't get American made Goodyear or Firestone tires for my 3500 truck, the supposed tire guru at The Tire Rack steered me to this great Kuhmo tire. Short on options, I reluctantly ordered a set of four. These tires didn't last two years before the two rear tires exploded a day apart from each other. In the interim, I also chased a mysterious vibration. Tires were remounted and rebalanced by everyone I took them too. A few alignments were done, rotations, even a rear driveshaft was done. Nothing solved the vibration. One summer day while passing the Philadelphia Airport, one rear tire separated and I put on a spare. The very next day, the other rear tire exploded. On with the other spare. I have extra wheels and tires and some dedicated winter tires for the 2WD trucks. Low and behold, no more vibration. I saved the old tires for warranty purposes. The Kuhmos must have had internal tread separation that could not be detected or balanced out. I called The Tire Rack and they could care less. Not satisfied, I left a scathing review that they never posted. Buyer beware when dealing with The Tire Rack.

I certainly agree with your assessment of Kuhmo tires. They are pure garbage, they wear out quicker than an eraser in a class of grade ones.
Is the vibration speed related? If you have access to or perhaps know someone with a frequency counter, it might help to solve the issue.

 

[Hagar1]

Years back, when someone ran a yield sign and t-boned me, insurance screwed me over and replaced my aftermarket step up bars with dodge crap ones and, sadly, I didn't notice until after I had an intermittent vibration which ended up being the bar's crap bolt/nut stripping/breaking. Ended up having to get both bars welded to eliminate it from constantly re-occurring.

You just triggered another thought in my old brain. Could it be possible that something like the step up bars?
Years ago, I was asked to test drive a car for a noise / vibration. The shop foreman wanted to overhaul the transaxle. We went out on to the highway and and after a mile or two, I stopped, pulled off the add on roof racks and drove away ..... noise was gone.

 

[MrMagumba]

Don't give up. My similar vib was at 55mph regardless of gear/rpm. Paid the dealer for their vibration analysis and they were stumped. The guy who put in my bed liner listened to it and thought it was something in the axles because the drive shaft rotates 3 or 4 times as fast. So the frequency of the vib could point you somewhere. Interestingly when I did my first oil change with full synthetic after trying all different things with no luck, the vib shifted to 53 mph and there it stayed. Bought my 2021 1500 Hemi with 40k miles. Good luck. I'll keep watching for more ideas.

 

[1 MEAN66]

Did you say it was -after- the balance beads? a lot of people like them, so had problems and took them out and it went away. Did you pull the driveshaft out (You said it was 1 piece?) when it is out with your fingers rotated all eight u joint cap SLOWLY trying to feel ANY bind of any kind. How many miles on the truck? has it always been there? or it occurred after What mileage, or what repair etc. Or? While it is out any dents (even the tiniest) . is the a stop on it that looks like there might have been a weight there. If nothing shows up you got take it to a Ujoint shop that can actually make sure it is straight and balanced. Some 4x4 vehicles you can also pull the rear shaft and drive it on the front. If you feel it in the seat it's usually rear. I have seen some Fords that have a broken spring shackle or front spring eye bushing do that. That is all I can think of from here.

 

[1 MEAN66]

The load force balancer will eliminate all tires ( if you do one do them all). You can balance a football BUT it sure doesn't roll very smooth!

 

[Dusty]

We had a new GMC Suburban at a dealer I worked at back in 1993 that had this type of shake/ vibration. After our other well meaning technicians attempted "shotgun" repairs (The last one I worked on had a bad.... fill in the blank....), the service director and the shop foreman came out and gathered several of us mechanics and explained that he (we) needed to fix this truck because it had been at our shop for a week, and the customer had a coupon book and no new car!

I recommended that we fetch the NVH tool (noise. vibration, harshness) and collectively, as a team, figure it out.
We did so, and figured that the axle tube on one side was welded in crooked! This meant that an entire new differential assembly had to be installed. To expedite, we took one off a new Suburban in stock with a matching differential. and it was fixed! That took an act of congress from the Detroit ivory tower to cannibalize a new truck in stock.... they had to rubber stamp it and a lot of documentation was necessary.

Interesting. The Florida Rainman (who does auto repair videos) had a Silverado a ways back with the same exact problem.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Billet Silver Laramie Quad Cab 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33-gallon fuel tank, factory dual exhaust, 18” wheels. Build Date: 3 June 2018. Now at 96748 miles.

 

[Dave Grant]

So I have this ongoing vibration that I'm unable to find on my own, HALP! Sometimes it starts around 55, sometimes higher, sometimes nothing all the way to 80. I've not been able to pin down a point at which it starts or any certain bump/turn that starts it either.

The vibe is general, you feel it in the seat, console etc. It does not shake the wheel. I'm 100% sure it's not the tires, it existed before and after getting new tires and also after I added balance beads to all 4 tires. Shifting to lower gears does nothing. Accel, coast, or decel does not affect it. I've shifted into low range and ran through the gears (maybe 40mph) and did not feel any vibes so it seems not to be transmission. Front driveshaft has been removed with no effect. Rear driveshaft ujoints are all smooth with no slack. Sometimes it's pretty light, others it's bad enough that I can just watch in my mirror to see the bed shake slightly in relation to the cab.

I've driven enough junk vehicles to know what various terrible suspension components feel/sound like, that is not the case here. I replaced the lower links on the rear axle as two of those bushing were slightly suspect; no effect.

The truck is a slightly odd bird being a 149" WB 1500. Hoping someone has fought this before and has a silver bullet for it.

My 09 has done similar since I got it in 2012 with 60k on it. New tires never made a difference and it's very intermittent.... I just live with is as it never stays much more than a couple minutes at a time.

 

[mdc1990zr1]

I certainly agree with your assessment of Kuhmo tires. They are pure garbage, they wear out quicker than an eraser in a class of grade ones.
Is the vibration speed related? If you have access to or perhaps know someone with a frequency counter, it might help to solve the issue.

When the Kuhmos blew out, no more vibration. It was the Kuhmos!!!

 

[Hagar1]

When the Kuhmos blew out, no more vibration. It was the Kuhmos!!!

Well, that is not surprising. I had one set of Kuhmos on my Ram 1500, never again!

 

[Sherman Bird]

Well, that is not surprising. I had one set of Kuhmos on my Ram 1500, never again!

..........and I'm in my 3rd set of Kumhos.... with many trouble free miles so far.

 

[Justin33]

It's wear on the splines of the front CV shafts.

Now you have me wondering if that is my issue as I had a shop fix a boot well replace cv shaft. They ended up breaking passenger side so had to pay partial for a used one. Maybe the shafts are my issue?

 

[Wild one]

Now you have me wondering if that is my issue as I had a shop fix a boot well replace cv shaft. They ended up breaking passenger side so had to pay partial for a used one. Maybe the shafts are my issue?

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[Justin33]

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One of those live and learn I screed up letting a shim do it versus a dealer who wouldn’t have pickle forked passenger side and drove it up.