Unsolved Issue

[bm02tj]

I had a 1981 3/4 ton 2wd that had tires balanced replaced and balanced still bad
I found yoke on driveshaft welded on slightly off
Rear hubs and drums out of balance and one front rotor
after correcting the truck rode smooth

you will need to check every thing
including pinion angle

 

[madtrucker2016]

Maybe on the trans mount they didn't put the left and right 1/2 inch studs on the housing. Without them you can get the vibes at high speed . the only way to check is to back off the trans from the motor

 

[eithkrp]

Just a thought, could it be a harmonic balance issue? Say from the motor or flywheel? If it is at a certain speed is it the the same RPM? Get the truck to shake then manually downshift the truck while maintaining speed to see if there is a change.

Good point, i can take it out and see if it's RPM consistent.
Thanks,

 

[TheCreep]

Do you have aftermarket wheels with spacers? If so, check your spacers. I chased a similar problem on my 95 Camaro Z28. Replaced driveshaft, etc.. I simply overlooked the wheel spacers even though I was looking right at them the HUNDRED or so times that I took the rear wheels off during the diagnosis process. Went to put the wheels back on for the umpteenth time, and there it was, staring me in the face. The holes in the spacers (used because the wheels would not fit over the axle hubs) were just slightly larger than the lug studs. This caused them to sag about 1/8 inch when slipped over the lugs, creating a camshaft/eccentric-type effect during high speed rotation, thus, a vibration. Thing was, I never even looked at them as the culprit. I milled-out the wheel centers to fit over the axle hubs & tossed the spacers. Problem solved.

 

[mhud59]

Is the rear axle square two the truck?

 

[DReinke]

i have been working with my dealer for almost 6 months to solve a vibration/shaking issue at highway speeds and they have decided to give up. I'm hoping someone might have some answers as my truck is in perfect shape except for this issue. Quick version:
I have a 2015 1500 Crew 4x4 Limited, short bed. Has the Air ride suspension. Bought at 19k miles, now has 65k miles. I originally had Toyo AT tires and thought the tires just were not wearing well at 50% and decided to put new on. When drove out with new tires, Michelin AT, was smooth as can be... Until i got on the highway, around 72-78 i felt what can only be described as shaking/hopping, etc. but in the seat. Passenger seat was visibly shaking at highway speeds. Even got on brand new paved Interstate.

Went back to tire shop, had high speed again, etc. Nothing, went to dealer. Started by taking full set of wheels/tires off another model and put on mine. Issue was the same, put mine on other vehicle, it drove smooth (same Limited with same air ride). Dealer could duplicate and agreed on what it was doing.

From there, dealer put new driveshaft, then new front driveshaft, then new rear axle shafts, new brakes and rotors and then FCA had them put a new transmission in it. Still doing it.

Since we now were 8k miles since my new tires, they claimed tires were an issue again (about as ignorant as you can get). SO i went and got brand new Michelin Highway tires. There a smooth, feel, but as soon as you hit around 50mph you can feel it in the seat, and worse at 72mph. Odd though between those two not much and over 80 it gets better. But it's there.

And it's in the seats you feel it. Nothing in the steering wheel, brakes, etc.

I truly want to get it fixed, as trading it will take a hit over $5k or new is way over priced right now.

Thanks.

I recently changed tires on my 2017 1500 4x4 and ran into a similar vibration issue with the new tires. Vibration started about 62mph and went away over 70mph. Most of the highway driving is between 65 and 70mph so the vibration really bothered me. the shop tried to balance the tires three different times. Drove it each time and evantually tried to pass it off as a brake issue. Remember, the problem started immediately after installing the new tires. I considered truing and a special on truck balance service at a local dealer but the tire shop would not pay for the extra $100 fee. A friend suggested I throw in a bag of balance beads in each tire. I searched on line and decided to give it a try. I ordered 4 bags of balance beads from Counteract Balancing Beads( https://www.counteractbalancing.com/ ). One 4 ounce bag in each tire and all the vibration went away. I left all the balance weights on the tires but the tech at Counteract said I could either leave them on or remove them and if one fell of i would never know. The beads would continue to take care of the balance needs of the wheel/tire assembly. The tech also told me the larger tires on our trucks are becoming a balance problem. Some of the tire carcasses shift at different speeds and cause a balance problem. That made sense in my case since the balance issue was only during a rather limited speed range. Might be worth a try and the cost is reasonable.

 

[LI Guy]

Have you checked if your spare tire is loose?

 

[geotex1]

If it were mine, and since you indicated it has done this with 3 different tires on your wheels as well as a completely different set of wheels and tires, and with all replaced to date, I would do a full suspension inspection and measurement. You want to check every joint, every pivot point bushing, shocks, air bags, etc., and then verify front alignment and alignment to the rear. If all proves ok there, then it gets tougher, and I would work to rule out the rear differential being the source.

 

[chrisbh17]

Perhaps a GoPro and a magnetic mount could yield some clues.

Ive run a GoPro under my truck while driving...made a DIY magnetic mount setup like this:

 

[Jrjohnson1969]

I have the same issue with my 06 2500 diesel. Been dealing with it for 2 years now. Replaced ALL steering components, wheel bearing assembly's, new tires and rims road force balanced, new front drive shaft, new u joints on rear driveshaft, rear driveshaft balanced (which was not out of balance), motor mounts and transmission mount. Still have the vibration at 65-80 mph. Hope you find out what yours is soon.

 

[Mike McWhorter]

i have been working with my dealer for almost 6 months to solve a vibration/shaking issue at highway speeds and they have decided to give up. I'm hoping someone might have some answers as my truck is in perfect shape except for this issue. Quick version:
I have a 2015 1500 Crew 4x4 Limited, short bed. Has the Air ride suspension. Bought at 19k miles, now has 65k miles. I originally had Toyo AT tires and thought the tires just were not wearing well at 50% and decided to put new on. When drove out with new tires, Michelin AT, was smooth as can be... Until i got on the highway, around 72-78 i felt what can only be described as shaking/hopping, etc. but in the seat. Passenger seat was visibly shaking at highway speeds. Even got on brand new paved Interstate.

Went back to tire shop, had high speed again, etc. Nothing, went to dealer. Started by taking full set of wheels/tires off another model and put on mine. Issue was the same, put mine on other vehicle, it drove smooth (same Limited with same air ride). Dealer could duplicate and agreed on what it was doing.

From there, dealer put new driveshaft, then new front driveshaft, then new rear axle shafts, new brakes and rotors and then FCA had them put a new transmission in it. Still doing it.

Since we now were 8k miles since my new tires, they claimed tires were an issue again (about as ignorant as you can get). SO i went and got brand new Michelin Highway tires. There a smooth, feel, but as soon as you hit around 50mph you can feel it in the seat, and worse at 72mph. Odd though between those two not much and over 80 it gets better. But it's there.

And it's in the seats you feel it. Nothing in the steering wheel, brakes, etc.

I truly want to get it fixed, as trading it will take a hit over $5k or new is way over priced right now.

Thanks.

When I bought my truck 4 years ago, I had a vibration at highway speeds. They tried the balancing, force balancing, but they didn't take the time nor care that you received. They could not figure out, mainly because they didn't give me the attention deserved to cure the problem.

I lived with it since it wasn't extremely rough, just annoying. I had to take it in for new tires after about 32k miles, the front were wearing badly. It was then when the techs at the tire shop said I needed NEW struts??? Once the struts were replaced, and put Nitto Grapplers on for my new set of tires, it's been the smoothest, best handling ride ever.

 

[JjLuv]

i have been working with my dealer for almost 6 months to solve a vibration/shaking issue at highway speeds and they have decided to give up. I'm hoping someone might have some answers as my truck is in perfect shape except for this issue. Quick version:
I have a 2015 1500 Crew 4x4 Limited, short bed. Has the Air ride suspension. Bought at 19k miles, now has 65k miles. I originally had Toyo AT tires and thought the tires just were not wearing well at 50% and decided to put new on. When drove out with new tires, Michelin AT, was smooth as can be... Until i got on the highway, around 72-78 i felt what can only be described as shaking/hopping, etc. but in the seat. Passenger seat was visibly shaking at highway speeds. Even got on brand new paved Interstate.

Went back to tire shop, had high speed again, etc. Nothing, went to dealer. Started by taking full set of wheels/tires off another model and put on mine. Issue was the same, put mine on other vehicle, it drove smooth (same Limited with same air ride). Dealer could duplicate and agreed on what it was doing.

From there, dealer put new driveshaft, then new front driveshaft, then new rear axle shafts, new brakes and rotors and then FCA had them put a new transmission in it. Still doing it.

Since we now were 8k miles since my new tires, they claimed tires were an issue again (about as ignorant as you can get). SO i went and got brand new Michelin Highway tires. There a smooth, feel, but as soon as you hit around 50mph you can feel it in the seat, and worse at 72mph. Odd though between those two not much and over 80 it gets better. But it's there.

And it's in the seats you feel it. Nothing in the steering wheel, brakes, etc.

I truly want to get it fixed, as trading it will take a hit over $5k or new is way over priced right now.

Thanks.

I had a similar issue back with my older dodge a few years ago.
Turns out to have been the cardboard inside the driveshaft got wet and lumped to one side.
You could only feel it at 75-80 mph
I pulled a boat a lot and sometimes the truck would sit halfway in the water all day . Went back-and-forth with the dealer for six months it finally took a sharp eyed 20-year-old technician to finally figure it out .

 

[WJEngle]

Are you sure the truck has never been damaged either by collision or off roading? A ever so slight rear end alignment problem will cause it to hop.

 

[Ram1958]

Ok now lets see. Not exactly clear on one thing. Did you change tires because of shake or because you didn't like the wear?. Did shake start before or after?

 

[chrisbh17]

Pretty sure tires were ruled out when they put his on another truck and the other truck had no vibration. Looks like they also took known good wheels and tires and on his truck those vibrated too. So it looks like wheels and tires were ruled out.



Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[DieselGuy]

i have been working with my dealer for almost 6 months to solve a vibration/shaking issue at highway speeds and they have decided to give up. I'm hoping someone might have some answers as my truck is in perfect shape except for this issue. Quick version:
I have a 2015 1500 Crew 4x4 Limited, short bed. Has the Air ride suspension. Bought at 19k miles, now has 65k miles. I originally had Toyo AT tires and thought the tires just were not wearing well at 50% and decided to put new on. When drove out with new tires, Michelin AT, was smooth as can be... Until i got on the highway, around 72-78 i felt what can only be described as shaking/hopping, etc. but in the seat. Passenger seat was visibly shaking at highway speeds. Even got on brand new paved Interstate.

Went back to tire shop, had high speed again, etc. Nothing, went to dealer. Started by taking full set of wheels/tires off another model and put on mine. Issue was the same, put mine on other vehicle, it drove smooth (same Limited with same air ride). Dealer could duplicate and agreed on what it was doing.

From there, dealer put new driveshaft, then new front driveshaft, then new rear axle shafts, new brakes and rotors and then FCA had them put a new transmission in it. Still doing it.

Since we now were 8k miles since my new tires, they claimed tires were an issue again (about as ignorant as you can get). SO i went and got brand new Michelin Highway tires. There a smooth, feel, but as soon as you hit around 50mph you can feel it in the seat, and worse at 72mph. Odd though between those two not much and over 80 it gets better. But it's there.

And it's in the seats you feel it. Nothing in the steering wheel, brakes, etc.

I truly want to get it fixed, as trading it will take a hit over $5k or new is way over priced right now.

Thanks.

I had the same issue that you describe with my '17 3500 SRW. I had the vibration since the truck was delivered. I always hoped that it was a bad tire. I did not take it back to the dealer, because I felt that with time it might straighten itself out, and I felt sure that the dealer would have to do with me pretty much with what they did for you. My mistake. When I rotated the tires at around 13k, the vibration subsided, telling me that I had a tire out of balance, even though there was no tread pattern to support it. Another 11k passed, and I rotated the tires again. This time, the vibration was violent. I took it to a Firestone dealer who balanced the rear wheels. He told me that both tires were within specs. The balancing really did not change anything, so I rotated the tires back on one side of the truck. Still no success. Replaced the tires with Continental TerrainContact A/Ts; problem solved. The dealer did have some trouble getting the new tires to balance, but they stuck with it. I am very pleased with the results. Moral of the story- if you feel there is an issue with a new tire, you must take it back to the tire dealer for warranty before the tread wear reaches 2/32", as vibration is only covered until then. Sorry you had to go through the process with failing results.

 

[McBroom]

As I read the OP’s first post and the last post #36
First thing that came to my mind was either the driveshaft out of balance or a defective wheel(lugs not centered) yes that’s happened before.
I had a 12 with a vibration since new. I bought it with 13 miles had vibration. Come to find out the driveshaft was loose.


The Blue Mule

 

[TomB 1269]

As others stated suspension needs to be checked closely. Also if the vibration is not "in the steering wheel" then it is definitely suspension related. At 65K you do need to take shocks and coilovers in to consideration as they are reaching the up end of their life, particularly if you live in a snow belt area and deal with potholes, etc. A bad shock will allow tire to have up and down motion at speed with very little roadway deviations.

 

[Hemidog]

Sounds like a shock issue to me. have thery replaced the airbags yet?

 

[AZtorque]

My 2017 Mega Cab Diesel DRW vibrates like crazy at 60+mph as well since the day we drove it off the lot. Dealer is stumped and told me to get used to it "because it's a truck". I've tried new tires which were road forced balanced, factory rims never bent, alignment checked twice by respected local alignment shop & dealer, took it to a driveshaft and differential specialist who kept it for 2 days & said everything was fine but they did experience the vibration on the highway. Best speculation I can get from all the different mechanics is the suspension geometry is poorly designed. They believe the slight asphalt variations causes the back end to get jumpy and then it starts bouncing like driving on a washboard dirt road. They told me to put 500lbs of sand in the bed. (which I haven't tried yet) The only time it doesn't vibrate is when I pull my 18K pound toy hauler. I only have 40K miles on this because I can't stand driving it. Last trip I took, which was only 2 hours down the highway, my kids accused me of trying to give them shaken baby syndrome. (teenagers...)