Wheel shake/vibration

[DodgeGirl]

So i've tried searching through the threads for something on this but I didn't really find anything that answers my question.

Ever since I swapped out my stock 20" rims and Cooper tires for what I have on it now (20" XD Rockstars and 35" Trail Grapplers) my steering wheel has a shake/shimmy once you get between 60-70km/h. When I slow down, it goes away and seems to go away for the most part when I hit highway speeds. It just seems to be between a certain speed. The steering wheel actually shakes back and forth but not enough to affect the direction of the truck. I never had this problem with my stock rims and Coopers.

Tires/wheels were alligned and balanced before being put on. I thought maybe a weight had fallen off (stick on weights) but when I took it back to the shop they were all there. Took it to a different shop for a second opinion, they re-alligned and re-balanced the wheels/tires thinking maybe whoever did it didn't do it properly. Leave that shop and it still shakes. Took it to the dealership, they alligned and balanced and it still shakes!

I've read about steering stabilizers but from what I understand they're not available for half tons?? Is that right? I thought maybe that would help my problem. These Nitto's are considerably wider then the Coopers I had on previously, so is it possible that there's just that much more tire rolling on the ground that it causes the wheel to shake?

Any information or related experiences is greatly appreciated. I can live with this minor issue if there's nothing that can be done... i've dealt with it for the past few months now, but I just thought if there is a solution out there, i'd like to know about it.

 

[swamp_life hemi 05]

My 37's do this around the same speeds. Only way to fix it is to get steering stabilizers. bds makes a kit for you're truck.

It aint easy.... bein' Easy

 

[quietpeen]

it might be possible that a wheel is slightly out of balance

 

[DodgeGirl]

it might be possible that a wheel is slightly out of balance

I'd have to agree with you there, but after taking it to 3 shops and having them all allign and balance the wheels/tires, you'd think someone would get it right.

I'll check out those stabilizers from BDS.

 

[Hollabakzach23]

Correct me if I'm wrong but if you run anything larger than 33s you're supposed to run a dual stabilizer setup right? I also believe they make dual setups for half tons. I know they do for my second gen. But judging by the little pic I'm seeing on my phone it looks like yours is a little newer but I dont see why they wouldn't! Good luck and I hope I could help at least a little lol

 

[schroederMP]

Bigger MT tires are a PITA to ballance...even my 33s on my 1/2ton. There wasn't a shop in town that could get em ballanced right, even on a different set of wheels.

When you take them in to get balanced again...have the guy that does it show you on the machine that he got em balaced. If so then that will eliminate that.

And stablizers really wont help with vibration...they are more for wondering issues caused by bigger tires.

Check and see if your wheel bearings are good also

 

[inktoxicated]

tires are not balanced or they have worn out of round. its important to rotate the tires around every 7500 miles to keep them as true as possible longer. I drive an 18 wheelr for a living and tires are a trucking companies biggest expence other then fuel.so they usually toss "recaps" or junky tires on to get you rollin. ive driven so many rigs where the steering wheel will shake so bad it makes dirving the thing a joke. reason is they just mount the wheels/tires up without balancing anything. all comes down to money and time. thats all they care about. i know the last time i got a truck that had steering wheel shake i got so fed up i took it to a shop w/o my companies blessing and a 10 minute front wheel baance made it steering wheel not shake at all at any speed. sometimes thro the tires are worn out and out of round that you just cant balance them good enuff to get rid of all the shake

 

[02blkram47]

Is it possible that the tire has a defect in it that will only show once it reaches a certain speed. How fast does the tire spin when they balance them? Maybe its balanced at those speeds but not when reaching a faster speed. Just a shot in the dark.

 

[03MopaRamman]

I agree with Tire defect. There are ways to check. swap the two fronts left to right, if it stops then one of the tires is bad, if no change put them back to their proper side then throw them in the back and try the other set up front, if it goes away then one or both current fronts are screwed. Based on what you said especially speed wise i would say the balancing is good and with the steering shaking you can likely rule out the worn 1/2 shafts theory cause that kind of shake you would feel in the door panel or coffee spilling everywhere in the drink holders. lastely i am confused about the Steering stabilizer Talk as the 1500's other than 2nd gen are not an SFA set-up. it will take some time but you can do this in the drive way with a good floor jack and 1-2 stands. If you had a second tire set-up would be easiest way to test if your set-up is Bad (Tires).

 

[DodgeGirl]

Wow, this thread is from a long time ago haha... I got this problem fixed already though, thanks!

 

[03MopaRamman]

Ha. Ha Just noticed we went from 11 June to Yesterday, My Bad but curious if you had a Bad Tire and only responded since Nitto's although good tires are really not made for Canadian Winter Driving or Cold weather.