Engine Vibration

maddog411

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Location
Harrisburg, NC
Need some thoughts on a weird problem.

I have a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500, 5.9 V8 gasser, 5 speed manual tranny. I burnt up the clutch last year. Had a guy with a shop at his house replace the clutch, flywheel, and throwout bearing. The new throwout bearing started getting noisy after 300-400 miles so I had him replace it and the clutch again (new flywheel from 1st replacement was reused). The 2nd clutch has worked fine for over 2k miles, but when I rev the truck up to ~3k rpms even with the clutch down I get a vibration from the engine.

I noticed this immediately after the 2nd clutch replacement and showed him. His only thoughts were "drive it and see if it goes away" and "maybe the distributor cap hit the firewall when the tranny was out, replace it". Neither has helped. Should I just replace the clutch again, maybe with a better brand? Thoughts?
 
If the truck did not have this vibration till after the second clutch, I would replace it with a better brand and have the flywheel surfaced just to make sure 2 bad clutches haven't damaged it.
 
IIRC the 360 is an externally balanced engine. So the vibration may very well be in the new flywheel. It could be another issue has shown it's self, and you may want to take a look at the Harmonic balancer too. Make sure it has not separated, and or rotated.
Why did you replace the original flywheel? Unless it was really bad gouged from the bad clutch, you may be better off surfacing it and re-installing it in the truck.
And, it could very well be the 2nd clutch. A really good inspection when you take it out, also take a good look at the pressure plate too.
 
I talked to my mechanic guru.
He said basically, what ever was done last, is what to check.
Also he said to make sure the engine block dowel pins are in the block. That's what aligns the trans and engine. If missing, it can put a load on the trans shaft. Also check the pilot bushing as well.
Bottom line, vibrations don't fix them self. They either don't go away or get worse.
 
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