Ram 3500 DRW Vibration

VTSamurai

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2006
Location
Newton, NC
I just picked up a 2015 Ram 3500 DRW for a tow rig. It was bought from a local dealer and it had a 6" lift with carrier bearing drop. Its a 2015 with only 36k miles on it. When we did the test drive, everything seemed perfectly fine.

Now I am getting a pretty significant vibration from the rear when accelerating and braking between about 20mph and 30mph. I also noticed it the one time it took it up to about 70mph on I-40, but havent been back out there again. If I accelerate or brake through that speed range, the vibration doesnt seem as bad.

From what I have read, it seems that it could be a bad u-joint or a u-joint seizing up on me. I checked for play in the joint, but didnt notice any. It does have a two piece drive shaft and 2" spacers between the rear wheels. This is my first dually, so I am learning on the fly.

Any help is greatly appreciated...
 
tsconver - i have read that thread, and luckily it doesnt seem to the same as what I have. Mine is smooth on the highway up to 70 and over 75, but it has a range where it shakes. I believe it may be a u-joint issue or an issue with the wheel spacers, but I am not a mechanic by any stretch. The u-joints are dry as a bone, which is a lot different then my 69 Bronco, but everything is greasy on that thing!
 
Thats what I was thinking with the u-joints. I think i am going to have them replaced just to be on the safe side. Anyone know someone in the Hickory area that would do it? I travel a lot for work during the summer, so its hard to get any free time
 
Chock the wheels, set the parking brake, put the truck in neutral and check the u-joints for play. Any lateral play between the joint and the cap means the joint is bad. If the seals around the cap and trunnion are leaking grease, it might also be an indication that the joints are on the way out. At 36k, I wouldn't expect there to be driveshaft problems. Mine lasted over 150k of heavy towing before the center u-joint seized.

That it shakes when you're braking suggests that the u-joints aren't the issue, and a driveshaft wrap/carrier bearing location issue is also not the problem. Tire balance, wheel spacers, etc, are more likely culprits, since they're road speed dependent, and don't care about whether you're coasting or changing speed.
 
excellent info Shawn...thank you. I have heard that Road Force Balancing will sometimes fix the issue, as well as making sure the wheel spacers are hubcentric. The tires on it have some life left, so hopefully they can be Road Force Balanced...i was hoping to wait to buy new until I could get new wheels to eliminate the spacers also.
 
Following. My 2500HD has a very consistent vibration between 25-35 rather in the throttle or coasting. It done it with my last set of tires, does it with my new tires, and the u joints all seem tight. Carrier bearing has only a tiny amount of play.
 
77GreenMachine said:
Following. My 2500HD has a very consistent vibration between 25-35 rather in the throttle or coasting. It done it with my last set of tires, does it with my new tires, and the u joints all seem tight. Carrier bearing has only a tiny amount of play.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

Does it change if you're loaded vs unloaded?
 
@shawn does it about the same loaded vs empty. I need to check the u joints again, but when I check last it all seemed tight. When I come back from Ohio I will check again and report back here.

It does it accelerating, braking, coasting, doesn’t matter. Very consistent within that speed range. Now I have hi-jacked this mans thread, but in hopes we may can solve both our issues.
 
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No problem hijacking my thread man. I just want it fixed. Of course the dealer told me it was because the tires were worn when I took it in for a recall, but I knew that was going to be their response.
Gonna try road force balancing first and go from there.

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If it has somewhat wide tires, I doubt you're going to be able to get rid of the spacers, even with different rims. They've got to have a gap between them, but definitely make sure they're hub centric. If they're not, get some that are. I'd almost bet that they're not, but I've been wrong before.

I'd lean more towards it being tire/rim related since it does it during both accelerating and braking.
 
Thanks. Im gonna order hub centric spacers and get a balance and alignment. Hopefully it fixes the issue

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Well my issue seems to be fixed. I went up to Rides in Conover and Brandon ordered a set of hubcentric wheel spaces from Bora, but they are made when ordered, so its goin to take 2 weeks. But while I was there, I priced new tires since the 33s looked tiny. He ended getting me an awesome deal on a set of 37s, so I went for it. The new tires ended up curing 95% of the vibration. Mostly smooth all the way to 80mph. Hopefully the wheel spaces fix the other 5%, but its so much better I dont really care. Rides is one awesome shop!

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What kinda tires were they?

Edit: The old ones and the new ones?
 
The old where Nitto Terra Grappler G2s and the new are Maxxis Razr MTs. The Nitto's didnt appear to be in bad shape, so a Road Force balance might have fixed them, but they looked too small anyway lol

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