I believe my drag link is wore out? The auto parts store website calls them the tie rod ends?  There is some play in my steering wheel,  but it doesn't wander around on the road.

 

What I'm trying to figure out is if this is causing the vibration that I am having. It only happens between 30mph to 45mph. I don't really feel it in the steering wheel, just mainly in the floor board. The vibration is there weather I am braking, cruising, or accelerating. But like I said Its only between 30 and 45mph. Between 0-29mph and 46-above, its very smooth.

 

Any ideas? I plan on going with moog parts.

 

If I uploaded it right, I added a video of the drag link movement.

tierod end.MOV

So I checked the shocks, upper and lower control arms, and front rotors and didn't fund much of anything that looks out of the norm. I did find a good set of machine matched rotors from Napa for $150 that I will be installing soon.

Front driveshaft?

Rotated the tires today. I think I need to have them load balanced. I believe the vibration in the front is gone but at 70+mph I have a different feeling in the rear end. Which since I just moved the front tires to the back, that would make me think its the tires.

 

I still have the clunk in the front though. I checked out the brakes, sway bar end links, and control arms. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Control arms were tight. Sway bar end links were tight, and brakes and rotors looked fine.

 

I just replaced the transmission. I don't know if that has something to do with it or not. I changed out the U-joint in the front shaft where it bolts to the front end. And I replaced the back two U-joints in the rear shaft. I marked everything and put it back exactly the way it was before. I check the old U-joints with a caliper and compared them to the new precision joints and I know I put the right U-joints back in.

 

I didn't get a chance to check ball joints. So I'm going to do that tomorrow and if there good I will then remove the front shaft and see what that does.

 

thanks

Mopartechnician, what were you referring too when watching the brake caliper?  Was that for the control arms? Can you elaborate on that process a little more?  

 

Thanks,

If your control arm bushings are bad the calipers will rotate foward when you apply the brakes because the axle is rotating. My buddies 01 does this and thats what actually caught my eye when i was watching him pull up in my driveway

Oh ok. So I need to have someone in the truck driving it to check this.

Thanks

Also had a question about a ring I found. This was on the front passenger side. But there wasn't one on the drivers side? What is this ring for? Does it need to stay there or stay with the wheel?

Thanks

Edited March 28, 201411 yr by kedlin88

That looks like a wheel spacer. Was that truck ever in an accident? Sometimes if the vehicle was wrecked I have seen where they will put a wheel spacer on one side to make the wheels look more even if the body or suspension is out of wack. I would not put that ring back on or I might get a matching on for the other side.

A lot of trucks had the 1/8" wheel spacer on the right side. Leave it and don't loose any sleep over it!

They came from the factory with a spacer on one side? What was the purpose of that?

I have never seen one and I have pulled many tires on many different makes and models

I believe that the spacer is there for alignment purposes if I remember right. I know there is one on my daughter's truck and I have seen them on other Dodge 4WD trucks. For some reason the right front needed to be moved out 1/8" to get the wheel in the proper spot. They are actually quite common, but if they don't fall off they won't be noticed.

Haha, Yeah I'm an idiot. Talk about not checking the obvious first.

 

This is my cluck:

 

Fender Flap.MOV

 

 

The next video is my front shaft. It might be hard to tell in the video but there is some play in the shaft. Is this too much play?

 

Front drive shaft.MOV

 

 

Thanks guys,

 

You aren't an idiot. You are like the rest of us........ Now,for the driveshaft, that movement is in the slip joint, right? That seems like a fair amount of play, but I have seen worse that functioned just fine.

Yes the play is in the slip joint. I took it apart when I replaced the U-join to clean the shaft. I regreased it, but wasn't for sure if I got enough grease in it, and that's where the play is from.

 

Thanks.

If it was causing a vibration it would start at a slow speed an increase in intensity as your speed increased.

another thing to check for the vib is the crank shaft damper. After I changed mine all vibs went away. I could see the outside of it and it didn't look to bad but when I removed it the back side was very bad with the rubber coming out from between the two pieces. Put a Fluiddamper and am very happy with the results.

My Dodge was all over the road. I read everything I could find on all available Diesel Websites and installed a Steering Brace [online purchase $199.95] which helped. Then I had my tires rotated and balanced and that helped but did not solve the problem. Went to my Mechanic and he tested my Ball Joints which were fine, but still had the steering problem. Finally I checked my tires again and found two were blistered, tread was separating from casing so I bought two new Firestone TransForce Tires and they really helped but still had wondering and vibration so I installed four new Monroe Gas filled shocks, Steering Shock Asorber and new Sway Bar Links which solved the problem. My truck drives like it was new. I'm going to buy two matching tires and replace the rear Sway Bar Links ASAP. This Dodge is a great truck but they are like our women. You gott'a take care of them.

What's the consensus?

Took this from a Geno's article:

Flaw: Driveline vibration based on road speed.

Fix: It sounds like a worn out driveshaft universal joint or unbalanced shaft, but may also be caused by a bad carrier

bearing or bearing support in a two-piece driveshaft system. The bearing cannot be re-lubricated by the owner,

and the entire sealed carrier bearing assembly must be replaced. This is presently a Dodge-only part. A heavy load

in the lower gears will cause driveline windup as well, leading to vibration that lessens with road speed or less

torque applied to the axle. On Third Generation trucks, the driveline alignment should be checked as well.