2019 Ram 2500 vibrates, a lot...

[Silverwolf2691]

So I bought my 2019 2500 used back in Sept of 2020. Ever since I bought it, its had a few vibrations. It has a small amount of bumper to bumper warranty left, but I just got it back Wednesday from 45+ days at the dealer trying to fix this.

 

The vibration feels road/tire speed not engine/driveline speed. You feel it in the drivers seat and floor boards. It happens in the high 30s to almost 50 mph. Then eases up until 65 and up, and never really goes away. The kind of wild card is that especially at highway speeds, the vibe isn't constant, it kind of disappears (quick fade out then quick fade back in) for a couple seconds then right back. It doesn't line up with corners either. The other wild card is, the drive from the dealership is usually fine, but the next morning the vibration is back, same as before. 

 

dealership has done:

multiple road force balances on all four tires, only match mounted one rim/tire.

Swapped tires and rims with another truck, no change (turns out that truck vibrated when it had a trailer hooked up to it as well)

checked rim runout

checked brake runout

checked driveshaft balance

 

I have done a lot of reading around the 5th gen ram truck forums and there is no clear answer. Some are fixed by new tires, some are fixed by new rims, others have gone so far as to measure the driveshaft angles and find that those are not even close to correct and having to fix that with aftermarket adjustable arms and shimming the transfer case. <-The guy who did this ended up lemon lawing the truck because it still didn't fix the vibration. Then there are others that find that its the transmission or transfer case causing the issue.

 

I'm a bit at a loss right now.   

 

@Turbo Terry, I know you are waiting for yours, just be proactive when you test drive the truck for the first time. I constantly have to remind myself that forums are often a vocal minority. I hope my issues don't sour your feeling about yours. 

 

I've been fighting with the dealer to fix it 3 times since January, all 3 times same thing, drive home was smooth but next day the vibration was back. All told, the truck has been at the dealer for over 90 days over those visits. Unfortunately, CT lemon law is 24k miles. I bought the truck with 23k but first brought it in with 26k. So I don't think I can lemon law the truck. This past time they said they were done with the truck, as in not putting anymore money into fixing the vibration, so I either have to restart with another dealer or see if I can figure out what it is. Good news is I'm not barred from warranty work in general.            

Edited August 6, 2021 by Silverwolf2691

[Mopar1973Man]

Wheel bearings? Loose bearings can allow for wobble of the wheels. Check even the rears.

 

Ball joints or tie rod ends again can allow for movement. This might show up in the steering wheel.

 

Deformed tires, broken belts, etc. I know you said you swapped tires. 

Edited August 6, 2021 by Mopar1973Man

[Silverwolf2691]

Coming from the dealership my dad works at, I would hope that they would have checked that stuff but I'll double check it.

 

I'm not getting wander or play, and I feel nothing abnormal in the steering wheel.

 

Running duratracs right now (stock size), swapped tires with another customers truck at the dealer which were the firestone transforces, same vibration. Only difference was a quieter ride because of a less aggressive tire. Same vibration, speeds, etc. Also road force balancing usually picks that stuff up. 

 

The shop foreman went on the ride with me and he was saying that the vibrations are from the road. He said my truck must be picking up the bumps in the road differently. Here's the thing, my second gen drove the same stretch of highway, like an hour later, and was smooth. You would think a leaf sprung truck would feel everything and more intensely than a coil sprung truck..

 

My dad thinks its transfer case or transmission, I don't think it is because the vibration is too slow. I'm wondering if an axle shaft got bent during initial shipping to AAM.. unless they make their own.. I don't know how you would bend a shaft like that without destroying the axle..     

[Mopar1973Man]

3 minutes ago, Silverwolf2691 said:

My dad thinks its transfer case or transmission, I don't think it is because the vibration is too slow. I'm wondering if an axle shaft got bent during initial shipping to AAM.. unless they make their own.. I don't know how you would bend a shaft like that without destroying the axle.. 

I would think if there is a bent shaft of any type shortly there should be oil leaking through the seals. It will in a short order beat the seals out. 

[Dieselfuture]

If all else fails, try these https://www.centramatic.com/balancers.rhtml?gclid=Cj0KCQjwu7OIBhCsARIsALxCUaNXK4DMwQ0N_aeG41xI30njuZnNwyPaeXNn5VQ-w6G0B5fFJMQZ3qkaAo7BEALw_wcB

 

As much time you spent on it may worth a try, if it helps then you know vibration is in the rotating assembly. I have a set on my truck and now I got a set for work truck. They're not a %100 fix but 10 times better then using beads inside the tire which I've tried for a while.

[AH64ID]

What are you running for tire pressure in the 19? (I won’t call it a 5th Gen since it’s not) 

 

What about the 2nd Gen?

With modern trucks wanting so much pressure empty I wouldn’t be surprised if it related to that. AlfaOBD will let you set your TPMS alarms lower if needed. 

 

I know that when I run too much pressure in my 4th Gen, or even previous 3rd Gen, that I got funky vibrations from the road surface. Proper pressure and those go away. 
 

I run my 18 3500 at 55/35 empty and it’s smooth. If I run it at the door placard of 60/80 empty it’s nowhere near as smooth, or comfortable. 

[Silverwolf2691]

Techs put it at about 63 all the way around. Ill try lowering the pressures and see what that does.

 

Is the spring rate/preload/etc on the 4.5 gen trucks just that sensitive?

[AH64ID]

45 minutes ago, Silverwolf2691 said:

Techs put it at about 63 all the way around. Ill try lowering the pressures and see what that does.

 

Is the spring rate/preload/etc on the 4.5 gen trucks just that sensitive?

That’s too high for an empty truck. 
 

60 psi will get you 6040lbs of capacity, or above most 2500 axle ratings. 
 

Everything is stiffer too handle the weight rating of newer trucks. The body mounts are awesome, but it’s really difficult to absorb everything from the road. 
 

With the proper tire pressure my 3500 auto-level rides better than any other HD truck I’ve been in. With door placard pressure, 60/80, and an empty truck it feels like a 4500… but still better than the competition. 

Edited August 9, 2021 by AH64ID

[Silverwolf2691]

Had to do the body mount [tsb] on the truck.. clunks in the floorboards over certain bumps.. among other things..

Edited August 9, 2021 by Silverwolf2691

[NIsaacs]

On 8/6/2021 at 6:26 AM, Silverwolf2691 said:

So I bought my 2019 2500 used back in Sept of 2020. Ever since I bought it, its had a few vibrations.  The kind of wild card is that especially at highway speeds, the vibe isn't constant, it kind of disappears (quick fade out then quick fade back in) for a couple seconds then right back. 

 

         

 

It has been my experience, that a rhythmic vibration, is drivetrain related. Harmonic balancer, flywheel/flexplate or driveshaft. Driveshaft angle is a possibility, wrong t-case mount (too high or low) rear axle mounts welded wrong. Is it one piece or two?

 

It would be interesting to know the history of the truck. Why only 23k miles on it from the original owner.

Edited August 9, 2021 by NIsaacs
add content

[Mopar1973Man]

11 hours ago, Silverwolf2691 said:

Techs put it at about 63 all the way around.

On the 2002 dodge 60 all the way around will cover 8,800 pounds. 

 

I do all my tire pressures by axle weight.

 

For example the front axle weights 4,440 pounds. My tires have a 3,042 pound capacity at 80 PSI.

 

Total vehicle weight (4,440 + 2,860) = 7,300 pounds on the scale total.

 

Front tires - (4,440 / 2) = 2,220 / 3,042 = 0.72 x 80 = 58.3 PSI

 

Rear axle is 2,860 pounds.

 

Rear tires - (2,860 / 2) = 1,430 / 3,042 = 0.47 x 80 = 37.6 PSI

 

 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Mopar1973Man

[AH64ID]

1 hour ago, Mopar1973Man said:

On the 2002 dodge 60 all the way around will cover 8,800 pounds. 

 

I do all my tire pressures by axle weight.

 

For example the front axle weights 4,440 pounds. My tires have a 3,042 pound capacity at 80 PSI.

 

Total vehicle weight (4,440 + 2,860) = 7,300 pounds on the scale total.

 

Front tires - (4,440 / 2) = 2,220 / 3,042 = 0.72 x 80 = 58.3 PSI

 

Rear axle is 2,860 pounds.

 

Rear tires - (2,860 / 2) = 1,430 / 3,042 = 0.47 x 80 = 37.6 PSI

 

 

 

This is a quick method, but still ends up with slightly higher pressure than the charts call for. 
 

For the weights you listed the chart pressure is 50/35. 
 

Youre right at the 50 psi limitIt would actually be lower that 35 for the rear but that’s the min recommended pressure for street use. 
 

I keep this chart downloaded for quick reference.  
 

https://www.toyotires.com/media/3729/application_of_load_inflation_tables_20200723.pdf

[Silverwolf2691]

Just giving an update, I tried lowing the pressures in the tires. No change except for a reduction in the very small road contact vibrations.

 

I have noticed that when doing certain turns at some speed I can feel the steering wheel return to center like there's flat spots or detents in the box. It just isn't smooth but the spots match the vibration coming from the truck too.

 

Could I be dealing with unit bearings that were either machined or assembled wrong? The tech that worked on my truck last said that the front wheel bearings were fine. If that is the case, then could the concentricity of the studs or machining be out of whack enough to cause a vibration? 

 

Just more info: first vibration is 37-43 mph, fades and goes away after 50 mph. vibration comes back around 60 mph, gets very bad 65-70 mph, then fades back out and is gone by 80 mph. Weight doesn't matter, still vibrated at the same speeds this past weekend when I hauled my second gen up to a sled pull (12k trailer weight approx). At one point there vibration did start making a cyclic sound or something similar, a fast clockwork-esq vibration that faded in then faded out, repeat. but that one was faster and more of a noise/sound than an actual vibration. The truck has factory sized duratracs on it. They had been balanced and road force balanced, took the vibration away for the drive home then it was back the next day. Have tried different rims and tires, only change was less tire noise, vibes still remained.

 

I'm starting to get to a loss here. I cant bring it back to the dealership my dad works at because they washed their hands of it. I was/am debating on selling the truck at this point but if it has this very noticeable vibration, I might not be able to get what I want/need (loan payoff) for the truck.  There are a couple dealers close by that I can try but I'm just afraid of being met with the same "I Don't know/I can't feel it" that I got already and still being put in the same position I am in currently.

 

On 8/9/2021 at 5:32 AM, NIsaacs said:

It has been my experience, that a rhythmic vibration, is drivetrain related. Harmonic balancer, flywheel/flexplate or driveshaft. Driveshaft angle is a possibility, wrong t-case mount (too high or low) rear axle mounts welded wrong. Is it one piece or two?

 

It would be interesting to know the history of the truck. Why only 23k miles on it from the original owner.

 

@NIsaacs, are you referring to the driveshaft? If so, its one piece. I can dig the history up at lunch. Perks of having a family member at the parts counter. I can see the service history and build sheet with all the sales codes and what not. Helped keep me from buying a Canadian EcoDiesel. Would have had no warranties what so ever despite having a low amount of miles on it.