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Does any one know why My truck vibrates at about 55-60mph down the hiway?
This is my first Dually, I don't know if its a normal thing. It looks like I have all my wheel weights and I made sure all the lug nuts were torqued down.
Any help at all would be great.
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1996 3500 5spd, dually, 5" exhaust, K&N air filter, Fuel plate FWD, Jake brake, Air bags.
Normally vibration is doe to tires out of round or balance, very badly worn transmission (probably would not stay in gear), bent driveshaft, bad driveshaft center (steady) bearing (2 piece driveshaft), (BADLY) worn front end parts, and really bad roads.
No, vibration is NOT normal. My truck is a dually and did not vibrate at all.
If you have a bearing on your driveshaft if it has any slop replace it. Being able to wiggle a little in the rubber bushing is normal, slop is not.
Just because your tires have wheel weights does not mean they are balanced. You could have a lot of dirt inside the rims throwing them out of balance. The tires could have flat spots from a very quick stop. That would vibrate badly. If the truck sat for a long time the tiers could also set into place with a flat spot on the bottom. Sometimes it will reform to round again after getting hot on the road with a good drive. If you have a broken belt in a tire that tire will give a good thump.
Usually if a vehicle vibrates at higher speed but not at higher rpm in a lower gear the driveshaft is not bent. That gives problems with rpm not speed. Sometimes a tire being out of balance does not get felt until a certain speed. If you have no vibration at 40 but do at 55 I would think the tires are at fault.
For a test take the outside 2 dual tires off the truck. Does it still shimmy? If so does it come from one corner? Isolate the corner and you probably have the bad tire. Now using the other 2 tires (3 with spare) you can find the bad tire if it is a tire issue. If the shimmy comes from the front end disregard taking off 2 back tires.
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1997 3500 club cab Automatic 3.54 gears towing and camper package. Still stock with 116k on it so far. 4" dynomax stainless exhaust, 4kgsk, and pacbrake exhaust brake waiting for installation. Still need ideas for improvements for hauling 15k fifth wheel.
Last edited by country_hick; 05-03-2012 at 04:04 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to country_hick For This Useful Post:
Thats some good advice thanks. I didn't try the swapping tires test yet. (mostly because it's intermittent) The Drive shaft feels good, and all the front end components are new. I cant visually see any flat spots in the tires.
I went to less schawb, and maybe its cuz they were closing. but they said the combination of off road tires, re-treads, and wheel spacers will make it vibrate. It's not a bad vibration, just a slight shimmy that's barely noticeable.
What do you think about Les Schwabs idea? sounds like I'm stuck with these till I find some new rubber.
And do you think it's safe to tow a 19' boat at about 55-60 MPH?
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1996 3500 5spd, dually, 5" exhaust, K&N air filter, Fuel plate FWD, Jake brake, Air bags.
I am not sure. They could be right (or not). I can not see a retread as a reason for being out of balance IF the tire was properly balanced.
One other thing I forgot to mention. U-joints going bad can cause a shimmy. I think normally that is if the u-joint is starting to freeze up. Grease the u-joints (if possible) and see if it helps. If you do not mind doing a possibly useless bit of work drop your driveshaft. Turn the u-joints (still in the driveshaft) and see if they move smoothly all the way or if they fetch at all. Be careful not to lose the caps or the needle bearings inside the caps. If you find a u-joint that is not moving smoothly replace it. That could be your problem.
I you just have a slight vibration that can be felt but does not affect anything from a driving perspective (like making you suddenly go a different direction) I would probably dare to tow with it. If it is barely noticeable I would not think it would be an issue. But go easy and see if it gets worse when towing. If it feels unsafe slow down and go back home or just drive slower where it feels safe.
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1997 3500 club cab Automatic 3.54 gears towing and camper package. Still stock with 116k on it so far. 4" dynomax stainless exhaust, 4kgsk, and pacbrake exhaust brake waiting for installation. Still need ideas for improvements for hauling 15k fifth wheel.
you guys are thinking way too much. a rebalance of your tires is relatively cheap and takes like 20 minutes tops. just go get em rebalanced and rotated. if that doesnt fix it, look at some other things. yes towing your 19' boat at 60-65 is fine. heck even 70 is probably fine. but youll burn a ton more fuel past 65ish in most trucks.
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