I just purchased a 2002 2500 ext. cab 4wd. It is the 2nd. gen. body style not the new one. It has 37000 on it. It has been at the dealer for 2 days for a vibration. The vibration starts at 60 mph and gets worse with higher speeds. When you go over a bump on the highway and the suspension compresses it goes away. But once the truck is back to the stock ride height it comes back. They said they have done the rear u-joints and an alignment but its still there. They also checked the rear axel bearings and replaced the seals. No help. Any ideas? Driveline angle maybe?

 

Track bar ??? My mechanic told me they are either NEW or JUNK .... my 2 cents worth [X(]

 

Sounds like there's something loose or worn out in the front end somewhere. Check the trac bar, ball joints, tie rod ends, and wheel hubs.

 

The dealer just informed me they have shipped it off to another Dodge dealer to have them look at it. Thanks goodness this is warranty. They said they have 20 hrs. into it already and still not fixed. They said they have done the u-joints and the front end stuff is fine. I will post when I find out something.

 

Can you tell if the vibration is coming from the front or rear?

 

As you know these things are hard to tell but it feels like the rear to me. You know the minor vibration (for lack of a better term) you get when the 4wd is engaged? It doesn't feel like that. I can feel it in my feet not in the steering wheel.

 

Hmmm, feels like it's from the rear...u-joints are new, and goes away when the suspension is compressed. I just noticed in your origional post that you asked about driveline angle....is your truck lifted? If not, I wouldn't worry about the driveshaft angles. Check everything out in the rear that could be loose or worn...check leaf packs, the u-bolts that hold the axle onto the leaf packs, shackle/hanger bushings, tranny/t-case rubber mounts, and even shocks. Oh, also what kind of shape are the tires in? If they're chopped, they can cause a vibration like that.

 

The truck is not lifted. But as you know the 2500 sits high that is why I brought that up. The tires are OK, not new but in good shape. Thanks for the info it gives me something to go by if they say "we can't fix it".

 

I just got the truck back after a week. The dealer said it was the driveline angle. They told me it was wrong from new and the previous owner never complained. So, they put some shims between the rearend and the leaf springs to adjust the angle. In the process I got new u-joints, alignment and a new tail shaft.

 

if it happens again, the first thing I would look at would be the drive shafts, getting them re-ballanced would also remove any shudder at highway speeds