Just wanted to start off by saying hello to all the fellow Dodge folk out there. I am new to this site but look forward to posting on some of these threads. Currently I have a 1997 Ram 2500 with a 12 valve in it. This truck has been great but lately I have a shimmy that I can't remedy. It starts around 45MPH and then goes away at around 60MPH. Then if I hit 75MPH the shimmy comes back really bad. So bad it shakes the dash and its hard to control the truck. I think it's kind of like a death wobble but not as bad. When I put the truck in neutral the shimmy is still there although it does not feel as bad. I do not feel any shake in the steering wheel but it's felt in the whole truck.

To date I have replaced the rims, tires, driveshaft u-joints,hanger bearing. Rotors (twice the first set warped) , pads, and drums. All my efforts have been met with negative results in fixing this problem. I will also add that the tranny and converter are new from Dave Goerend.

Suspension Mods to the truck. 3 inch lift with adjustable track bar, Sky-jacker shocks. 285/65/R16 tires. I had the truck aligned after the lift and it was fine for about 8000 miles before it started to shake.

I am truly out of ideas with this truck any help would be great.

 

check your motor mounts

 

Check ALL of your front suspension for loose/worn parts. Pay special attention to the track bar. The 'joint' end at the frame is usually first to go. Lower shock mounts need to be torqued pretty friggin tight too.

Rotate your tires, see if the vibration changes at all.

 

I would suggest checking your wheel bearings as well, front and rear. Also your steering stabilizer may be shot too. I used to lift these dodges every day, and when I aligned them, I would keep the front tires toed in by 0.010*. That way when the front tires are "pushed" by the rears they will track true when going down the road. Hope you can make sense of that lol, as most people don't.

 

O.K guys I will get to work this week-end and check all items listed. I checked the track bar it seems good. Tires are brand new and the vibration didn't change after putting them on. The wheel bearings feel good but is there a special way to check them?


quote=Tbaydiesel;2582137]Just wanted to start off by saying hello to all the fellow Dodge folk out there. I am new to this site but look forward to posting on some of these threads. Currently I have a 1997 Ram 2500 with a 12 valve in it. This truck has been great but lately I have a shimmy that I can't remedy. It starts around 45MPH and then goes away at around 60MPH. Then if I hit 75MPH the shimmy comes back really bad. So bad it shakes the dash and its hard to control the truck. I think it's kind of like a death wobble but not as bad. When I put the truck in neutral the shimmy is still there although it does not feel as bad. I do not feel any shake in the steering wheel but it's felt in the whole truck.

To date I have replaced the rims, tires, driveshaft u-joints,hanger bearing. Rotors (twice the first set warped) , pads, and drums. All my efforts have been met with negative results in fixing this problem. I will also add that the tranny and converter are new from Dave Goerend.

Suspension Mods to the truck. 3 inch lift with adjustable track bar, Sky-jacker shocks. 285/65/R16 tires. I had the truck aligned after the lift and it was fine for about 8000 miles before it started to shake.

I am truly out of ideas with this truck any help would be great.[/quote]

 

Have someone else sit in the drivers seat, and rock the wheel back and forth, while you look for movement that shouldn't be there.

For the bearings, just jack up whatever side you wanna play with, and give it a shake, 3 and 9 oclock, and 6 and 12 oclock. If it moves, find out whats moving, and replace it.

 

A few of things to check, 1: make sure your cam bolts on the lower control arms are set the same, 2: check all leaf-spring/shackle bushings for wear and play, 3: check upper control arm bushings for wear and play (the lower are new skyjacker?), 4: trany mount. How are your tires balanced I am using balancing beads and they make quit a bit of difference, cost is about the same as a lead weight and they don't mess up your rims.

 

Weill I went over the front end again. This time I left the truck running and had my buddy turn the wheel for me. I found that my new track back has some play in it. Also i measured the toe and found it to be just about zero. I am going to have it re-aligned when the track bar is in. (Thanks for the tip on the alignment).

Have any of you guys tried those Darrens Steering stabilizers if so how are they? Also where is the best place to order parts on line? I am from Canada in the middle of the bush so I have to order parts on-line lol