I am about to trade my current truck (F150) for a 1999 Ram 1500 4x4 with a 5.9. It has a rebuilt trans with less than 5k miles on it. The current owner says that at around 45 MPH it starts shaking until you let off the gas or hit the gas. He also says its an up and down bounce, not side to side. He says it feels like its coming from the front passenger side, and thinks it might need new ball joints and/or tie rods. What do you all think? Any ideas will be helpful. Ive always wanted a Ram and if you all think this is worth it, then i will probably look into it! Thanks!

Could be one or more things - bad tire(s), bad ball joints and/or shocks, hub bearings, track bar and/or other worn suspension parts - ask the owner what front suspension work has been done and when. Dodge 2nd gen trucks encounter quite a number of front suspension issues with age.

The owner thinks it needs new tie rod ends and ball joints. Ill ask him tomorrow what has been done. Thanks for responding! Im new to the Dodge forum, and will probably be back quite a bit!

my first bet would be on the track bar or ball joints and possibly the steering stabilizer along with them, but another thought is perhaps its a bad misfire due to the infamous plenum issue. I've seen front end shaking that is blamed on suspension parts when in reality its an engine misfire. Might wanna ask the previous owner if he's had any engine work done, and then look at the suspension parts for any super noticeable signs of wear

p.s., i highly doubt that worn tie rod ends would cause that bad of a shaking (unless by tie rod ends he means the ends on the track bar)

Reads more like a engine miss, before you by it have a shop do a compression test and check the catconverter to see if it's plugged.

He did say it sounded muffled and like it had an exhaust leak

I recently had the exact same issue. Replace both your front wheel bearings. I had one that was loose and was causing uneven wear on my driver side tired and weird bouncing from 45-65mph. You can always check your front end suspension for tight bolts, and add grease to all the joints,but i doubt that's the issue.

Okay, that sounds more like what it could be. I would just replace the wheel hub assembly, right? Also, how do i check to see if this is actually the issue?

Jack vehicle up
remove wheel and tire assembly
remove disc brake caliper from sttering knuckle
remove dust cap, cotter pin, and hub nut from spindle
carefully slide the hub/rotor from spindle
remove the seal and inner wheel bearing from the hub/rotor
remove inner bearing races from hub/roto with a pin punch is bearings are going to be replaced.

Install:

apply wheel bearing grease to inner surface area of hub/rotor
install inner wheel bearing and seal in the hub/rotor
inspect bearing and seal contact surfaces on spindle for burrs and roughness
remove all rough contacts from spindle
apply lubricant
slide hub rotor onto spindle
install outer wheel bearing, washer, and retaining nut
tighten to 41-54Nm 30-40ft lbs to preload bearing while rotating the hub/rotor
stop hub/rotor loosen nut to release bearing preload torque, tighten to nut finger tight and install nut lock, install new cotter pin
adjustment should have .001 to .003 inch end play
clean dust cap and apply coating lubricant to internal surface, do not fill the dust cap with lubricant
install cap
install disc brake caliper
install wheel and tire
drop truck

approximately 40-50 bucks and 1-2 hours time.