UPDATE: Vibration came back. Took it to the shop and and I went with him when he test drove it. Mechanic said the wheel bearings all sound fine and the truck drives fine except the vibration and it is in the rear and probably the tires. Got up to 70 and dropped it into N, still the vibration. He said it might be the rear drums but the brakes aren't dragging. Rebalanced tires again and still the vibration. He also noted that the tires have never been rotated and the rear passenger is worn a lot more than the rear driver's side. Is his diagnosis right? Would a worn tire on one side make a vibration? Should I look at new tires? Phew sorry for the essay but I just want insight/opinions. EDIT: what about over-torqued lug nuts?

 

Bump...

 

I believe rotating the tires would be a good place to start. 2 Jack's and 30 minutes your done and can go for a ride..

 

popping it in N at speeds isnt going to diagnose a drivetrain problem because everything still spins except the torque converter where its hooked to the engine. a worn tire wont cause shaking unless youve got bumps or bubbling in the tread...NOT the sidewall. if its the rear end shaking. sounds like a 4 wheel rotation and rebalance of all 4 should be a start.

 

true, it wont diagnose a driveline problem, but it can isolate a vibration to the driveline if you dont know where to start and want to eliminate vibration coming from the engine....in Nick's case I think it has to be something with those plasti dipped wheels since there was no vibration before that. I've read on here that some people have to get their wheels "road force" balanced or something like that because normal balancing does not always work....

 

You know, the mechanic never mentioned road force balancing. Hmmm. maybe a road force and tire rotation will fix it.

 

I hate to bump an old(er) thread back to the top, but my Dakota is suffering from the exact same problem. My truck is a 2005 Dakota ext. cab 3.7, auto, 4x4. Vibration from 50-75mph, it comes through the floor, seat, console, door, but not much through the steering wheel. The vibration is pretty strong and comes through almost like shaking from the rear of the truck.

OP: did you ever find out what solved your vibration??

I have had my tires conventionally balanced and then road force balanced which did not solve the problem. I took the truck to the dealership to see if they could diagnose it, but suggested tire balance. When I informed them that the tires had already been balanced they suggested new tires.

My tires were pretty worn but had about 6/32 left, so they werent bald (didnt need to be replaced IMO). The dealership wanted $178 per tire for Goodyear Wrangler SRA (same tires as are on the truck which is stock) so I declined. I am running out of options as to solve the problem and did not like the Goodyears so I took it to a local tire place and had them put new General Grabber HTS on the truck, still same vibration.

I replaced the rear brake drums and shoes which got rid of some vibration while braking. But the vibration was still present.

This leaves me with axles and possible driveshaft issues. So I will be replacing the u-joints and axles over the next couple of weeks to see if that will solve the problem. I am not sure which parts I will replace first but hopefully one fixes the issue.

Let me know if anyone else has any ideas or tips....

 

I still have not figured it out. It comes and goes, I can drive it 2-3 with nothing and then day 4 it vibrates horribly, then stops for a few days. I have no idea

 

Dang that sucks. I will keep you posted on whether I find a solution. Most likely I will be moving forward with some axles from Superior and some new u-joints over the next couple of weeks. More weekend projects......

 

Do you feel the vibration in the steering wheel?