Hey guys,

This story of mine could go on for hours so I am going to try and stick to only the facts.

My truck is a new 2008 1500 big horn Quad cab Hemi w/ 20's. Bought new in Nov. '08. It has 1800 miles on it now.

I have had a vibration/hopping sensation coming from the rear of the truck since new. I thought it was tires, so I was complaining to goodyear and they swapped out my tires NUMEROUS times w/ no luck.

Finally, I put on bridgestones and it rode better, but still a big problem.

This vibration is coming from the rear, you can see the bed moving, hopping up and down, between 45 and 65 mph. You can also feel the hopping/vibration inside the truck. It comes and goes every few seconds or so.

The dealer changed my drive shaft, rear rotors and said have a nice day.

Forget lemon law for now. I know your all saying it by now.

Chrysler corp. said "Whatever the Chrysler rep says goes, and we cant send anybody else down to check the truck." Can you believe that ****?

Here are some more facts. And it all points to roadforce.

When the bed is loaded it gets worse.

I replaced the rear shocks w/ Rancho RS5000's and it got worse. (this really points towards the axle assembly)

At one point the dealer took of my bridgestones and wheels and put on wheels and tires from another truck and it rode worse.

If the rear tires are pumped up to max press it gets worse.

The wheels were individually checked and are perfect.

Now my question is this, is it possible that it is in the axle housing? Axle shaft? Ring and pinion? Differential/Posi?

Has anybody ever seen anything like this?

Any help is much appreciated, I love the truck. I dont want to get rid of it and lemon lawing is a PITA in florida.

I had an 03 hemi quad and never had anything like this.

It sucks payin' 500 per month for a defective truck. Oh yea chrysler saying "too bad" doesnt feel that good either.

Thanks in advance!

Dominic

 

imo you have gone through everything else in the rear end except the REAR END. I woould start looking there, axles,bearings, gears and the like. Good luck!

 

Axle tube might be bent. If it was a axle shaft or bearing, it would have went by now.

The whole frame might be twisted. I don't know who makes the frames, but I know with Dana frames anything within 2" of being square was good enough for sale.

 

I was going to say some kind of warping, maybe and axle shaft slightly off balance? Something isnt balancing right. Does it only do it at 45-55 mph?

There has to be a perfectly good explanation. I would hate to say it, but you may just have to get down right ugly with the dealership. Tell them you refuse to pick it up until it rides smooth.

 

another thing, did you test drive this truck before you bought it? If so, was this an issue?

 

I would go down the route that 04-fourseven suggested.........."you refuse to pick it up until it rides smooth".
I would also make sure the service manager made written and logged notes, of your complaint and importantly, go down the health and safety route.
I'd stress, that if anything goes wrong and causes an accident, they "the dealership" will be liable!
Let's see if that doesn't ruin the service managers day lol.
It should really get his attention.
Hope this helps?
Al.

 

yes, personal association with the problem always works. Also known as a guilt trip. Do you need my wife to take it in for you?

 

My first guess would have been drive shaft out of balance, but you stated they changed that out at the beginning.
Problem is, a vibration is probably the single most difficult thing to diagnose the cause of. Too many variables.
Chrysler has been leaving WAY too many people hanging lately, and the '07s and '08s seem to have a lot of nagging problems that were not experienced in the first few years of the 3rd Gen's. You never heard of death wobbles in the '02-'05 torsion front end 4x4s for example.
Stay on their a$$es, it's unfortunate, but you may need to get an atty. involved. I know that it sucks, and it's an expense. You'd think the company would want to avoid that at all costs, and as a previous Chrysler product owner, you'd think they'd do everything possible to keep your loyalty. But it's apparent they don't care about such things at Chrysler anymore. It's unfortunate...