Sobomaster, If I stay at a constant 40-45 mph or 60+ mph the shimmy I feel is constant as long as the speed stays constant. I have no shake or movement at the steering wheel, that's why I thought maybe a rear wheel balance issue or likely the wheels have not been torqued to 100 ft. lbs. I don't have a torque wrench handy or I would have checked that already.
Hope this helps.

 

Most of these sound like a steering rack needs adjusted or replaced. The first model year 04 f150s (which I had one) had a very simlar rack and pinion setup, and similar problems early on until they got the rack figured out.

 

Hey guys...first-time poster...long-time lurker for great information. I had to jump-in on this one because I've been through alot trying to correct this front-end shaking as well.

I have a 2006 Ram 4x4 QC NightRunner Sport with 20's that has suffered from this shake since about 15K-20K miles. What my dealer found was failing end links on both occasions as I also had a rattle in the front end when going over larger bumps in the road. This is an apparent wide-spread problem with the Ram half-tons. The problem went away for awhile, but now is back after a long road-trip. As a side note, I just put new tires on the truck (20" Cooper Zeon LTZ's) fantastic tires so far, but the point is, tires & alignment were taken out of the equation. I was certain that the factory "Good-4-A-Year's" were a major part of the problem, but its not the case anymore.

I'm looking into replacing the end links with aftermarket HD units as the OE replacements just keep failing. What I'm investigating is if the 2500/3500 end links will work on the half-ton. The shaking DID go away each time they were replaced, so I'm banking on this fix for now.

Just wanted to share my experiences. Don't let any mechanics taking shots in the dark tell you its tires, etc (unless you have a separate issue going on)... there needs to be proof before shelling-out hundreds or thousands in what-if's.

 

Hey guys, check out this info on the 3rd gen rams. I wonder if it's the same issue??

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...-rumbling.html

 

Well, I have the roadforce balance scheduled for next Monday. Sounds like it's not going to solve the problem, but I'll follow the process. The good news is the service tech duplicated the issue on the last visit so it's officially recognized. I will say since this shake is the reason I traded the 06 and upgraded to the 09, if it turns out to be bad driveshafts or suspension components I will be extremely disappointed. However, I will be persistent until it's fixed or my money is refunded. This is my fourth Dodge and I've had two Chrysler's, so I'm counting on them supporting me back on this one

 

Me too... "I've got the Shakes"
As with most everyone's description, I have two speeds where this is worst - ~45-50 and ~65-70 - which are unfortunately speeds which it spends most of it's life.
At it's peak harmonic - 67mph - it's like sitting in a big Vibra-Lounger. But, I really notice it more through the seat and body (mine and truck's) than the steering wheel. Watching the radar detector bounce on it's windshield mount shows it's not my imagination. Since the steering wheel is relatively stable, I figure the issue (if tires) is in the back.
I did upgrade to aftermarket tires, which happened before my 2nd road trip, and it is definitely more noticable now. But I've taken the truck back to the tire dealer for a re-balance with no improvement. Next week, I'll have then rotate just one side, to see whether it is tires and moves to the front.
I also have the Mopar Side Rails (Full Length), which the dealer installed for a pretty penny, after I'd made my first (blissful) road trip. They seem to be mounted quite solidly, but they do have a little bit of flex in the mounting brackets. I'm pretty sure that isn't the problem.

I've had a third thought... Could it be that those massive iron vibration dampers mounted to the frame under the cab have a problem after some break-in period ?? Maybe the rubber mounts stifffen-up or become too-loose...

 

Well, my dealer was great as they sent the truck out to be road force balanced. They said it needed it due to flat spots from sitting, Feb 09 build. Unfortunately though, the shake, though minimized, is still there. If I take my hands off the wheel it will shake at those same MPH ranges mentioned by everyone else. I'm pretty discouraged to have this on a brand new truck. Does anyone know if this is 'lemon law' or buyback type stuff? I hate to think a truck that list for $46k should have this issue out of the gate. Also if it is a dampening/resonance/vibration issue, any comments on whether or not it's a hazard at all?

I'll tell the poor dealer the bad news tommorw as I'm in for another RRT.

 

I too had the road force balance 1 week ago. They also rotated the tires for the first time. Unfortunately it has not fixed the wheel shake problem on my Ram either.
I had it noted on the receipt that I felt this was a safety issue thinking that this may be covered under lemon law. The dealer has been trying to make this a tire issue not a truck problem.
I guess the next step would be new tires?

 

AND they should be buying those new tires!

 

This problem is definitely not a tire problem...

When one of the dealers figures this out I would love to hear what it was so I can take mine in.