Hey everyone, I spent about an hour reading through the threads, and I couldn't find one about my specific issue, so I apologize if it's been discussed.
I have a 1997 Ram 1500 5.9 4x4. I recently replaced the front passenger wheel bearing, and u-joint on that axle shaft, that went well. What I am noticing now is while driving, If I hit a bump or uneven pavement/surface etc, I get a vibration that seems to be rotational. Once The truck comes to a stop the vibration comes to a stop with the truck. I will proceed driving and it is fine, once again, until I hit a bump or whatever, then once I stop, it almost resets or goes away. My first thought is maybe I got a bad bearing from the parts store. I pulled it again checked it all out, no noises or play, seemed fine. I did notice that my upper ball joint has some play in it, by the time I realized that I did not have time to change it. I plan on doing the ball joints in the next week or so, this is of course the solid front axle, and I am now replacing a lot of original parts, yay me!
My question....could these symptoms/vibrations issue be cause by the bad ball joint? I will add, I climbed under and checked all the u-joints on drive shafts, front and rear, I see nothing else mechanical it could be. I just don't want to pull and warranty the bearing and chase my tail if thats not the issue ( which I don't think it is). I just cannot seem to pin point what else it could be.

Thanks!

 

How old are your shocks?

 

Shocks are less than a year old. I believe I put them in June 2016

 

Still wouldn't hurt to check 'em.

I have had shifted belts in the tires give me similar problems.... The tires weren't even that old/worn. Just the roads around here are tough on them.

 

Yeah I hear ya there. It's definitely not the tires. I can hear the noise is definitely mechanical. I can hear it wind down as I slow and whatever it is almost disengages. I think I'm going to order 2 stabilizer links, steering damper, and all new ball joints. I think that's a good start.

 

If it needs it anyway, certainly won't hurt, but, given your description, its a rotating part giving you grief. If it is severe enough to give you a vibration you can hear/feel..... I would like to think that you should be able to find it, just spinning things by hand/shaking things around. I don't think a balljoint would do it......

 

Yeah now you understand my dilemma. I thought maybe u joints, but they are solid, not loose and no play at all. That stuff needs to be replaces anyway, so hopefully while I'm tearing it all down, I can figure it out.

 

Try jacking up the front end, turn the wheels too one side, THEN try an turn the tires, see if the u-joints bind when they aren't "straight ahead".

 

I'll give that a shot tomorrow, thanks!

 

were you able to figure out what the issue was? I have a similar situation going on, except my vibration starts when I hit a small bump or pothole (but not all the time). it is a rotational vibration coming from the passenger side wheel, and the vibration slows down when I brake, then just goes away. I just rebuilt the front end (ball joints, tie rod ends, axle u joints,etc.) and added a steering box stabilizer. it didn't start until I rebuilt the front end! Les schwab did an inspection before aligning it and said everything was good. I have had two mechanic friends look at it and they cant seem to find any issues.