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Dodge Ram Vibration/Pulsation/Bouncing

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Comments

  • kashmir7kashmir7 Member Posts: 1
    Hey there, I was curious when you bought your 2007 Ram? I just purchased one in October 2009 and have the same problem but at varying MPH and RPM. Have you had the truck since 2007? Did they fix it because you had a warranty? If you could help that would be great. I am looking around to see how much this is gonna cost me since I have no warranty and did not purchase it from a Dodge dealership. Thanks.
  • davelbdavelb Member Posts: 11
    I took over a current lease on my 2007 RAM in March of this year or 2010 which expires next September and that will be the end of this truck and any future Chrysler product. There was warranty available thankfully and the cost of repair to Chrysler on 22 days I estimate at $14,500...
  • stanoskistanoski Member Posts: 76
    What exactly did your 2007 RAM do and at what speeds again and what was the resolution? Sorry if I missed the earlier emails on this.
  • davelbdavelb Member Posts: 11
    have just got my 2007 Dodge Ram back from the dealer. They have had it 6 days and dedicated 3 technicians to the problem working with Chrysler Canada/US the truck has about 27,000miles on it 4 door Hemi. Today the dealer replaced the following which I must admit has cured the severe uncomfortable rear vibration to about a 98% improvement...I feel the slight vibration left is in the tires which are 20". They replaced the following rear end parts today.

    52103717A Isolator
    5010321AF Gear Kit
    5017438AA Bearing
    68056356AA Seal
    5072506AA BRG Kit
    5072498AA BRG Kit
    5013477AB Sealant
    03400850 Diff Side Bearing
    axle replace & side gears
    0300102 Ring Gear & Pinion...original damaged upon inspection backlash noted

    Prior to the repair today Chrysler replaced the drive shaft, rear shocks, torque converter, rear wheel bearings, rotated tires, replaced front tie rods...did software updates...none of these prior repairs had any effect.
  • hemi1500hemi1500 Member Posts: 2
    I have an 07 1500 Ram 5.7 hemi slt quad cab with rear end vibration that I nor the dealer have been able to pinpoint. I have had the truck 2 months. This vibration has gradually gotten worse and gets worse with weight on truck. They tried putting different tires and wheels on the truck off a new truck, checked ujoints, drive line, with no results. I pulled cover off rear myself to find what I thought was alot of metal shavings and noticed alot of wear on differential gears but ring and pinion did not seem too bad but I have no way to check actual tolerances or backlash. The dealer said the shavings are normal and that the rear end is very unlikely cause of the problem... My truck has a bad bouce in the rear. You can see my tail gate bouncing and you can feel it in the seat. Sometimes it is worse than others and it does it at basically all speeds. If you run the truck up over 90 mph, the rear of the truck starts to growl.. Does this sound at all like what you were feeling with your ring and pinion being bad? Im at a loss and no one seems to have any answers
  • davelbdavelb Member Posts: 11
    The fastest way to isolate the rear end problem is to disconnect the rear drive shaft if the truck is a 4x4 and drive it as a front wheel drive...if there is no further vibration you know the problem is in the rear end. You have not indicated that this truck is a 4x4 so I will assume it is two wheel drive. Your dealer or technican will have to get the factory specs for the rear end gearing....there is a very good chance that it is way out of tolerance and is damaged...mine was out considerably. Based on the rear end wearing properly with right rear end fluid little if any metal filing should be apparent....very few...if you had a lot and you are getting a rear vibtartion...it is probably in the rear end and when you drive on the highway and or tow it gets hot.....the vibration on mine came through the drivers seat everything was done to this truck....before rebuilding the rear end...I believe after the time spent on my truck a total of 22 days that the rear end was never right direct from the factory.
  • hemi1500hemi1500 Member Posts: 2
    My Ram is 4x4 and disconnecting the drive shaft to test it that way has not been done yet. My truck is over its 3k mile warranty already and the dealer seems to have no interest in finding and fixing the problem if it can be fixed so unless the rear goes completely out, the dealer is not going to rebuild rear and hope it fixes it. At this point, after 2 months of being in the shop more than driving and a big head ache, Im debating on cutting my loses and getting rid of the truck for something different. thanks for the info
  • davelbdavelb Member Posts: 11
    I understand...this is my second Chrysler product and my last both have been a nightmare. It was a weak moment getting this vechile as I assumed a lease and thankfully it expires next Sept. My best luck have been with the Chevy Avalanche...I have had two of them both excellent....and a F150 also a great truck...far better trucks for reliability and comfort. I will test drive the Toyato as one of my customers swears by them after giving up their Chrysler fleet.
  • hdrexhdrex Member Posts: 2
    i do know one of the vibration issues is in the flywheel dodge used a 2 piece flywheel for a few years not sure how many though i have 07 dodge 4x4 quad cab 5.9l and the vibration was while it idled the whole truck vibrated you rev it it would mainly go away when i pulled the tranny found it was a 2 piece flywheel and there was a change up for them. that problem was solved now im working on a different vibration happen about 110kmh hit a bump or a pot hole and the whole truck shakes violently replaced passenger tie rod and a front u-joint mostly took care of the problem but still happens the odd time i have a dr. side tie rod once i replace hopefully takes care of it. hope that helps some if you out there :sick:
  • lanes97lanes97 Member Posts: 1
    The right front wheel on my 97 4x4 starts to rumble at about 30 mph when it is in 2wd. When I put it in 4wd, it goes away. The bearing was replaced about 1000 miles ago and there is no side play when I jack it up, and when I spin the wheel, it starts to rumble and vibrate in the hub area. Thanks
  • smedsleassmedsleas Member Posts: 7
    My son is on the road home. He has a 2004 Dodge 1500 ram pu w/Hemi engine. While driving feels like brakes are grabbing and speed is actually reducing. This accompanied by an intermittent squealing and grinding noise. While moving when the noise stops the right rear brake feels like it is grabbing and slowing down the speed, although he is not applying the brakes. Fluid levels are fine and tried checking all the fuses nothing has changed. Also checked the emergency brake.
  • hdrexhdrex Member Posts: 2
    if youve already pulled off the back tires and physically checked the brakes id be guessinng its a wheel bearing or something in the rear end could drop the cover on the rear end and see if there's metal shavings
  • woody63woody63 Member Posts: 1
    I am in the gearbox manufacturing business and whoever is telling you that metal shavings inside the differential is "normal" doesn't know what they are talking about. Could be worn gears, bad bearings (new ones do fail) bad races or cages. You need to have this checked out thoroughly and the differential drained, flushed and inspected.
  • 2k3_hemi_2wd2k3_hemi_2wd Member Posts: 2
    @davelb

    I have a 2003 1500 Hemi 2 wheel drive. A vibration begins in the rear end around the 60 mile an hour mark and worsens at around 70..it travels all the way into the steering wheel, driver and passenger seat, etc. I have noticed that it doesn't seem to start until I am about 15-20 minutes into driving. Not really sure if it is better or worse in cold versus warm weather....I live in Florida. Have had it into several dealers, several shops and no one can come up with any answers excpept to say it must be in the drive train. Have had tires road force tested, numerous parts replaced and I just started believing they were all guessing at the expense of my wallet. A couple of the tires were replaced when they showed slightly out of spec and it made a minor improvement...shocks, made a minor improvement...endless trips to the dealership to leave it for a day or two and then to find out the issue is still there. I finally gave up and have been living with the problem but in Florida on the interstate...if you aren't driving 70+ you are getting run over.

    I would really like to get this fixed as I can't afford to take on a new vehicle at this time....if you could, let me know if you feel like this is the same issue you were experiencing.

    Also, if anyone knows of a shop or dealer in the Orlando area that they have a good relationship with and can be trusted...i am all ears....i have heard a thousand times...not a problem....we can fix it....to find out it is not fixed and they don't have a solution.

    thanks in advance for you advice, comments, insights..
  • davelbdavelb Member Posts: 11
    As per my prior message on the Ram series. I think you will find your rear end gear or gears are gone or worn out. If your dealer removes the rear end plate and checks the fluid and finds filings and the gears have "back lash" he will probably find that they are worn or greatly out of specification which causes the terrible vibration at high speeds into the steering wheel and through the drivers seat. Once the rear end gears are replaced the vibration should be gone....a fast way on 4x4 models is to disconnect the rear drive shaft and drive the truck as a front wheel drive if there is no more vibration than the problem is isolated to the rear end.
  • 2k3_hemi_2wd2k3_hemi_2wd Member Posts: 2
    edited July 2011
    thanks Dave....at least this gives me something to target and recommend they look into...I really appreciate the time you took to advertise your story....I think it may help alot of people who own these trucks and are getting nowhere with their service pro's. If I do get a resolution...I will be sure to post it here.
  • blbrd68blbrd68 Member Posts: 1
    well i think my 2005 2WD ram 1500 is going thru the same as everybody else is discribing. it has 31000 miles and has just started to vibrate at 30-40 mph taperes of alittle after 40mph and comes back greater 50-60 mph. Just got new tires front end alignment, that did not fix vibration. I am hearing a ticking noise from rearend of truck, could this be u-joints or rear end ?
  • dodger20dodger20 Member Posts: 1
    Hi, I have a problem with my 2002 dodge ram sport with the 5.9 motor. When im at low RPMS around 1200, about 40 45 miles per hour my truck tends to skip...its hard to describe what it does, but skipping sounds like the best way to put it. I dont really feel it in the gas peddle but more in the back end. They get pretty violent sometimes as well. I either have to punch the gas or take it out of overdrive and it immediately goes away. Im not too sure what it is if someone could shoot me a line and give me their best opinion that would be great. Thank you. Cody
  • jwacgbjwacgb Member Posts: 1
    I am having the same problem, i have a 97 Ram 5.9l. It feels like the tranny is grinding the gears when my overdrive is engaged. It mostly only does it when im going up hills on the interstate.
  • crash_akcrash_ak Member Posts: 8
    replace your rotars they are warped or below spec
  • crash_akcrash_ak Member Posts: 8
    Wrong firing order or wrong plugs or incorrect gap on the spark plugs
  • miles16miles16 Member Posts: 4
  • miles16miles16 Member Posts: 4
    hi,
    i have a 2007 quad cab 5.7 hemi....im a.s.e. certified..i hooked my computer up to trans and all number were normal...i feel it want to shift to O.D (NORMAL) IF U have no other issuies i leave it be...

    miles
    a.s.e a1 to a9
    g1 and g2(diesel
  • lareaulareau Member Posts: 1
    I have a 96 Dodge Ram 1500 extended cab which vibrates at the speed of 30 - 40 mph. The vibration is felt all over, steering wheel, seat, etc. There is no vibration at speeds below or above these speeds. I have had my tires balanced and partial alignment as I was told that the wheel bearing should be check as there is some play but not much. And after I get them replaced to come back and they will do the compete alignment. A friend said that the drive shaft could be out of balance. Can a drive shaft go out of balance? Can that cause the vibration or can it be something else. Any advise would be appreciated.

    Thanks
  • miles16miles16 Member Posts: 4
    answer 96 dodge, YES IF A DRIVE LINE IS OUT OF BALANCE YES IT WOULD CAUSE A SHAKE.AND SENSE U HAD TIRES BALANCED THE ONLY THING LEFT WOULD BE DRIVE LINE HAVE IT BALANCED AND OR REPLACED. WOULD HAVE A CERTIFIED DRIVE LINE FACILITY INSPECT IT BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE.
    GOOD LUCK.......
  • hyperbolicxhyperbolicx Member Posts: 2
    I didn't even have to read all of your complaint. I am an ex District Service and Parts Manager for Chrysler 1996 - 2008. I heard this complaint ALL of the time and experienced it myself during multiple customer complaints and on my own demo units. Chrysler has known about this problem for YEARS. Their response has varied but the most prevalent response was to tell the customer to put sand bags (or any type of weight) in the bed of the truck. That would reduce it but not eliminate it.

    If you have aftermarket wheels & tires then you have just taken yourself out of the loop of repairability (unless you get an eccentric mechanic to modify the suspension system for you). Chrysler will deny responsibility and blame it on road surface. I can confirm that aftermarket wheels and tires make it worse because I had a customer bring his vehicle to the dealership with that issue and we removed his wheels & tires and replaced them with a set off of a stock unit. The issue was resolved to the extent that stock wheels & tires will allow it to be but the issue was clearly intensified by the customers aftermarket wheels & tires. You should have seen the look on the customers face as we proved the issue. Funny. But the customer went on to say that was the last Dodge he would ever buy.

    If you'll notice, the issue is exacerbated on freeways that are of cement construct. In fact, I've had some customers tell me they allegedly had to slow down because of the violent shaking they experienced. In other words, they had to adjust their driving habits to accommodate the engineering of the truck. On the other hand, when driving on BLACKTOP the issue is not as pronounced.

    I can tell you without a doubt you will NEVER get rid of this issue. To Chrysler, the amount of customers that complain is not worth the cost of making an engineering adjustment in future production. Most customers simply accept the issue and move on. Personally, I would never own one for this reason (and I had 12 years at the company). Get used to it.
  • chromedome12chromedome12 Member Posts: 2
    I have 2012 Ram 1500 ,5.7 Hemi, 8-6-4 cylinder system in cruise on hwy driving. Vibration is through entire truck starting at 35 mph to 80 mph with cruise control on in the Eco on Mode where cylinders drop out to save gas regardless of speed and cruise. I get 14.5 m/gal regardless of driving habits from driving like an elderly person to a hot rod driver. I should be getting close to 20 m/gal when cruise is on and running on 4 or 6 cylinders in cruise or foot feet. the vibration is in cruise and foot feed driving. I should be getting 16.5 m/gal city driving at least. Dodge is giving me a run around and does not know what the problem is. Had service and mechanic in truck at same time and they felt vibration in action. Been in shop 4 times and no results in fixing problem. They claim the 8-6-4 system automatically causes this. The transmission is looking for another gear when the Eco system is trying to cut in and with no avail does not happen. Results of 14.5 m/gal only, gas mileage is not what they claim.
  • chromedome12chromedome12 Member Posts: 2
    This 2012 Dodge Ram , 5.7 Hemi has only a liitle over 4000 miles on it and 2 wheel drive
  • 4mrbill4mrbill Member Posts: 1
    Hello I just picked up my new 2012 Ram 1500 Crew Feb. 27 2013 and yesterday Mar 8 2013 it started doing what you described, but one more thing all the displays/ Nav system changed to spanish, I was able to change it back to english, the truck is going in monday to be checked out. did you get yours fixed?
  • ramvibrationramvibration Member Posts: 1
    I also have a 2012 Ram 1500 4x2 Longhorn Laramie edition. I purchased off the show room floor. I have had it back 5 times for the same vibration issues. They replaced the wheels and tires with another unit and even replaced the drive shaft... did not work. I had the sales and service manager drive the truck. Both agreed there was something wrong and also said they have never heard of the problem before. They then had an engineer fly in to look at it. Did a pressure balance and then had to get approval from Chrysler to replace the stock tires from Goodyear Wranglers to top of the line Michelin tires. Once they were changed the truck drove better. Engineer said case closed.... but after a few days vibration was back, and a few weeks it was really bad. The new tires have less than 10K miles on them and a very unusual tread wear, and the vibration at 80 mph feels like it could force the truck off the road at this point. They could not and have not fixed the problem and would not buy the truck back. Forced me to get an attorney and now have a law suit going. Very frustrating they will not take ownership of the issue. I have hear it's in the overal design of the truck but not all have this issue.... and they would rather deal with these one by one. Very frustrating... so now we are at the next level.
  • jbriscoe1jbriscoe1 Member Posts: 8
    I know this is an old post but I thought I would give it a shot anyway.

    I can jump in my rear bumper or really just push down hard and my bed vibrates like there's no shocks. It goes down and back up, then reverberates .... it's really bad going down the road. Hit a bump then the whole truck vibrates.

    I just replace my rear shocks with bilsteins and it hasn't helped.... 
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    What year is your truck?
  • jbriscoe1jbriscoe1 Member Posts: 8
    2008 4.7 4x2

  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    I wonder if your rear leaf springs are just too weak to do the job anymore? If your leaf springs look kind of flat, with no pronounced arch to them, then the shocks might not be able to control the truck's overall ride very well.
  • jbriscoe1jbriscoe1 Member Posts: 8
    That's sounds reasonable.  I will look closer at them tomorrow. 

  • jbriscoe1jbriscoe1 Member Posts: 8
    Well there is a curve to them and looking at the side of the truck the rear is a couple inches higher than the front. If the leaf springs were bad wouldn't it sag?
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Yeah, generally that's true. I'm having a hard time imaging how with good springs and new shocks that your truck bed could be bouncing around so easily....I wonder if something has busted loose?
  • jbriscoe1jbriscoe1 Member Posts: 8
    I crawled under it and I don't sreally anything loose or broken. I shook on the shock tubes and tried to wiggle anything on the spring. It doesn't look cracked. Also when I put my 4 wheeler in the back it seems to ride a little better. That is that it doesn't reverberate quite as long.  But that was with my old shocks though. Haven't tried with new ones. 
  • jbriscoe1jbriscoe1 Member Posts: 8
    When I say reverberate , it's the only way I can describe it, it's like when I jump on my bumper it goes down and up like it's supposed to. The truck stopso bouncing immediately but I feel the bed like boyooong boyooong boyooong like a tuning fork... lol


  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Ahhhhhh.....so it's NOT bouncing up and down like a bowl of jello----okay---perhaps, could we say it is "oil canning"? If so, that's a structural issue--maybe some loose bolts or broken welds, or, conceivably, bad engineering.
  • jbriscoe1jbriscoe1 Member Posts: 8
    What could be broken that doesn't make a noise or feel loose? I have shaken my bed on all corners and its not loose... Or I guess a better question is what do I need to look for that would be broken on my diving board of a truck... HA...
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    Well, where the bed secures to the frame (I guess you have a body on frame construction ??). Or if some supporting "rib" under the bed broke a weld. Basically, we're looking for anything that might allow the bed to "flex", like the sides of an oil can.

    Anytime you have a wide expanse of sheet metal you can get oil canning. Many American cars of the 70s with their huge front hoods had this problem.
  • jbriscoe1jbriscoe1 Member Posts: 8
    Ok. I will look tonight. Hey thx for ur help man. Ur a good dude.
  • rfsonerfsone Member Posts: 1
    Another quick diag on vibrations, load the bed with some weight, maybe as much as 500 to 600 pounds. If vibration is gone you might be experiencing an unloaded rear ujoint vibration due to ujoint angles approaching severe. It might get worse with empty bed and low on gas. Or perhaps migh go away with a full tank of fuel. Just wanted to share that thought.
  • 5016jay5016jay Member Posts: 1
    Hello, I know this post is a bit old but I purchased a 2013 Ram 1500. My truck started vibrating at normal road speed 65-70 mph. Ive taken it to 3 different dealerships and still no resolution. I've talked to Ram and there comment is take it back to the dealership. I asked him if he knew the definition of insanity!!! I guess not.
    I'm looking for help. Legal advice. I put a huge down payment on this truck and bought an extended warranty.
    Recently bought new tires because the last dealership told me Rams are notorious for cheap tires. This did not help!!! It also cost me 1,000 dollars. I just want the truck out of my life. Do I have case or grounds to sue Ram or get them to give me money back? Any help would be appreciated
  • Mr_ShiftrightMr_Shiftright Member Posts: 64,481
    It's quite possible this is a solvable problem. What's the deal with your extended warranty? Will it cover things like motor mounts or driveshaft?
  • WickedwrenchofsouthWickedwrenchofsouth Member Posts: 1
    I know this is an older post but seems to be unresolved either way so I wanted to give my recent experience and observations and maybe someone can use it to figure this out. So I bought this 2500 a year ago and ive put 37k on it in that year. Ive always had some tire chop in tye front and rotate them regularly to even them out. Ive never had any vibration at 50-63 mph before. This last weekend I had a 16 foot open car trailer with a elcomino and a GXSR loaded in the back of it on the trailer.( approximately 4500 lbs.) I hauled it almost 400 miles from MB south carolina to maggie valley NC with no issues at all. 70mph in tow/haul and my ram loved it and wanted more. After 2 days R&R we loaded up exactly the same and got moving late Saturday night. About 100 miles in I noticed a bounce/ heavy vibration from the rear. I checked everything truck and then turned to trailer during 4 or 5 different stops on the highway.. I found nothing obvious. During the worst of the bounce at right about 53-54 when I let off the throttle I noticed it was surely in the rear portion of the truck. When I come back into throttle especially under load/incline the truck was struggling compared to the trip up and the first 100 miles back. The next stop I chwcked my trans fluid and found it was low to the cold fill line. I then added lucas trans treatment about half the bottle and hit the bricks again. The vibration was gone! The next 260 miles were great like new! Fast forward another 60 mins I'm again in back on the road liaded with 4500 lbs. I start feeling it again this time earlier at 45+ the it got heavy again at 50 and then......i was back to square on again. .. I'm at a loss. Does my info help anyone to figure this problem out!?
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