what to look for in a '96 - '98?
07-16-2004, 10:58 AM
#16
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Hello BoostnBenz,
I kid you not, I have had my truck in to tires plus no less than 25 times in the last 6 months because they cannot get the wheel weights to stay on. I thought maybe it was only me that had problems with that because of the tires maybe.
I have 285 Dayton Timberline A/T on it and nothing but problems. I had one rim they said had a slight up and down hop in it so I had them put the spare on the truck instead to see it that fixed the problem but they can hardly get the wheel weights to stay on long enough for me to test drive it long enough to see if that is the problem. I dont think it is because I still have a bounce at around 60 mph.
I kid you not, I have had my truck in to tires plus no less than 25 times in the last 6 months because they cannot get the wheel weights to stay on. I thought maybe it was only me that had problems with that because of the tires maybe.
I have 285 Dayton Timberline A/T on it and nothing but problems. I had one rim they said had a slight up and down hop in it so I had them put the spare on the truck instead to see it that fixed the problem but they can hardly get the wheel weights to stay on long enough for me to test drive it long enough to see if that is the problem. I dont think it is because I still have a bounce at around 60 mph.
07-16-2004, 11:21 AM
#17
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With my Vivas I can feel them out of round at about 5mph, 30mph, and maybe again at 55mph. I've had them balanced four times in 7k miles, at least one weight must go flying so I'm sick of this crap. Any tire that needs that big of a weight to counterset it is trash IMO. A 14" rimmed tire shouldn't have to use the largest wheel weight to balance it! Speaking of which how large or how many weights did they use on yours? A lot of big weights means the tire quality is very poor, the tire balancer is seing the tire is out of round and is trying to compensate for it but doesn't do a very good job of it. The only two other options for balancing are using a balancer like the centramatic which would cost ~$400 (~$200/axle) for your truck and you'd never have to balance another tire again, or try adhesive weights.
Sounds like something way more extreme than your problem matador, however it'd probably be worth your while to check out the track bar to make sure it is tight. The ends are known to wear out and cause some pretty annoying problems such as bad tracking down the road or while braking.
http://www.lukeslink.com/trackbar.html
We then went back and hit it at 50....it did the Death wobble. He stuck his head out the window and said the tires were pointing out and were bouncing up and down. I tried to speed up and it just got worse. I again smashed the breaks to the floor and it took a long time to stop.
http://www.lukeslink.com/trackbar.html
07-16-2004, 12:07 PM
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I had the track bar replaced less than 6 months ago and then replaced about 3 months back as they said it had went bad. Then after replacing it the second time and I brought it back saying the replaced one had the same amount of play as the first one they said a little play was normal. Shortly after this I felt some play and clunking in the front end again and I brought it back again and they found the nut had come loose about a quarter of a turn on the passenger side and they tightened it up ( that was a couple of days ago) and it seems fine now with no more clunking so far, course its only been a couple of days.
As far as amounts of weights goes that seems to vary a lot each time I bring it in for rebalancing which seems strange to me as it should be the same each time. The most weight is on the spare tire wheel now at about 4 oz total. the others have about 2 oz or less.
As far as amounts of weights goes that seems to vary a lot each time I bring it in for rebalancing which seems strange to me as it should be the same each time. The most weight is on the spare tire wheel now at about 4 oz total. the others have about 2 oz or less.
07-16-2004, 01:03 PM
#19
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From what I hear some of the cheaper track bars don't last at all, somebody around here said that their NAPA track bar was either originally bad or only lasted 3 days!
That doesn't sound that bad for weights. One of my newest ideas is to take the weight and put RTV on the back of it, then put it back on the rim. It'll at least have to take a little more effort to go flying off that way.
That doesn't sound that bad for weights. One of my newest ideas is to take the weight and put RTV on the back of it, then put it back on the rim. It'll at least have to take a little more effort to go flying off that way.
07-16-2004, 02:18 PM
#20
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Originally posted by BoostnBenz2
I hate wheel weights so #$%ing much, I don't think I've had one vehicle they stay on yet. I've tried practically every shop in my city, so as far as keeping the wheels balanced I'm going to just take it to a shop that does adhesive weights inside the rim next time.
I hate wheel weights so #$%ing much, I don't think I've had one vehicle they stay on yet. I've tried practically every shop in my city, so as far as keeping the wheels balanced I'm going to just take it to a shop that does adhesive weights inside the rim next time.
One product of the modern age that I wouldn't be without is balance beads.
I'll never go back to the ancient lead weight spin balance method on any vehicle. Sort of crude pounding a gob of ugly weights on your rims. Tire shops don't like the beads and will tell you a bunch of falsehoods because the beads make their expendsive balance machines obsolete.
Cheaper, perfect balance for the life of the tire and you aren't at the mercy of a tire jockey who really doesn't give a hoot.
Most all semis have been using them for years.
I have hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles with them.
For a good source and lots of info click here > tire balance beads
Try it and you'll never go back to the old way.
07-16-2004, 02:56 PM
#21
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Thanks Infidel!
Most of the tire machines are already obsolete, and out of nearly every shop I've went to they weren't properly maintained either (1 in 10 had a working brake). Anyway I seriously considered making something like the centramatic but I can't think of any good round alumnium tube to purchase premade, maybe these beads would be the next best thing. Are they plastic or what? My first concern was for the rim but they already say that the beads will cause no damage. I still don't understand how they say they will stick in position, it just seems that they'd move freely while in motion or not.
Most of the tire machines are already obsolete, and out of nearly every shop I've went to they weren't properly maintained either (1 in 10 had a working brake). Anyway I seriously considered making something like the centramatic but I can't think of any good round alumnium tube to purchase premade, maybe these beads would be the next best thing. Are they plastic or what? My first concern was for the rim but they already say that the beads will cause no damage. I still don't understand how they say they will stick in position, it just seems that they'd move freely while in motion or not.
07-16-2004, 07:17 PM
#22
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Jeff, the beads are ceramic, wear longer than steel. The beads are sort of weird, it's almost like they get an static electrical charge (perhaps they do???) and stick in place. They will move though if you hit a nasty bump or pothole but are back in place again rapidly.
The site I linked to> http://www.innovativebalancing.com/index.html can answer most of your questions, if not use the contact us form on their website, they will get back the same day.
The site I linked to> http://www.innovativebalancing.com/index.html can answer most of your questions, if not use the contact us form on their website, they will get back the same day.
07-16-2004, 08:32 PM
#23
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Soon, I will be looking into purchasing a 95-98 dodge cummins. So if the block has a 53 on it you are not suppose to buy it if thats the case. Also could someone exlpain what the KDP is where is located and what needs to be done to it. What model year is the KDP an issue?
07-16-2004, 08:55 PM
#24
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I wouldn't go as far as to say not to buy a 53 block but they are more frail and a little louder than the previous/ future block.
The KDP is killer dowel pin, a locating pin for the timing housing may vibrate out and land in the timing gears with possibilities of a good deal of havoc. They can be peened, loctited, tabbed, or stopped with a screw. I don't recall when the problem started but it seems like in 00 or so they came up with a new design to the timing cover to ensure it wouldn't happen again.
The KDP is killer dowel pin, a locating pin for the timing housing may vibrate out and land in the timing gears with possibilities of a good deal of havoc. They can be peened, loctited, tabbed, or stopped with a screw. I don't recall when the problem started but it seems like in 00 or so they came up with a new design to the timing cover to ensure it wouldn't happen again.
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