I'm new to the whole diesel truck thing,but have been jonsing to get a 1st gen diesel ram for a long time. finally picked up an '89 w/128,000 for $2995. I have been infatuated reading all the threads and finally became a member! My question is this, the truck vibrates pretty bad at idle or when I push the clutch in, but smooths out and runs great once I get going on the gas. the truck aslo seems to be a little louder than it should. Any ideas would help tremendously!!

 

Hey sounds like you may have a clutch or input shaft problem. Also check the vibration damener on the frount of the crankshaft. welcome to the 1 gen juckies

 

first of welcome,
I would think that it may be idle speed, does it go away if you rest your foot on the skinny pedal?
As for the loudness, the timing may have been advanced, that gives us the cool rattle.

Just wait a little longer and you'll get alot more responces by tonight.

Michael

 

The vibration is a constant...sort of like a vibrating bed sort of constant (sorry for the comparison, couldn't think of anything else) it smooths out as soon as the I let out the clutch and give her gas, and she is smoth as silk otherwise. It does it in neutral as well. A friend mentioned that one of my injectors might not be spraying properly causing a cylinder not to compress properly....thanks for the welcome and replies so far!!

 

So what you're saying is that raising the RPM smooths it out? If that's the case, I'm with Michael. Set the idle speed to 850 RPM with the A/C on and see how that feels.

 

I Too, Just Wrote In For The Same Problem 2 Days Ago. It Was Suggested That Maybe My Idle Speed Was Too Low. So, To Check It I Was Told To Go Through Each Gear, With The Brake On, And Slowly Accelerate. If The Vibration Stopped, My Idle Speed Was Too Slow, And Apparently It Was. I Had It Adjusted To 850 Rpm And Its Fine! Good Luck :d