Duallys only, not SRW 1-tons.

 

I finally got around to checking the radial runout (that is with the roll of the tire, anyway, even if I do have my terms mixed up.) One tire had about 3/16-1/4 inch. I rotated the high spot of the tire to the low spot (valve stem) and it improved it to <1/16".

Better, but could stand improvement. I noticed the shake/ vibration tended to be most pronouned around 1800-2000 RPM, give or take, under light to moderate throttle, but still inconsistent. Could be engine related, and my mounts are on their last legs anyway. Hmmmmm......

Got some engine mounts a month ago. Finally put them in last night. I could compress the old mounts in my hand by 1/8" or so. Definitely shot.

Test drove in town and down I-55 for a short distance. Smooth as silk. I varied speeds going down interstate from 65 to 80mph, which was all the faster holiday weekend traffic would allow at that time.

 

Well

I'd bought 4 coned lugnuts, spent several hours fiddling with the rims, and thought everything was aligned... Vibes were still present, but not *real* bad. Got caught in some slow moving traffic weekend before last going (empty) to the Dyno Day... about 15-25mph was bad enough I started getting and 60-65mph was no better! On the dyno rollers, I'd pulled the outers to fit and the front was stationary... about 15-25mph showed a pronounced "whump" somewhere... and the trip home (did NOT use the coned nuts when the outers went back on) appeared worse than ever at speed.

Drug the truck to my local INDEPENDENT tire shop this AM and had the rears checked... not only were are 4 rims bent, but the balance was off pretty badly. From what we could tell, the rims were out because at some point, the coin slots were NOT lined up when the lugs were tightened = all the flanges tweaked. Rims were treated to a few well placed "SUPER Sledge" shots in hopes of bringing the flanges back closer to true (NOT 100%, but they ran much truer). Then the assemblies got a lengthy spin balance... didn't bother them to use the coned lug nuts for re-install (only got charged $20).

Low speed thumps appears to be MUCH better and I'll find out this evening if the hi-speed improved at all.

Guess I'll begin looking for a new/straight used set of rims and tires to resolve the issue completely...

 

On the remote anyone else is chasing the vibes, I figured an update was in order...

I started collecting rims after the holidays. Ended up with about 8 of unknown origin (several had flat flanges). One pair had a set of no-name M/Ts 235s mounted/balanced, so I threw them on the front for giggles... no change. At this point, I was sure I was looking at some MAJOR frontend work.

So, about 3 weeks ago, I loaded up ALL the rims/tires for a trip to a buds tire shop. We ended up pulling all 6 of the original (to my owning the truck) + the other 6 (coined) rims& tires for a ride on the balancer...

What we found was BOTH sets I tried on the front had 1 rim (of these pairs) bent all to... well, you get it, along with half the original/freebie rims! Tom was pretty sure all the damaged rims had been mated improperly at some point and torqued with a big gun. In essence, DO NOT ASSUME YOUR "TIRE GUY" KNOWS HOW TO PROPERLY MATE THE RIMS! Anyways, we ended up with 7 good rims, swapped my tires (215s + 1 GY for spare), and balanced them all before returning them to the truck. We also checked the frontend... balljoints/bushings/TREs appeared good, but did find a worn idler arm which will need changing (along with an aliment) before too long.

Took it for a short (2 mile) "blast" down a fairly rough asphalt "country' road. While it still rode like you expect it to ride... the major vibes were gone! Tom seems to think it will get better as the tires even out from the bent rims (not sure about this?). It's now VERY tolerable up to about 80 (way faster than I usually drive )

Overall, I'm ecstatic it wasn't anything more and that I can now have a softdrink in the cab without it foaming over! I even scored one of the bent rims for a charcoal grill to take camping this summer.

 

My experience is close. I would like to add 1 very important point;

Lug nut tork on my 93 is about 400fp!

Also check the gap between the hub and the inside of the rim as well as the lip runout.

I first bought my truck, Tires had good tread on one side, roll it over 1/2 turn its wore out. Shakes so bad it trys to pull the wheel out of your hand. Kinda humps up and down a little sometimes at slow speed. Not very constant though.

I bought new Toyo A/T 235 85 16s helped a little maby, not much. BUT after about only 7 miles the right front started to rattle. Stopped and found the wheel was coming off! Tightened all 6 up a little and went back to the shop. Shop hands told me there were carefully toked to 185fp I tell them its supposed to be 400 with cone nut centering ( I read the owners manual when the wheel came loose). They tell me there is no way it takes 400fp. I ask him how much cash he has on him as I pull out my trusty owners manual (this bet has happened 3 or 4 times). I also point out the gap between one of duellie flanges that are not properly coined. I now keep 4 conical lug nuts in the truck and make sure the techs know about the strange details of the first gen DRW.

 

Words to live by! I watch 'em like a hawk.