Okay, I have spent about $500 trying to fix a balancing problem with my new wheel/tires. Arguing with tire shops, the guys I bought my wheels/adapters from, etc. Turns out the FACTORY hubs on the rear end are not concentric and this has been causing the problem. This is on a Dually. With the adapters I am running, it pushes the wheels out about an extra inch from the hub. So this has amplified the vibration problem due to the design of the adapters.

Has anyone ever heard of this? The truck only has few thousand miles on it and nothing has worn out. It just appears that the hubs were made this way from the factory. I am going to take it in next week to Dodge and see what they think.

Here is a link to the video to show how bad it is. http://isitfast.com/images/hub2.AVI

Let me know your thoughts....

 

wow does it do that on both sides or just the one?? If I get a chance I will do the same thing with my truck tomorrow to see if it does it too...

 

Get yourself some Centramatic Wheel Balancers they should solve your problems and keep you from having to worry about balancing the tires anyway

 

Yes what he said. But buy them on Ebay and save yourself 25 bucks. I found this out after mine were shipped out to me.

 

Rammtuff,
Did you have trouble balancing your wheels and did the centramatic`s solve the problem? I have ballanced my wheels 3 times and the truck still hops between 72 and 78 mph.

 

I have the Balance Master rings which are the same thing. But they can't fix something that is "out of round" as they state on there website. This is where the problem is...I was trying to fix a balancing problem that didn't exist.

 

And yes, I belive it does it on the other side too but not as bad. I didn't actually pull the other side off but it does have an up and down wobble to it too.

 

I had 285 BFG for winter that would shake. I knew I had no mechanical problems because my Michelin tires were smooth as glass. The balance rings fixed the shake. They sound funny when first taking off.

 

Where did yoiu get the adapters?
I got a set of btw spacers for my dually and run 305/70R17s and the truck rides every bit as good a factory if not better. I got my spacers form arrowcraft, great prices and really good service.

 

I bought my kit from chromewheel.com. As stated above I don't think any of the problem is with the adaptors.....if you watch the video you can see the center part is all "wobbly"; this is the factory Dodge hub.

 

Can't tell anything from the video. The stud pattern needs to be concentric with the axle. You need to mount a naked rim on the axle and using a dial indicator mark the high and low points. Remove the rim and remount 180 degrees. Check the high and low spots again. Did they move with the wheel or did they remain?

 

What I originally did was put the truck on jack stands. I slid one of my ramps under the tire where is was just barely touching a ramp. As the tire made a rotation there was always a high spot and a low spot around the tires. This gave me the idea to check the adapter. But when I was checking the adapter I noticed that the problem was with the factory hub not being concentric. The further out on the hub, the worse it is. I would say at the end it is out a good 1/8th of an inch. The adapter relies on this since it is aligned using the center part of the hub.

I know the video isn't the greatest quality but I still think it is pretty obvious there is a problem; especially in person. I hope a hub like that is not within spec to Dodge's standards.

 

I would be talking to the dealer on this problem.

 

Bigdav - I was told that on 94 and up Dodges the lugs have nothing to do with the axle being concentric....they are hub centric so the wheel relies on the hub to be correct; not the lugs. All of the studs are correct but the hub is not. I went ahead and stuck the factory wheels and tires back on and the problem is still there. You can visually see the tires going up and down. The larger tires must really amplify the problem as you can only barely feel the vibration with the factory's. It's a little more noticeable with a load but not near as bad as with the big tires.

I took it into Dodge yesterday (with factory tires) and they said it is within specs and there isn't anything they can do. I don't understand how a problem that can be visually seen is OK by Dodge. This problem is obviously going to cause premature tire failure along with shocks and bushing problems, etc. I have contacted Dodge via the website to see what they say. I have a feeling that this is going to be a long process that may involve an attorney.....

 

The Dealer is not being truthful (lieing) I saw the video, and sometimes you need to grad a little neck of a service manager. I can rant on but it will just put gas on the fire. Start with the Manager & be patient at first. Take him far a test ride on a long a deserted road and see if he does not come to his senses
Good Luck,
Laurence