My dealer told me today that they think they have a fix for the vibe/drone problem. They were telling me that they take out the front drive shaft and if it goes away they then reset the front "Toe setting" to the factory maximum and that it goes away.

1) first question is, has anyone else heard this fix?

2) second, won't this have a negetive effect on front tire wear?

3) doesn't this indicate a weakness somewhere in the front steering system or in the spindles etc and shouldn't there be a focus on that to correct the real problem?

Just trying to get my thoughts together before giving this a try. Cause the darn drone puts me to sleep on long hauls.

 

Who is "they" that the dealer is referring to? The dealer or DC? What makes them think they have a fix? A TSB or dealer maintenance notice?

Seems to me that if they remove the front drive shaft, and the vibe goes away - the vibe is related to the driveshaft; why would they want to reset the toe setting?

I wonder if the vibe would reappear when you re-installed the front drive shaft?

 

Good questions..........
They - was the local dealership.... They think they've got it figured out cause nothing has come from Dodge.

I really can't find the logic to changing the toe setting unless it's actually a vibe in the front tires and they think its transmitted to the rest of the truck through the drive shaft?? Sounds pretty dumb to me as I try to work it out in my mind. I agree, if you remove the front drive shaft and it quits ya gotta look for something that has to do with the rotation of the front drive shaft..... be it balance, bearings, or issues connected with the universals.

On my truck, it's not nearly so bad with a good load in the truck, and/or pulling a trailer that brings the heigth of the truck down a bit.

Thanks for the input.

 

I read somewhere about a guy who had his dealer adjust toe-in to get rid of the vibration, not only did it make no difference, but it gave his truck the handling characteristics of a shopping cart. Be careful, I don't think I've heard of many trucks that had the vibe cured this way, the object is to make it better, not worse.

 

Hi Guys, I am new to the forum, I have the 04.5 CTD and I don't seem to have this vibration, I am going on a trip today and will check again. I usually drive 75 so maybe I am skipping through it.

 

Same with the rear end if it's the rear shaft. Tip the axle up just a tad in the front or shim the carrier down an inch or two. If you go too far, it'll vibrate under load. I understand there's only a 3* margin to play with???

 

Yes and no. Yes to the removal of the shaft but no to the alignment. The fix was to replace the shaft.

Yes, it will increase outside edge tire wear and reduce mpg.
Increasing the toe would add rolling resistance and load pressure on the steering & ball joints. 3rd gen 4x4's have horrible ball joint trouble many are bad- some as low as 7500 miles. Mine were toast at 22.5 but thats just when I checked them, they may have been bad all along.

 

I had a high speed Vib that just got worse with speed, replaced the front shaft and it went away. I do still have the harmonics at 63-68 mph my dealer is replacing the rear shaft this next week and I am hoping for the best... Joel

 

80 mph seems to clear mine. Question is: Does the dealer warrenty the drive train if the computer remembers a percentage of time travelled in excessive speeds? If something is "defective" would'nt it break eventually? Mine comes and goes, I drive it one time it is smooth as a baby bootie, and next time I have to go 78-80 to get past it.