Wierd front end vibration.

[jnightrod]

Couple of weeks ago the truck picked up this weird vibration in the front end. It happens when i hit a bump no matter how little it is. It feels like your driving over gravel or after they tear up the road before they pave it. Its weird I hit a bump it starts hit another bump it stops. Its not like the death wobble like the dodges as I have owned one in the past and know what that feels like. It doesnt effect steering or braking. When I apply the brakes I cant feel it through the brake pedal and the vibration will continue at the same rate until I get down to about 15mph. If I lock the hubs or put it into 4 wheel drive the vibration will not happen. I just replaced all the steering linkage up front. The drivers side hub about 4 months ago. About two days after this started happening I got an ABS light on, but it doesnt stay on. The light comes and goes and seems to be in no relation with when the vibration comes and goes. Took it to firestone to get the alignment done after I replaced all the linkages and they told me that their scanner was saying the passenger side wheel speed sensor is malfunctioning but they think there is something more going on than that and they want me to take it to the dealer. Im trying to figure this out without going to the dealer. Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is drivng me nuts.

[Im_Strokin_ur_Cummins]

I wont swear it but you could have a failing hydoboost unit, it wouldnt hurt to check it out to see if it is leaking.

[novemberdelta]

This happened to my 00. If I had the hubs locked in it wouldn't do it. If they were unlocked i would get a bad vibration. What happened with mine was that my spindle bearings went dry and wore into my stub shafts causing a lot of play between the two parts when the hubs were unlocked. I replaced both stub shafts and spindle bearings and it cured the problem.

[jnightrod]

Originally Posted by novemberdelta

This happened to my 00. If I had the hubs locked in it wouldn't do it. If they were unlocked i would get a bad vibration. What happened with mine was that my spindle bearings went dry and wore into my stub shafts causing a lot of play between the two parts when the hubs were unlocked. I replaced both stub shafts and spindle bearings and it cured the problem.

I checked the hydroboost and there is no sign of external leakage. Now I just pulled the hubs off of the truck and checked slop in between the axle shaft and the hub bearings and they do have alot of play within the bearing. I dont know if I'm checking it right but the driver side is 4 months old and I dont have a clue how old the passenger side is but both seem to have the same amount of play. I appreciate the feedback thanks.

[NoRalPh]

What you're seeing is classic needle bearings failing on the stub axle (in 2wd, they support the stub axle because it's not spinning with the hub. In 4wd it needs no support as it IS spinning with the hub so the noise goes away)

Don't get too concerned with the slop you see in the axle behind the hub. There's actually supposed to be sloppy because there's no support at the end of the tube.

Take the Hub out of the Knuckle and look at those needle brgs. They're cheap & easy to replace.

Here's a link for maintaining them by lubing them, I think it's too late for that, you might as well replace them once you tear it down -> Welcome to guzzle's 4x4 Needle Bearing Maintenance Web Page

[jnightrod]

Gotcha. That makes sense. I'll pull them both of tomorrow and check. Hopefully there is no damage to the shafts themselves. This is why I love this forum. The guys at Firestone that actually looked at the truck said they thought it was a bad abs module and that it was causing the brakes to pulse rapidly. I asked them wouldn't I have felt that through the brake pedal and why was it happening when I hit bumps. Their answer was take it to the dealer and they would be better off diagnosing it. Thanks for the help.


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app

[jnightrod]

You all were absolutely right. I pulled the driver side hub (4 months old) and everything looked fine. When I pulled the passenger side hub it was completely dry and at least two of the needle bearings disentagrated. I mic'ed the shoulder of the shaft to ensure it had not been damaged and it was within 0.002" of the drivers side. After replacing with a brand new hub the truck drives great. Really appreciate it guys, thanks.

[novemberdelta]

Good to hear! Glad your shafts weren't worn because they were expensive.