Steering wheel vibration

[OregonLC]

The best test will be for me to put my OEM set on and see if it goes away. I’ll do that this weekend.

NVH issues are hard to diagnose because of the number of possible causes. A pragmatic step-by-step isolation process is the way to go if easy solutions such as re-balancing don't remedy the problem. Swapping wheels/tires removes that variable completely and is a great step to focus your future efforts.

The first 100 I owned developed a vibration issue. I first replaced the tires. Then shop said it absolutely was rear driveshaft. They tried and failed and I even bought a replacement from Woody's which made no difference either. Then it was 'oh, it's wheel bearings'. Replaced both front and rear. Not a cheap fix for the rear. It wasn't either end. Then it was pinion angle. It wasn't. Yada, yada. The truck was sold before I ever got to the bottom of it, but my guess was something loose up front. Things like worn arm bushings are really tough to see even on the rack without removing spring load. And the forces required to detect play are often times quite large. It's not an easy process and can be very time consuming.

 

[Trukk]

Appreciate the thoughts. I’ve been going to this same local shop for 25 years. He’s not trying to just sell me a new set.

The best test will be for me to put my OEM set on and see if it goes away. I’ll do that this weekend.

If you think it's one tire, swap out the spare?

I think you might need to do a test run over Pearl Pass with me!

-Chris

 

[kcjaz]

Pretty sure it’s the tires. Took it out for a longer highway run and the vibration is pretty much gone under 70 mph after the road force balance. Still there at 80 mph. Before the rebalance the vibration started at 50 mph. Can't explain the intermittent part though as it did seem to come and go before the re-balance. Its now consistent at +70 mph. Perhaps "chunking" could explain that as described above when the tires get into a particular relative rotational position due to turning and such.

 

[bwell]

Well, that's a good start. I would definitely still swap to the oem wheel tire set up if possible to rule anything else out.

How many miles do you have on your duratrac's?

I've had several sets over the years, can't believe they haven't updated them really ever.

 

[kcjaz]

Well, that's a good start. I would definitely still swap to the oem wheel tire set up if possible to rule anything else out.

How many miles do you have on your duratrac's?

I've had several sets over the years, can't believe they haven't updated them really ever.

about 25K. My tire guy is going to rebalance them again in an attempt to get as close to "zero" as possible. What he did before was take them to the allowable tolerance for the tires. This will be trial and error as he will have to rotate the tire on the wheel to find the best spot. Then we will put the best tires on the front as see what happens. If it still shakes, I'll put the OEM wheels on it and test drive. Really, I could live with it as it is now. The truck rarely sees 80 MPH. 80 is really only on long road trips down interstates twice a year.

 

[chilibit]

Swapping wheels makes good sense. Also, a damaged belt in the tire tread will be impossible to see but lead to all manner of tribulations.

 

[Fisher23]

When mine get balanced they "force balance" them instead of normal balance.

 

[kcjaz]

When mine get balanced they "force balance" them instead of normal balance.

Yes, I think most tire shops (including mine) do road force balance which is what you want. Most probably do not try to "tire match" the the tire to the wheel though as that is time consuming. If the tire is within the tolerance, they call it good. Its probably also not typically that important on new big tires with tall sidewalls. Low profile tires on 22" rims is a different story. At any rate, the tire shop is going to take this step and try to change the position of the tires on the wheels to get the best balance. Just moving or adding/deleting weights cant fix any out of round situation or weak sidewall location situation.

 

[kcjaz]

Update: it was the wheel balance and really mostly that I had the worst wheel in the front driver position. The shop force balanced again and got all as good as possible and then put the best two up front. My original front left is now the spare. No noticeable steering wheel vibration now even at 80+ mph. There is still some body vibration at 80+ but I am pretty sure that is a all tire.

 

[Jerz]

Apologies, I posted this Q in the wrong window.