medium and high speeds violent shaking 1979 dodge D20 low miles

From : kirk a wolff

Q: hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles when i first got this truck it had this problem but i didnt notice it until i got out on the freeway. it eventually got worse its almost undrivable. it is hard to identify where the shaking is coming from. it seemed at first like it was the front then i thought it had to have been the rear now ive replaced the rear bearings and spun up the rear wheels at pretty high speed without any shaking i am fairly convinced that the problem has to be from the front. if the problem is really from the rear then it would be due to an out-of-round tire. while watching the rear tires rotating they look as round as can be. at low speeds below 15 mph the whole vehicle seems to shimmy slowly both the front and back. at high and moderate speeds theres a violent shaking that seems to shake the front end more than the back. there is a pulsating underneath the floorboards the bench seat shakes as well on both sides. it doesnt matter if its in gear or in neutral the noise and shaking doesnt change. its definitely not related to engine speed. in an attempt to fix the problem i replaced the rear bearings while i was at it i also replaced the brake cylinders as they werent working. this is a spicer 60 full-floating rear axle type rear-end. when i took apart the rear drums grease was splattered all around the insides also made it difficult braking. after taking a test drive after working on the rear yesterday it seemed to be not as bad but today the shaking is just as bad as it had always been. in order to attempt to find the source of the shaking i took the drive shaft and shook it up and down front and back couldnt find anything obvious. i spun the rear wheels and no strange sounds coming from the u-joints or anything. where is this shaking coming from my next guess is to rotate the tires to see if the problem is the front tires. next replace the front bearings and check the front calipers and discs. if i were to guess at this point i would guess the front discs are bent but couldnt this also be a misaligned front bearing as i have limited time and money i hope someone here can help me identify whats going on. - kirk .

Replies:

From : lurker

bent front discs would be felt worse and throught the steering whell when braking. the drive shaft may be out of balance - that would show up only at highway speeds. or maybe a bad u-joint that would be found by a clunk shifting drive to reverse with the brakes on. check for bent rim not likely or a broken cord in the tires. do these before getting into expensive or labor intensive parts. hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles when i first got this truck it had this problem but i didnt notice it until i got out on the freeway. it eventually got worse its almost undrivable. it is hard to identify where the shaking is coming from. it seemed at first like it was the front then i thought it had to have been the rear now ive replaced the rear bearings and spun up the rear wheels at pretty high speed without any shaking i am fairly convinced that the problem has to be from the front. if the problem is really from the rear then it would be due to an out-of-round tire. while watching the rear tires rotating they look as round as can be. at low speeds below 15 mph the whole vehicle seems to shimmy slowly both the front and back. at high and moderate speeds theres a violent shaking that seems to shake the front end more than the back. there is a pulsating underneath the floorboards the bench seat shakes as well on both sides. it doesnt matter if its in gear or in neutral the noise and shaking doesnt change. its definitely not related to engine speed. in an attempt to fix the problem i replaced the rear bearings while i was at it i also replaced the brake cylinders as they werent working. this is a spicer 60 full-floating rear axle type rear-end. when i took apart the rear drums grease was splattered all around the insides also made it difficult braking. after taking a test drive after working on the rear yesterday it seemed to be not as bad but today the shaking is just as bad as it had always been. in order to attempt to find the source of the shaking i took the drive shaft and shook it up and down front and back couldnt find anything obvious. i spun the rear wheels and no strange sounds coming from the u-joints or anything. where is this shaking coming from my next guess is to rotate the tires to see if the problem is the front tires. next replace the front bearings and check the front calipers and discs. if i were to guess at this point i would guess the front discs are bent but couldnt this also be a misaligned front bearing as i have limited time and money i hope someone here can help me identify whats going on. - kirk .

From : msyjsy

i would suspect a bent drive-line before i looked any further. i ditched a car once and it had the same symptoms when i got it pulled out. but it was bent enough that it was obvious when you watched the car roll down the street. yours may not be noticeable just by looking at it but it would not take much to throw it out of balance and cause the symptoms you wrote of. -- from the desk of jesse a. harrington hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles when i first got this truck it had this problem but i didnt notice it until i got out on the freeway. it eventually got worse its almost undrivable. it is hard to identify where the shaking is coming from. it seemed at first like it was the front then i thought it had to have been the rear now ive replaced the rear bearings and spun up the rear wheels at pretty high speed without any shaking i am fairly convinced that the problem has to be from the front. if the problem is really from the rear then it would be due to an out-of-round tire. while watching the rear tires rotating they look as round as can be. at low speeds below 15 mph the whole vehicle seems to shimmy slowly both the front and back. at high and moderate speeds theres a violent shaking that seems to shake the front end more than the back. there is a pulsating underneath the floorboards the bench seat shakes as well on both sides. it doesnt matter if its in gear or in neutral the noise and shaking doesnt change. its definitely not related to engine speed. in an attempt to fix the problem i replaced the rear bearings while i was at it i also replaced the brake cylinders as they werent working. this is a spicer 60 full-floating rear axle type rear-end. when i took apart the rear drums grease was splattered all around the insides also made it difficult braking. after taking a test drive after working on the rear yesterday it seemed to be not as bad but today the shaking is just as bad as it had always been. in order to attempt to find the source of the shaking i took the drive shaft and shook it up and down front and back couldnt find anything obvious. i spun the rear wheels and no strange sounds coming from the u-joints or anything. where is this shaking coming from my next guess is to rotate the tires to see if the problem is the front tires. next replace the front bearings and check the front calipers and discs. if i were to guess at this point i would guess the front discs are bent but couldnt this also be a misaligned front bearing as i have limited time and money i hope someone here can help me identify whats going on. - kirk .

From : dddd

look and see. until then if any of you have thoughts they would be welcome. 93 dakota le 5.2 liter automatic 4x4 . 222 283371 8b439$40bdaa62$4523431e$15173@allthegroups.com bent front discs would be felt worse and throught the steering whell when braking. the drive shaft may be out of balance - that would show up only at highway speeds. my bet would be the drive shaft. i had something similar happen to an 81 dodge van and that was my problem. dddd or maybe a bad u-joint that would be found by a clunk shifting drive to reverse with the brakes on. check for bent rim not likely or a broken cord in the tires. do these before getting into expensive or labor intensive parts. hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles when i first got this truck it had this problem but i didnt notice it until i got out on the freeway. it eventually got worse its almost undrivable. it is hard to identify where the shaking is coming from. it seemed at first like it was the front then i thought it had to have been the rear now ive replaced the rear bearings and spun up the rear wheels at pretty high speed without any shaking i am fairly convinced that the problem has to be from the front. if the problem is really from the rear then it would be due to an out-of-round tire. while watching the rear tires rotating they look as round as can be. at low speeds below 15 mph the whole vehicle seems to shimmy slowly both the front and back. at high and moderate speeds theres a violent shaking that seems to shake the front end more than the back. there is a pulsating underneath the floorboards the bench seat shakes as well on both sides. it doesnt matter if its in gear or in neutral the noise and shaking doesnt change. its definitely not related to engine speed. in an attempt to fix the problem i replaced the rear bearings while i was at it i also replaced the brake cylinders as they werent working. this is a spicer 60 full-floating rear axle type rear-end. when i took apart the rear drums grease was splattered all around the insides also made it difficult braking. after taking a test drive after working on the rear yesterday it seemed to be not as bad but today the shaking is just as bad as it had always been. in order to attempt to find the source of the shaking i took the drive shaft and shook it up and down front and back couldnt find anything obvious. i spun the rear wheels and no strange sounds coming from the u-joints or anything. where is this shaking coming from my next guess is to rotate the tires to see if the problem is the front tires. next replace the front bearings and check the front calipers and discs. if i were to guess at this point i would guess the front discs are bent but couldnt this also be a misaligned front bearing as i have limited time and money i hope someone here can help me identify whats going on. - kirk .

From : kirk a wolff

i replaced the u-joints on the drive shaft. this is a two u-joint single segment type drive shaft. the clanking went away when i put it in drive but... the shaking is still there. i had someone in the car with me last night 1130pm during the test drive. the shaking didnt change one bit. it seems to come more from the right than the left and more from the front than the back. hmmm... what could this mean i worked on the rear of the truck and driveshaft for no reason the shaking is even pronounced at very low speeds i.e. 1.5 to 5 mph. its as if im slowly driving over a washboard dirt road on that corner of the car even when im on perfectly flat straight road. its still hard to identify even at that speed since the whole truck twists and vibrates due to the problem. this sounds very much like a stupid bulge in the tire! if i could kick myself id beat myself to a bloody pulp. its crazy that its taken 9 months to isolate this problem. its possible that the other stuff was bad too and compounding it but the major problem is simply the tire. ill get back when i replace it with the spare to verify. lurker lurker@not.now wrote bent front discs would be felt worse and throught the steering whell when braking. the drive shaft may be out of balance - that would show up only at highway speeds. or maybe a bad u-joint that would be found by a clunk shifting drive to reverse with the brakes on. check for bent rim not likely or a broken cord in the tires. do these before getting into expensive or labor intensive parts. kirk a wolff kirk@kirk.homeip.net wrote hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles ... .

From : miles

kinda sounda like 1 bias ply tire and 3 radials. kirk a wolff wrote i replaced the u-joints on the drive shaft. this is a two u-joint single segment type drive shaft. the clanking went away when i put it in drive but... the shaking is still there. i had someone in the car with me last night 1130pm during the test drive. the shaking didnt change one bit. it seems to come more from the right than the left and more from the front than the back. hmmm... what could this mean i worked on the rear of the truck and driveshaft for no reason the shaking is even pronounced at very low speeds i.e. 1.5 to 5 mph. its as if im slowly driving over a washboard dirt road on that corner of the car even when im on perfectly flat straight road. its still hard to identify even at that speed since the whole truck twists and vibrates due to the problem. this sounds very much like a stupid bulge in the tire! if i could kick myself id beat myself to a bloody pulp. its crazy that its taken 9 months to isolate this problem. its possible that the other stuff was bad too and compounding it but the major problem is simply the tire. ill get back when i replace it with the spare to verify. .

From : carl saiyed

did you perform the checks i reccomended carl i replaced the u-joints on the drive shaft. this is a two u-joint single segment type drive shaft. the clanking went away when i put it in drive but... the shaking is still there. i had someone in the car with me last night 1130pm during the test drive. the shaking didnt change one bit. it seems to come more from the right than the left and more from the front than the back. hmmm... what could this mean i worked on the rear of the truck and driveshaft for no reason the shaking is even pronounced at very low speeds i.e. 1.5 to 5 mph. its as if im slowly driving over a washboard dirt road on that corner of the car even when im on perfectly flat straight road. its still hard to identify even at that speed since the whole truck twists and vibrates due to the problem. this sounds very much like a stupid bulge in the tire! if i could kick myself id beat myself to a bloody pulp. its crazy that its taken 9 months to isolate this problem. its possible that the other stuff was bad too and compounding it but the major problem is simply the tire. ill get back when i replace it with the spare to verify. lurker lurker@not.now wrote bent front discs would be felt worse and throught the steering whell when braking. the drive shaft may be out of balance - that would show up only at highway speeds. or maybe a bad u-joint that would be found by a clunk shifting drive to reverse with the brakes on. check for bent rim not likely or a broken cord in the tires. do these before getting into expensive or labor intensive parts. kirk a wolff kirk@kirk.homeip.net wrote hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles ... .

From : milesh

kirk a wolff wrote last quote i found it was upwards of $250 for two tires mounted and balanced. that sounds pretty cheap. i wanted e load rated 10 ply 16 tires for my truck and they were about $145 each mounted and balanced. c rated tires were closer to the price you paid. depends on the brand but i prefer pirellis or michelins myself. .

From : kirk a wolff

i took the tire off last night and replaced it with a full size spare. i checked for play in the knuckle when replacing the tire it was very solid amazing after that kind of abuse. from the time that this pounding started until now the tire turned into a 5000 piece puzzle. the treads arent even straight. theres a crack on the inside of the tire about 1/2 from the rim that goes all the way around the tire. the tire isnt even close to being round. after taking it off i gave it a push along the driveway. the treads fluctuate right to left by about an inch. there is some kind of wire mesh sticking out the side. im surprised ive been able to drive on it this long its a wonder i havent had a blowout. i suppose if i were one of those ditzes that doesnt pay any attention to sounds or movement from their car i would have ended up with a blowout. even though the spare is out of balance so is the left front tire comparatively the truck rides like a dream. ill have to replace some tires and move on from there. 16.5 inch truck tires arent cheap id almost rather replace a steering knuckle or something else cheap. last quote i found it was upwards of $250 for two tires mounted and balanced. did you perform the checks i reccomended carl i replaced the u-joints on the drive shaft. this is a two u-joint single segment type drive shaft. the clanking went away when i put it in drive but... the shaking is still there. i had someone in the car with me last night 1130pm during the test drive. the shaking didnt change one bit. it seems to come more from the right than the left and more from the front than the back. hmmm... what could this mean i worked on the rear of the truck and driveshaft for no reason the shaking is even pronounced at very low speeds i.e. 1.5 to 5 mph. its as if im slowly driving over a washboard dirt road on that corner of the car even when im on perfectly flat straight road. its still hard to identify even at that speed since the whole truck twists and vibrates due to the problem. this sounds very much like a stupid bulge in the tire! if i could kick myself id beat myself to a bloody pulp. its crazy that its taken 9 months to isolate this problem. its possible that the other stuff was bad too and compounding it but the major problem is simply the tire. ill get back when i replace it with the spare to verify. lurker lurker@not.now wrote bent front discs would be felt worse and throught the steering whell when braking. the drive shaft may be out of balance - that would show up only at highway speeds. or maybe a bad u-joint that would be found by a clunk shifting drive to reverse with the brakes on. check for bent rim not likely or a broken cord in the tires. do these before getting into expensive or labor intensive parts. kirk a wolff kirk@kirk.homeip.net wrote hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles ... .

From : carl saiyed

try jacking up the front of the truck obviously place it on jack stands for safety. with the steering column locked grab the tire at the top and bottom and wiggle. there should be little to no play. grab the tire at the left and right and wiggle. there should be little to no play. up and down play means your wheel bearings are loose/out. left and right usually means ball joints. hope this helps please come back with your findings so we can help you get this figured out. carl hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles when i first got this truck it had this problem but i didnt notice it until i got out on the freeway. it eventually got worse its almost undrivable. it is hard to identify where the shaking is coming from. it seemed at first like it was the front then i thought it had to have been the rear now ive replaced the rear bearings and spun up the rear wheels at pretty high speed without any shaking i am fairly convinced that the problem has to be from the front. if the problem is really from the rear then it would be due to an out-of-round tire. while watching the rear tires rotating they look as round as can be. at low speeds below 15 mph the whole vehicle seems to shimmy slowly both the front and back. at high and moderate speeds theres a violent shaking that seems to shake the front end more than the back. there is a pulsating underneath the floorboards the bench seat shakes as well on both sides. it doesnt matter if its in gear or in neutral the noise and shaking doesnt change. its definitely not related to engine speed. in an attempt to fix the problem i replaced the rear bearings while i was at it i also replaced the brake cylinders as they werent working. this is a spicer 60 full-floating rear axle type rear-end. when i took apart the rear drums grease was splattered all around the insides also made it difficult braking. after taking a test drive after working on the rear yesterday it seemed to be not as bad but today the shaking is just as bad as it had always been. in order to attempt to find the source of the shaking i took the drive shaft and shook it up and down front and back couldnt find anything obvious. i spun the rear wheels and no strange sounds coming from the u-joints or anything. where is this shaking coming from my next guess is to rotate the tires to see if the problem is the front tires. next replace the front bearings and check the front calipers and discs. if i were to guess at this point i would guess the front discs are bent but couldnt this also be a misaligned front bearing as i have limited time and money i hope someone here can help me identify whats going on. - kirk .

From : kirk a wolff

well that was it both front tires were falling apart. i replaced them and it rides like it is supposed to. the rear tires are newer than the fronts were. i picked up a used pair for $40. i was getting anywhere from $280 to $330 to replace the front tires. 16.5 rims are hard to fit. someone suggested going to 15 rims i dont like the idea of that. maybe if i found a set of 17 rims for a good price id go with them. i think im going to buy any future tires from an online store and have them put on for $15 when i replace all four. now i replaced my u-joints and when i stop the truck oscillates as i slow down. from what i remember reading on the subject you will notice a lobeing coming from the back if your u-joints need replacing. since i just replaced them i think maybe i put them in too tight. i used a c-clamp to put them in and out i had to push on the bearing cups pretty hard to get the c-clips on both bearing cups. before putting the driveshaft back in i played around a little with the joints and they seemed stiff. should i back the cups out a little to make them move more freely - kirk i took the tire off last night and replaced it with a full size spare. i checked for play in the knuckle when replacing the tire it was very solid amazing after that kind of abuse. from the time that this pounding started until now the tire turned into a 5000 piece puzzle. the treads arent even straight. theres a crack on the inside of the tire about 1/2 from the rim that goes all the way around the tire. the tire isnt even close to being round. after taking it off i gave it a push along the driveway. the treads fluctuate right to left by about an inch. there is some kind of wire mesh sticking out the side. im surprised ive been able to drive on it this long its a wonder i havent had a blowout. i suppose if i were one of those ditzes that doesnt pay any attention to sounds or movement from their car i would have ended up with a blowout. even though the spare is out of balance so is the left front tire comparatively the truck rides like a dream. ill have to replace some tires and move on from there. 16.5 inch truck tires arent cheap id almost rather replace a steering knuckle or something else cheap. last quote i found it was upwards of $250 for two tires mounted and balanced. the drive shaft may be out of balance - that would show up only at highway speeds. or maybe a bad u-joint that would be found by a clunk shifting drive to reverse with the brakes on. check for bent rim not likely or a broken cord in the tires. do these before getting into expensive or labor intensive parts. kirk a wolff kirk@kirk.homeip.net wrote hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles ... .

From : kirk a wolff

nope that wasnt completely it! it rides great for about 2 miles at 60mph. then the shaking comes back. its definitely from the back this time. obviously the front tires were causing most of the shaking but now the lobeing-dragging-hammering starts up after driving a while. i spoke with paul brand yesterday a local on-air automotive guru he said to check the temperature of my differential with the back of my hand after the noise and shaking starts up. he was right. its too hot to hold on to for more than 5 seconds. my dana 60 spicer full-floating rear end needs a rebuild. maybe i should have been concerned when black runny oil spilled out through the axel shaft from the differential when i pulled out the axel. i have been finding rebuild kits on ebay for about $80. should i purchase the parts individually from my local parts store or is $80 a good price for these parts - kirk well that was it both front tires were falling apart. i replaced them and it rides like it is supposed to. the rear tires are newer than the fronts were. i picked up a used pair for $40. i was getting anywhere from $280 to $330 to replace the front tires. 16.5 rims are hard to fit. someone suggested going to 15 rims i dont like the idea of that. maybe if i found a set of 17 rims for a good price id go with them. i think im going to buy any future tires from an online store and have them put on for $15 when i replace all four. now i replaced my u-joints and when i stop the truck oscillates as i slow down. from what i remember reading on the subject you will notice a lobeing coming from the back if your u-joints need replacing. since i just replaced them i think maybe i put them in too tight. i used a c-clamp to put them in and out i had to push on the bearing cups pretty hard to get the c-clips on both bearing cups. before putting the driveshaft back in i played around a little with the joints and they seemed stiff. should i back the cups out a little to make them move more freely - kirk i took the tire off last night and replaced it with a full size spare. i checked for play in the knuckle when replacing the tire it was very solid amazing after that kind of abuse. from the time that this pounding started until now the tire turned into a 5000 piece puzzle. the treads arent even straight. theres a crack on the inside of the tire about 1/2 from the rim that goes all the way around the tire. the tire isnt even close to being round. after taking it off i gave it a push along the driveway. the treads fluctuate right to left by about an inch. there is some kind of wire mesh sticking out the side. im surprised ive been able to drive on it this long its a wonder i havent had a blowout. i suppose if i were one of those ditzes that doesnt pay any attention to sounds or movement from their car i would have ended up with a blowout. even though the spare is out of balance so is the left front tire comparatively the truck rides like a dream. ill have to replace some tires and move on from there. 16.5 inch truck tires arent cheap id almost rather replace a steering knuckle or something else cheap. last quote i found it was upwards of $250 for two tires mounted and balanced. the drive shaft may be out of balance - that would show up only at highway speeds. or maybe a bad u-joint that would be found by a clunk shifting drive to reverse with the brakes on. check for bent rim not likely or a broken cord in the tires. do these before getting into expensive or labor intensive parts. kirk a wolff kirk@kirk.homeip.net wrote hi all i have a 1979 2wd dodge d20 aka d200 /w 360 v8 with 70k miles ... .

From : morgan

that will work thank you! klumze klumze wrote does anyone know where i might find on-line a wiring diagram of the steering column wiring harness bulldogsecurity.com has wiring charts. this is the one you need http//tinyurl.com/4umpe .