thumping, thuds felt in steering column
From : steve k
Q: i would be interested in info on this symptom as well. i have similar issue on 96 ram 1500 4x4. i just feels like someone is under there hitting something in the steering column occasionally. i can also feel some of this through the brake pedal. the only thing i would add is that i dont get this right away. it usually takes a few minutes of driving for this to start. there is a tsb for 1996 rams having to do with loose steering column but i dont think thats what it is or that the tsb applies to 99s. heres a link to tsbs http//dodgeram.info/tsb/index.html . gw steve k wrote i have a dodge ram 1500 4x4 1999. i recently took it to the shop because while driving i can feel through the steering wheel all sorts of thuds and thumps that feels like its coming from near the end of the steering column. going around long corners i can really feel it. itll thump on and off throughout the whole corner. sometimes ill feel it just driving straight. its not a vibration or shimmy. one way i can try to explain it is it feels like someone is lightly tapping the steering column with a rubber hammer. its sporadic and holds no type of rhythm. so the guy in the shop says well your upper and lower ball joints have some play in it your tie-rod end has some play in it your wheel bearings have some play in it your track bar has some play in it. so i assumed he knew what he was taking about.... so after finding out that my guardian insurance plan paid for almost $600 of these repairs i had him do it all. the problem is still there. i couldnt believe it. i almost have a brand new front end basically. but yet the thumping knocking general unsafe feeling is still there. i just put new rotors calipers and pads on the front both sides. so its not a break vibration. i dont know much about this part of the truck so do you guys have any suggestions on where this could be coming from thanks steve .
Replies:
From : carolina watercraft works
on wed 13 jul 2005 164608 -0500 twix go@away.now wrote on tue 12 jul 2005 094602 -0400 roy roy@home.net wrote on tue 12 jul 2005 082855 -0400 roy roy@home.net wrote on sun 10 jul 2005 134338 -0400 roy roy@home.net wrote on sun 10 jul 2005 095221 -0400 roy roy@home.net wrote says... hemidude03 @webtv.net says... agreed. worrying about mileage when you are driveing a truck i have never been able to follow. normally i would agree. before my my ram my 2000- dak suddenly dropped from 18 to 12 highway. when i inquired about it here i got falmmed because its a damn truck! what did you expect! i expect that something was wrong which there was. my ram is doing the same thing now 19 to 13 on the highway. i know less bout diesels this being my first one. im learning tho. i trimmed it so people wouldnt bitch you can get slammed any time for anything here. what was the solution to the daks problem regards the ram is that mt/towing what year what trans rears. roy okay i found the year03 but little else. is it constantly low at 13 or is it up and down are you using the overhead trip thingy or is that by the tankfull more info roy the trip computer matched the hand calculation within half a gal/mile consistantly. i check it at every fill-up. i thought it might be bad fuel around here at first but when i travel to denver for reserve duty i get the same milage from different gas stations. it stays around 13 on average. sometimes down to 12 sometimes up to 14. all highway driving. i wouldnt think the fuel filter would be clogged by 40k miles gotta tell ya 40k is a long time for a fuel filter change on a cummins imo. but dc supprises me sometimes. regular maintenance. found an afe high flow air filter when i thought to check that. swapped it for a new paper one. you might want to tighten all the hose clamps on you intake system. did you buy this truck new roy thanks roy. it had 30k when i bought it back in december. looked at the maint schedule this morning. calls for a change at 48k; passed that milage up last month. up to 53k now. has this mileage drop just happened was it gradual or has it been going on since you bought the truck if the latter get hold of the previous owner and talk to him ask what was done to the truck re modifications if 48k is too long how often would you recommend changing that bad-boy out i change mine at 15k at the most. to some that may be short but between shit fuel and lift pump issues i dont want to find myself on the side of the road in the middle of a snow storm. roy jay aka twix i pick up a filter last night. im going to try and get it installed tonight if i ever get out of work while theres daylight. g roy i put in the new fuel filter and milage rose to 15mpg for the first 3 tanks. two tanks later and im down to 11mpg. anything else you can think of to check before i take it to chet the mini-moron dodge tech i think it may be running a little rich. there is a heavy diesel odor in the air when idling. much more so than my fathers or my friends. you changed the fuel filter and jumped up to 15mpg. id change the filter again and see what ya get. you may have a bunch of crap in the tank. what did the filter look like regards the smell of diesel have you changed the air filter tighten all the clamps at inter cooler and turbo. roy .
From : ben in tn
problem found! went to dealer today and picked up an o-ring before digging into it. while i was there i asked about worst case scenario.... if it was the pump it would have been $360 if it was the vacuum pump that would have been a cool $2400. ouch! anyway i got home and sprayed everything clean and got underneath. sure enough the threaded psp line was leaking which all things considered was good . turns out the threaded nut had backed itself out a few turns. tightened up refilled and hope for now im good to go. jack .
From : carolina watercraft works
on mon 1 aug 2005 075707 -0500 sunshine sizzlinsteak@yahoo.com wrote how s everyone doing i have a problem i have a 1990 d 150 pickup the wiper rod that connects the 2 toghter with the motor has came off the only problem i have is the wiper does not pull all the way back i need some help on how do i get them off some one said a pin but i cant get them to stand str8 up to get to the pin thanks for all the help chris my daughters 90 d150 had a similar problem a while back here are the notes i posted to the group oct 3 2004 btw they are still available on google groups. under the subject update 1990 d-150 ws wiper question for any one that wants to know for future reference. 1. remove wiper arms. lift blade arm away from window rotate keeper up let arm down on keeper wiggle assembly off rotator assembly set aside. 2. loosen screws under windshield weather-strip. 3. remove screws in engine compartment. 4. loosen cowl grill pull out far enough to get windshield washer hoses off of the nozzles. remove cowl grill. 5. remove nut holding arm to wiper motor. try not to move motor shaft. 6. remove three bolts holding each wiper pivots to body 7. note the way the arms are positioned in relation to the other parts this is so you get the new parts installed in the correct direction. 8. remove all the parts to the work bench. do not try to do the following in the truck it is not worth the hassle. 9. remove old bushings if necessary. 10. install new bushings by pressing into arm with vise or pair of large channel locks. i used a small bench vice 11/16 socket as backer to keep from bending the arm as i pushed the nylon bushing in to the arm and on to the pin. 11. assemble arms onto pins. 12. slip entire assembly back into vehicle. 13. reinstall both wiper pivots do not tighten bolts yet 14. install drive arm to wiper motor. 15. tighten wiper pivot bolts. 16. test operation. correct any problems. 17. reinstall cowl grill. 18. reinstall wiper arms. with blade about 1 1/4 inch from bottom of windshield. 19. test wipers for full range of operation should not hit drivers side a pillar when at top of stroke. you may need to remove arms and reinstall them in another notch on the pivot to get every thing right. happy camping. ldpoos@nopants.juno.com remove nopants to reply by direct e-mail; 2003 dodge 1500 qc sb hemi a/t tow package 3.92 gears 11 mpg towing 2001 aerolite 21rdb 21ft tt scales 2900 dry .
From : edtheward
as does the sheer ignorance of yours. comeback of the year. whoa. yeah i figured youd be right on that. care for the last word or will you be providing proof of your claims awaiting your display of brilliance -- max give a man a match and he is warm for a short while. light him on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life. @trnddc07 lol! wtf are you talking about the sheer brilliance of your post just shines through... right. as does the sheer ignorance of yours. comeback of the year. whoa. .
From : edtheward
henry wrote your family and humanity in general would be better off if you went away ! henry good one.. did it take you awhile to come up with that or does it come natural .
From : ben in tn
and to all that i say um sure. whatever. using the wrong plugs will affect your emissions in a negative way. and im sure you have proof of this so why not post the information -- max give a man a match and he is warm for a short while. light him on fire and he is warm for the rest of his life. max dodge max340@verizon.net wrote in sure it is. if you put the wrong plugs in youll screw up your emissions big time. um yeah ok sure...... uh yeah hullo... spark plugs are heat ranged to be self cleaning. the range is generally accepted to be about 300-400 degrees wide and could be 500 to 900c or 700-1000f depending on your preference for measurement. given the wide range of operation changing a heat range whether purposeful or by accident will not appreciably alter the emissions of a vehicle since the purpose is to burn off deposits of what is already in the cylinder. spark plugs do not alter the operating temp of an engine which is the greatest influence on emissions for a number of reasons but instead alter the temp at which the plug disappates heat. thus one engine model may be fine with stock plugs in one application but may need a different heat range plug in another application. one example might be the ford 5.4 often used in police applications. in a police cruiser it may be necessary to have a hotter plug due to the relatively lazy way the car is used slow patrols stopped and watching. conversely the same model may be used in another pd and be used for highway patrol and need a cooler plug. thus swapping plugs is not a real factor on emissions but is a definite factor in maintenance of the spark plugs. if you wish to reach a bit certainly you could claim the lack of maintenance on a cool set of plugs or the pre-ignition caused by too hot a plug would affect emissions. however between the two there is plenty of space to roam. so again i say um yeah ok sure whatever.... and to all that i say um sure. whatever. using the wrong plugs will affect your emissions in a negative way. guess ill never live in pa. no loss. or cali. by what ive read so far thats 3 down and 47 to go. at what point will you decide to live in another country simply based on emissions regs that have very little effect on overall power ill never live in another country. maybe another state but never another country. the primary factor in determining where i will live has always been the weather. .
From : eggraid
miles wrote offroader wrote i have 2003 2500 4x4 5.9 turbo cummins eng.i have a 22 trailer fully loaded with bikes water gas its about 9000lbs. i have problems going up hills without od.i have a clomplete exhaust and air intake system.also how fast can i go with out the overdrive while towing my trailer.. how fast are you able to tow up the hills if it struggles you might need to manually downshift. out of od doesnt limit your speed really. its the max rpms you probably want to keep an eye on as well as temps. the weak link with any oil burner is egt but if engine is not chipped there is little danger of damage on a long sustained pull. myself i would limit rpms to about 2600 or so on along steady pull i would not take it to the redline and hold it there. not that it would really hurt it but fuel economy will suffer on redline pulls and why bother just to get up a hill 5 or 10 mph faster when the other side will still be there when you get there -- posted using the http//www.autoforumz.com interface at authors request articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards topic url http//www.autoforumz.com/dodge-towing-wrong-ftopict130077.html visit topic url to contact author reg. reqd. report abuse http//www.autoforumz.com/eform.phpp=633983 .
From : denny
iirc its a function of both distance and speed. if the t/s is left on for more than a mile and the vehicle speed is 15 mph the chime while remind you to turn the t/s off. ahhh... yeah that would make more sense than a straight time period huh those germans... they think of everything! .
From : high sierra
ford positives i love the look of the truck. ive had fords gassers in the past and never really had any trouble with the brand. the look isnt bad but everybody has copied the ram. hell my dakota even copied the ram g negatives the power stroke is loud. it sounds like tin cans being banged together. its a v8 ... so it has more moving parts. pricey. how can this be a negative damn i love the fact that my work truck for the last 4 years has been loud. loud and obnoxious is why i *love* a diesel. f350 club cab with dual gas tanks and 100 gallon slip tank in the bed. it just screams get the hell out of my way !!! if there was a negative to be had i would say it was electrical. ive personally had 3 work trucks all f350 club cab 8bed diesels and all have had *minor* electrical issues. ive always taken them to the dealer and all were resolved but all had same type of problems. cab light not working when doors were open buzzer not going off when key is in ignition and door is open interior dash lighs blinking etc . nothing major but all a pita. chevrolet positives quiet operation. negatives no matter how good the engine is gmc and chevy make a butt-ugly truck and its expensive. i dont care for isuzu products. they are a step above a yugo in my opinion. and since this engine was party designed/engineered by them ... it was an easy decision. every gm product i have ever owned has been a piece of shit. although i dont necessarily agree its butt-ugly its not going to win any styling awards either. i personally know 3 people with the duramax and they love it. i think the bigger downfall is that they havent been making the engines as long so the r&d information is not as vast as what ford and dodge have dodge positives cummins has a great reputation for reliability and longevity. inline 6 cyl. fewer moving parts = fewer possible problems. quiet operation. great looking truck. always had decent success with dodge products. i agree with requtation and reliablility but imho the looks make me want to throw up. in this day and age of one-upping the competition the front of the truck looks like some jack-ass took a samuari sward and made it into a snub nose bulldog look. i guess its my opinion but i loved the look of the truck 5 years ago now it just a abortion of the original. negatives some negative talk about the tranny 47re. i have the 48re and have not experienced any problems and have not read of anyone that has. so perhaps i waited the right amount of time for the new and improved tranny. my useless 2 cents ... -- regards slick willy 73 cb 450 95 xj 600 03 flstf - parted ways in late july 04 flhrci - entering geezerdom at a mere 32 ... remove the bendover to reply .
From : rjs
crb wrote trying to decide between 1500 and a dakota. salesman said the hemi gets about the same gas mileage as the dakota. hard to believe given the hp difference. which years and engines are good to stay away from in both the 4.7l could be a great motor if they ever work the bugs out of it. just what bugs are you refering to i have read about a couple of misconceptions such as sludge forming but understand it to be a very reliable engine. post some links explaining these bugs. hd .
From : steve k
i was creeping along on a series of ramps to exit one expressway and enter another. suddenly my 04 durango hemi ltd. starts bonging. i look at the instrument cluster and see no idiot lights. gauges all look normal. it sounded like the seatbelt unbuckled warning but the belt was securely buckled and had been for almost an hour. after about 10 seconds it stopped. when i reached my next stop i checked for codes and found none. later on it occurred to me that i remembered something about a turn signal warning to alert you that your turn signal had been on for more than x time. on the series of 3 circular ramps mine had certainly been on for a while. i checked the manual and couldnt find anything. does anyone know if there is such a warning if not anybody got any idea what it was all about .
From : system
max dodge wrote this comment on aluminum heads being a problem on automotive engines is pure bs. please explain then the problems that ford escorts had with the heads the gm 2.0 has with its aluminum head and the mopar 2.2/2.5 had with its head. all had aluminum and all have head gasket faliures as part of their history. all decent engines but all blew head gaskets because of the aluminum vs cast iron expansion rates and the effect on a head gasket. what year cars are you referring to the old early to mid 70s aluminum heads on cast blocks were major problems. ya it was because of the different expansion rates. i had thought that by the 90s most of these issues had long been resolved. dont some of the high end sports cars out now have aluminum heads i could be wrong but i believe my 1999 isuzu amigo v6 3.2l i recently sold did. ran flawless for 100k and ran like new when sold. i would think the engineers would have thought about this and designed accordingly. however if you over heat the engine this may lead to operating the engine outside of its designed parameters thus giving results outside of its designed results. .
From : max dodge
what kind of symptoms come with a bad iac -- posted using the http//www.autoforumz.com interface at authors request articles individually checked for conformance to usenet standards topic url http//www.autoforumz.com/dodge-iac-valve-ftopict129020.html visit topic url to contact author reg. reqd. report abuse http//www.autoforumz.com/eform.phpp=628993 .
From : edtheward
max dodge wrote this comment on aluminum heads being a problem on automotive engines is pure bs. please explain then the problems that ford escorts had with the heads the gm 2.0 has with its aluminum head and the mopar 2.2/2.5 had with its head. all had aluminum and all have head gasket faliures as part of their history. all decent engines but all blew head gaskets because of the aluminum vs cast iron expansion rates and the effect on a head gasket. what year cars are you referring to the old early to mid 70s aluminum heads on cast blocks were major problems. ya it was because of the different expansion rates. i had thought that by the 90s most of these issues had long been resolved. dont some of the high end sports cars out now have aluminum heads i could be wrong but i believe my 1999 isuzu amigo v6 3.2l i recently sold did. ran flawless for 100k and ran like new when sold. .
From : edtheward
i wouldnt consider the tractor i exampled heavy equipment or even medium duty equipment for that matter and many small landscape and lawn companies down here in florida use 1 ton dually with a sliding fifth wheel and a gooseneck adapter to haul their various trailers. john deere 210le. or a bob cat. or any number of mini track hoes being used these days. unfortunately i have seen some fools pulling small front end loaders like a the idiot pulling an old cat 910 two weeks ago up i-95 on a similar set up.memory says the 910 weighed about 18000 lbs. and the ford 350 pulling it was riding real high in the nose. http//www.hijacker.com look at the top picture and you will see the hitch i refer to from hijacker a 24 spl-21 slider. something they are not clear on the web page but if you call you find out it can be done is the receiver can be swapped between mounts so you can convert from fifth wheel to gooseneck if you dont like using a gooseneck adaptor. they also offer a conversion set up the 24 uk-21 allows kicking the above hitch back for maneuvering room with out dropping the landing legs unlocking the slider moving it relocking and lifting the legs in the rear position it is not designed to tow but the main body can be slide to move the load point as needed to balance the load. the down side with hijacker is no air hitch but there are a few out fits that offer a conversion. i do a little side work shuffling cars between auctions and dealerships and the guy i run for uses 1 ton dually trucks. two have the above hitch 1 has a fontain. because you cant always load the trailer for perfect weight because of the shape of the vehicles hauled sliding the hitch is the only way to get it balanced. he also pulls a 37 foot carriage behind one of them with a hijacker. the car trailers will carry three vehicles one in a drop deck location and two on top. get a van on the back and two cars and the fifth gets slide foreword. cant put the van on top first because of clearance problems height wise and it gets top heavy pain to load because you have to drop the trailer to get a car in the drop deck area. by no means a long haul set up least wise i wouldnt want to. good for short runs tho and helps pay the bills. also pull a 2003 36 foot fifth wheel superhauler race car trailer by united behind it.guy has way too much money and too many toys conversation getting interesting and its nice not seeing any flaming contest just frank opinions being traded.. whitelightning .
From : nonamehigh sierra
on fri 15 jul 2005 172917 -0400 hp howard.page@comcast.net wrote a lot of what youre feeling i just seem to really have to put my foot in it to get up the roads in our white mts. is quite normal for towing.. you just get used to it.. when we were towing a little tent trailer wed zoom up grades... but when we switched to a 6000 pound loaded trailer we pretty much doubled the weight of the truck and added 4 wheels... youre not going to pull hills the same towing as you do not towing unless you have 2 or 3 times the power that the truck need to move itself.. we went to the coast for the weekend and that involves pulling 3 or 4 small 1500 foot or so hills... one is a 3 mile 7% grade... we did about 40 mph up it at about 3500 rpm... no big thing we made a lot of noise going slow for a few miles the engine and tranny temp stayed ok and we went down the other side at the legal limit.. my guess is that if we had a k&n or just no filter we would sound like we were doing about 6000 rpm.. lol the thing that helped us the most wasnt mechanical it was mental we had to get into the mind set that this was a recreational ve chicle so we should relax and enjoy the trip... if were in a hurry we leave the trailer home and stay in motels.. ymmv okthat seems to be the general consensus. it isnt hunting for gears and i do use the tow/haul mode. i just seem to really have to put my foot in it to get up the roads in our white mts. nh maybe the k&n air intake is just making it more noticeable to me now. on the flat stuff it does great. thanks everyone. a general rule of thumb is that if the truck is hunting or up and down shifting a lot you should have od locked out... we always tow without od figuring that you cant hurt it to lock out od and our mpg is the same or better with it locked out... ymmv this statement is probably the best bet in my opinion if you look at most owners manuals it will say something to the effect that if you tow or haul anything over a certain weight practically any trailer or anything with any size in the back that they recomend you use tow/haul or o/d off. now as far as your truck having the power to pull 5000 lbs id think you would be fine. a good 1/2 ton should be able to handle a camper of that size no problems. thats my 2 cents mac please remove splinters before emailing .
From : high sierra
it came without a stereo and only the power block/harness the rest of the wires were just laying there... .