I have 97,000 miles on my Dakota. It developed a really rough ride, so after a lot of research I put on 4 new Monroe Reflex truck/suv shocks yesterday. It did better with those, it has a firmer ride and the bumps are not so harsh now. I had Sensa Trac shocks before that and they were worn, but maybe not worn out. I had 37K on them. Driving the truck to work today I noticed a harsh vibration from the front end, at all speeds from 20 on up to 60 mph. I took it to the tire store where I have a lifetime rotation and balance policy on it, they rotated and balanced the tires but also diagnosed a loose left front tie rod end, which they said was the cause of the vibration I had. I had them replace it, and thinking the other one was probably not far behind, I had them replace the right tie rod end too. I have a 3 year alignment policy too so they checked and realigned it at no charge.
Trouble is, there is still a vibration in the front end somewhere. I feel it from the front end of the truck, in the floor pan and in my foot on the pedal and somewhat up into the seat on the butt-dyno. It is present from about 50 mph up through 70-75 mph. And it is irritating, not to mention could indicate something else is wrong with my truck. The harsh vibration I felt in the steering wheel is gone so maybe the tie rod end(s) did need to be replaced. This tire store has never lied to me before. I have looked under the truck myself several times and can find nothing wrong, but I am untrained. All the bushings and so forth look good to me, just the usual fine hairline creases you might see at 97K. I am probably wrong on that assumption but I don't know what else to look for.
Tires are Michelin LTX M/S 235/75R15, they have about 55K on them, are 3 years old and still look to have about 1/2 the original tread left. Even though they still look to be in good shape could the tires be causing this vibration? Michelin says they have a 60K warranty. How do you tell if a tire is out of round and causing a bad vibration? Would that have shown up when the tech balanced the wheels today? Something is causing this truck to have a bad vibration from the front end somewhere. It didn't do this before. Truck has never been wrecked and I have always, always taken exceptionally good care of it. I'm not a BITOG'er for nothing. I don't know what else to look for and at this point I'm ready to dump it in the Gulf of Mexico and start over.
I appreciate any help you guys have.
Trouble is, there is still a vibration in the front end somewhere. I feel it from the front end of the truck, in the floor pan and in my foot on the pedal and somewhat up into the seat on the butt-dyno. It is present from about 50 mph up through 70-75 mph. And it is irritating, not to mention could indicate something else is wrong with my truck. The harsh vibration I felt in the steering wheel is gone so maybe the tie rod end(s) did need to be replaced. This tire store has never lied to me before. I have looked under the truck myself several times and can find nothing wrong, but I am untrained. All the bushings and so forth look good to me, just the usual fine hairline creases you might see at 97K. I am probably wrong on that assumption but I don't know what else to look for.
Tires are Michelin LTX M/S 235/75R15, they have about 55K on them, are 3 years old and still look to have about 1/2 the original tread left. Even though they still look to be in good shape could the tires be causing this vibration? Michelin says they have a 60K warranty. How do you tell if a tire is out of round and causing a bad vibration? Would that have shown up when the tech balanced the wheels today? Something is causing this truck to have a bad vibration from the front end somewhere. It didn't do this before. Truck has never been wrecked and I have always, always taken exceptionally good care of it. I'm not a BITOG'er for nothing. I don't know what else to look for and at this point I'm ready to dump it in the Gulf of Mexico and start over.
I appreciate any help you guys have.
