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New truck, new member and some questions....

2K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  billh1963 
#1 ·
Hi All,
New member here! I have a 2003 Hemi QC I bought new but just picked up a project truck that I have some questions about. It's a 1985 D100 with the slant 6, automatic, PS and PB...that's it. The truck has 76K miles. It's in excellent shape (garaged it's whole life) but hasn't been driven much. As such, I have a few questions that hopefully the forum can help me with.

1. The horn - the horn activates when the steering wheel gets hot. The P.O. said that this is a well known problem. What is the best way to cure this?

2. Vibration - I drove the truck around town yesterday looking for some new shocks (it has the originals and they are shot). Anyway, as I was hitting around 50mph (fastest I've had it) the truck developed a bad shake that felt like it was in the rear of the truck. I slowed down and the shake stayed around. It was so bad I really thought I had a flat and pulled over.

Everything looked good so I decided to go on home. It still had the shake all the way home and I never drove it above 35mph.

I looked at everything (springs, wishbones, etc.) and everything looked good. The truck has never been hit so I don't think anything is wrong there. The tires have even wear. Could this be a simple case of a tire weight being thrown or something more sinister? Also, the truck felt like it was pulling to the right when I was braking. Of course I was paranoid at this point and may have been overly "sensitive".

I replaced the shocks this morning and took it on a test drive. I couldn't find a place close by to get the truck above 50 but it seemed okay (and drove much better with the new shocks).

When I first started the truck up this morning it idled fine but when I put it in gear the truck developed a big vibration (almost like I felt yesterday). When I put the truck in park the vibration went away. That only happened for a minute or so. I don't have a tach so I'm not sure if the engine developed a bad miss or if there was something else causing it.

3. Parts - It looks like there are plenty of places selling vintage Ford/Chevy parts. Is there a good on-line source for Dodge parts?

Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
billh1963 said:
1. The horn - the horn activates when the steering wheel gets hot. The P.O. said that this is a well known problem. What is the best way to cure this?
Unplug it:D j/k I don't know what that would be, sounds like the horn pad is swelling up in the heat for some reason.

billh1963 said:
2. Vibration - I drove the truck around town yesterday looking for some new shocks (it has the originals and they are shot). Anyway, as I was hitting around 50mph (fastest I've had it) the truck developed a bad shake that felt like it was in the rear of the truck. I slowed down and the shake stayed around. It was so bad I really thought I had a flat and pulled over.

Everything looked good so I decided to go on home. It still had the shake all the way home and I never drove it above 35mph.

I looked at everything (springs, wishbones, etc.) and everything looked good. The truck has never been hit so I don't think anything is wrong there. The tires have even wear. Could this be a simple case of a tire weight being thrown or something more sinister? Also, the truck felt like it was pulling to the right when I was braking. Of course I was paranoid at this point and may have been overly "sensitive".

I replaced the shocks this morning and took it on a test drive. I couldn't find a place close by to get the truck above 50 but it seemed okay (and drove much better with the new shocks).
May have been a flat spot in the tire. Especially if it's cold, tires sometimes will get a flat spot in them if the vehicle stays parked for a while. Usually goes away after driving it for a while. Might be a good idea to jack it up and check for play in any of the wheels, in case you got a bearing or something going bad.

Pulling under braking is usually a front caliper or alignment problem. Might as well check the brakes out while you have it jacked up. Might want to check and see if you can grease the U-joints too, I bet they've never been done. They can cause a vibration while driving if they are dry.

billh1963 said:
When I first started the truck up this morning it idled fine but when I put it in gear the truck developed a big vibration (almost like I felt yesterday). When I put the truck in park the vibration went away. That only happened for a minute or so. I don't have a tach so I'm not sure if the engine developed a bad miss or if there was something else causing it.
Probably just idles a little low when cold, sounds normal enough for an old truck. Heck I know some late model vehicles that do the same thing.

billh1963 said:
3. Parts - It looks like there are plenty of places selling vintage Ford/Chevy parts. Is there a good on-line source for Dodge parts?

Thanks!
Not much in the way of accessories, but engine and drivetrain parts are easy enough to come by. Check out Clifford Performance and the Slant Six forum.
 
#3 ·
Thanks, Speed Dragon,

I think the steering wheel pad does swell up...I'm trying to find a new pad for it but haven't found a source.

The vibration started after about 20 minutes of driving so I doubt it was flat spotting. I checked for play when I had it jacked up and everything felt tight. The thought about the U-joints was a good one. I'll check it out.

When I got the truck the low speed idle was set for around 500. I set it at 700 (no...I didn't follow all the instructions in the manual about plugging hoses...I just set it as it was running). Could this be a problem?
 
#4 ·
Make sure the motor mounts and transmission mount are in good shape. Also don't let U-joints that feel tight fool you. If the grease is all dried up in the caps, they will seize and cause a vibration. You may need to remove a couple of the caps to check the grease.

Also I've seen torque converters that can cause a vibration as well.
 
#6 ·
The vibration was pretty severe...such that if I was on the interstate going 70 mph I may have been concerned about the stability of the truck. It stayed fairly severe until I stopped the truck. It didn't go away as I slowed down...which made me think I initially had a flat tire. In fact, it felt a lot like a flat tire!

I looked at both motor mounts. The one on the drivers side looks good but the one on the passenger side looks flat and has some rubber pieces hanging out. Could a bad motor mount account for vibration like that? I'll grease the u-joints tonight and see if that makes a difference too.

Thanks!
 
#7 ·
I'm thinking U-joint too.
I would take them apart and check, not just grease it.
It sounds like the drive shaft is getting off-center and when you stop it goes back in alignment until you reach 50 again.
Scott
 
#8 ·
So it's not just a vibration alone, the truck is also bouncing or moving around? You sure it was in the rear? You might want to check the rear end and see if it has fluid in it, and see how it spins, whether it makes any noise or catches anywhere, see if there's any endplay in the axles, etc. Could be a bent or warped axle too, if you don't find anything else I'd pull the axles and have them checked.
 
#9 ·
Well, the "vibration" felt very similar to a flat tire. There was some up and down motion and associated shake through the truck. The funny part of it was that it didn't go away on the ride home although the next day I couldn't detect it (although I didn't get above 40 mph in the neighborhood). I'm hoping to drive the truck again this evening and see what it's doing now since I have the new shocks installed.
 
#10 ·
yes a motor mount can cause a vibration. If the mount is bad, it causes the motor to come up and causes the driveline to become misaligned.

With all the talk about tires, a broken belt inside the tire will cause the kind of motion your talking about.
 
#13 ·
I'm surprised that no one has talked about ...

the tires and wheels. I would jack the rear off the ground and place a couple of jack stands under the axles until the tires have at least 4 inches of clearance, then have a partner run the truck sitting in place up to 50 or so and see what shakes. My bet is the tires have "set" or seperated or the lug nuts are loose and the woobling wheel is causing the vibration.
 
#14 ·
Put the truck up on jack stands and had my wife run it up to 70+ mph for a minute or so. No unusual shaking or noises (for a 20 year old truck ;) ).

I plan to take the truck out on the interstate this week and see what happens. Maybe the new shocks eliminated the vibration?
 
#16 ·
I just had a problem with my 52 pickup this summer where all of a sudden I had a violent shake in an up and down motion (almost like one of those clown cars with different sized tires). When I got to the tire store they discovered that one rear tire had separated inside. It also had old tires and had been garaged for years before I got it. Evidently I had driven it just enough to break things loose.
 
#18 ·
I'll give it another look this weekend (I hate the time change...getting home in the dark is a drag). I just don't have the time after work to chase this thing down,

The "hit" on the truck is just a crease on the bed where someone backed into it at a Lowe's parking lot...nothing big and shouldn't have been enough to cause any suspension or drivetrain damage.

The tires may be the culprit considering that although they are like new from a tread perspective they are an off brand and are probably pretty old.
 
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