just got a new set of tires for the truck, and it was running smooth...really soft ride! Until a last week when my wife noticed a small vibration on the steering wheel.
Now that vibration was gone worse...the whole truck is shacking!
Noticed before not "tack" and "click" noises on the front wheels, specially while putting the truck on gear and taking off.
Could this be cv joint related? i looked at the shaft and apparently nothing seems loose.
your input please?
thanks in advance

 

I would check the front driveshaft first. It sounds like it might be coming apart on you unless it has been replaced with a greaseable shaft. It would be better to crawl under it to get a good look and try to move it around by hand to see if it is loose. D*

 

This was how my symptoms started when my driveshaft went out.

 

everything looked fine when i went under, that was the first symptom when my u joint wen bad on my dually until the soft came out!
so just checking for manual play?
what are better brands and sources for the shafts? shouts we doit both? and also u joints?

 

If the driveshaft doesn't have greaseable u-joints I would check with lucky8 for a replacement shaft with greaseable u-joints. D*

 

excuse my ignorance, but why not replacing the ujoints alone? why replacing the whole shaft?

 

I have never done that so I will defer to someone else to advise if that would be the best thing to do. Most of the time when they get bad enough to vibrate the ends of the driveshaft are pretty well worn. JMO D*

 

With a metric box wrench to hold the hex bolt and impact gun to loosen the 8 nuts, you can have the front DS off in 1-minute. Socket-&-ratchet more like 20-30 mins if nothing is frozen. You can't always tell a bad DS while still bolted-on. I rebuilt my front DS and it's pricey as well as a pain in the ***. You need 3 Ujoints and a centering-ball bearing which is the most time-consuming replacement. Over $100 worth of parts easy, and the job takes at least half the night. More like 24 hours if you have any issues along with other **** to do. I would buy the $200 DS and rebuild the factory unit in my spare time. This is if you actually find any fault with it.

 

As said it's best to remove front shaft to check. If you have nipple to engage diff lock it helps so D2 still driveable in RWD if repairs take longer than expected. The spicer/centering ball can be a PIA to replace and extend repair time.
......

 

Having dealt with tire and shaft issues before, I'm going to go against the grain here and suggest checking a couple things before you suspect the shaft. Here are some diagnosis steps I posted elsewhere that I think are good, although I'd welcome any suggestions:

1) Figure out whether it's a driveline- or engine-related vibration. Is there any vibration at idle? If so, it has to do with the engine. Does it vary according to road speed and not go away when you take your foot off the accelerator? If so, it's probably a driveline issue. If it's an engine issue, it could be a vacuum leak, misfires, and a bunch of other stuff. I'm going to focus on the driveline stuff here.

2) Assuming it's a driveline issue, is there any difference in the vibration when turning at the speed where it occurs? If so, the axles/CV joints and possibly other steering apparatus become main suspects.

3) If there's no change in vibration when steering, tires and wheels become the next suspects. Balance problems are common. A wheel weight can easily fall off, causing a balance issue. Rotating and balancing tires is also not tremendously expensive.

4) If balancing and rotating the wheels does nothing to fix it, it more or less has to be something driveshaft-, transfer-box- or transmission-related. This assumes that the balancing was done correctly.

5) Assuming the transmission isn't the problem, we've isolated it to the driveshafts and transfer box. NOTE: If you have a CDL, remove the front driveshaft BEFORE spending any time/money on balancing the wheels. If you drive around on it and there's no vibration, you know it must be the balance of the driveshaft. Otherwise this is the point at which you should inspect the front shaft thoroughly. See if there are any welded-on weights that might have fallen off, or if the U-joints look crusty. Check the flange that connects the shaft to the transfer box, as this can get loose and cause a vibration. Get the shaft rebalanced, rebuilt or replaced as needed. The rear shaft can also cause problems, especially the rubber coupling joining the shaft to the rear diff. Inspect that for cracks/warping and replace as necessary.