2008 170 NCV3 Vibration

Vibration issue on new van: I have a brand new 2008 NCV with 6000 miles. I drove 4000 miles in it right after purchase. Van was great no problems. I just now returned from a 1600 mile trip and as soon as I left for this trip, the van started to vibrate. When I cruised at 65-75 mph the steering wheel started shaking. prior to this trip I had just swapped the new continentals that were on it (and had travelled the previous 4000 miles), and put on my 20k mile Michelins from my T1N.

After driving the 1600 miles I was able to determine that the vibration would come and go between 65 and 75 MPH. It would get worse above 75mph. I am assuming that out of balance tires would cause a continual vibration, and would also start to show a hint of a wear pattern after the 1600 mile trip. Upon return, the tires are not showing wear, and the vibration was consistent in its appearance and disappearance between 65 -75 mph.
I have searched the forum and not found any insight.
It seems like the tire change is the culprit, but the behavior doesn't appear to be consistent with tire balance or pressure unless I am totally off base.

My gut tells me it is a "propeller shaft" vibration or something similar that vibrates the van and is felt the most right up through the steering wheel.
It is going into the local dodge dealer tomorrow, but I would like to have some ideas since they haven't been the brightest sprinter repair facility in the past when they worked on my T1N

Any info appreciated....
 

bikergar

Active member
Although there have been shaft issues with your model, what you describe sounds like tire balance problems. 1600 miles probably isn't enough to show wear on mildly out of balance tires. Before you get too far into things I'd vote for a decent balance.

gary
 

showkey

Well-known member
+2 on tire balance.....it comes and goes due to phasing of the tires on the axle relative to each other, plus it is possible to have a perfect balance but have a radial force problem with one of the tires that can only be found using a Hunter 9700 balancer with road force, first get the balance checked before chasing radial force.
 

Mike Horton

New member
Did forcing the 15 inch tires on to the 16 inch rims have anything to do with it.:smirk::smirk::smirk:
That is just what I was wondering! We have 2 08 Sprinters and an 02. I know the 02 has 15 inchers and the 08 has 16's. He must have retrofitted the T1n Sprinter with 16's earlier.
 
My T1N came with 16's when I bought it. It was hard enough to get the 16" tire on the 16" rim with the two Craftsmen screwdrivers i used, can't imagine stretching the 15 incher....
 

fink1741

New member
I've also had vibration issues in my 2007. I'd noticed while driving and looking in my side view mirrors, it looked as though the side walls of the truck was vibrating. I did a visual inspection of the ribs and noticed that the yellow factory adhesive was not holding especially the roof ribs. I placed shims in between the panels and the ribs creating about 3/16" of a space, remove the yellow junk and install high-grade silicone. I did all the side ribs and roof ribs which only took about three hours and let dry and cure for 24 hours and my vibration problem is now gone :thumbup:

Hope this helps, Mike
 

clark

New member
Interesting Fink,

I have had the vibration too. Dodge had the van for 2 days, finally swapped tires on front with another on the lot and that seemed to cure it. So officially right now it's a bad tire on the front.

I know that I had some ribs that were loose, I took a closer look today and MANY of them are loose, or not attached at all. Nice build quality eh? I'll re-glue the ribs and get the new tires and maybe I can relax on the road.

C
 

fink1741

New member
Interesting Fink,

I have had the vibration too. Dodge had the van for 2 days, finally swapped tires on front with another on the lot and that seemed to cure it. So officially right now it's a bad tire on the front.

I know that I had some ribs that were loose, I took a closer look today and MANY of them are loose, or not attached at all. Nice build quality eh? I'll re-glue the ribs and get the new tires and maybe I can relax on the road.

C
C, I need tires also but i'm not sure if I should use the same it came with or use something different.
You're probably already aware of this, I'll say it anyway. Check the date on each tire and make sure they are dated for this year's before they put them on. Of course, since the year has just started you want to see a very current date.

Thanks, Mike
 

clark

New member
What is your status on this Modernmetal? I had all 6 re-balanced at Discount Tire (closest conti dealer) today and got no improvement. Dodge said they would put the tires/rims from another van on again for a more extensive road test to see if the problem is just my tires or something else. I hope it's the tires but I don't think so. We'll see.

Anyone have any ideas?

Clark
 

clark

New member
One more thing I thought of upon reading your post again questioning the propeller shaft, mine seemed to shake a little more when at 65+/- and I let off the gas. Propeller shaft? Dodge says they ruled that out but?

Clark
 

scubanw3

Member
Check the inner tie rod ends. They're probably bad. Creates a steering wheel shimmy between 60-70 mph. We've seen this on many late model low mile Sprinters. Hope this helps.

Thank you, John
Sprinter Store
http://sprinterstore.com/
A division of Upscale Automotive, Inc.
19460 SW 89th Ave.
Tualatin, OR 97062
503-692-0846
 

clark

New member
Check the inner tie rod ends. They're probably bad. Creates a steering wheel shimmy between 60-70 mph. We've seen this on many late model low mile Sprinters. Hope this helps.
Thanks John. These were replaced by a Dealer up there I suppose? Can I get the name of the Dealer so the one down here can call up there? Or one where you know they took care of this problem?

Thanks,

Clark
 
Clark,

I took the sprinter to discount tire so they could rebalance my michelins. So far the little i have driven it, it seems to have smoothed out. They said the vibration i felt was very likely to be misbalanced tires. I will find out the reality next time i get on the highway for a longer drive. I'll keep you posted.
 

scubanw3

Member
Here is a list of the Portland dealers:
McCoy Freightliner 503-735-1970
Ron Tonkin Dodge 503-255-4100
Dick's Country Dodge 800-553-0239
Timberline Dodge 503-230-8770 (no longer a dealership but still in business)

Hope this helps.

Thank you, John
Sprinter Store
http://sprinterstore.com/
A division of Upscale Automotive, Inc.
19460 SW 89th Ave.
Tualatin, OR 97062
503-692-0846
 

clark

New member
Well, it was the tires. They replaced all 6 and I paid the difference and had them put on Michelin M/S. Smooth as silk now and should be good for a while. Must have been a bad run or something...

Clark
 

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