Re: looking for ideas on a vibration

From: Walt@Walt-n-Ingrid.Com
Date: Wed Jan 05 2005 - 20:19:40 EST


That shouldn't be the case, the driver should have winched it onto the flatbed
with the truck in neutral. Even if he dragged it up, it not far enough to flat
spot the tires.

Mike,
  How did he hook it? I assume he either used J-Hooks on the axles or he short
chained it by wrapping the chains around the axles and hooking the clevis ends
to themselves. Double check your suspension brackets and make sure he didn't
bend or break any of them including the welds. I've seen allot of guys who
will hook the front and rear suspension when loading a lifted vehicle onto a
flat bed and really crank it down with the winch. The strength in a suspension
is stronger with the vertical load and not as much horizontality. When the
chains grab tight on the rear axle and the winch is pulling on the front, it
pulls the axles apart latterly. Too much tension on it can damage the
suspension. Another thing to do is making sure he didn't catch any of the
break parts. He could have kinked an e-brake cable or something else when he
hooked the rear axle and a rear brake is hanging slightly. I’ve accidentally
done that myself. IIRC, you have a high-steer setup on the front so that
should be OK but I would still look at it. I’ve seen bends to steering parts
over tightening.

If I were towing your truck, I would prefer to wheel lift it from the rear with
the truck in 2wd and the front hubs unlocked. A wheel lift lifts the vehicle
by its wheels and the wheel is held in the L-Arm by a strap. The vehicle rides
on it’s own suspension as normal. Despite what many people think, it’s actually
safer than a flatbed.

Walt
http://WWW.Walt-n-Ingrid.Com

In article <b26be6d905010513375f373859@mail.gmail.com>, andy.levy@gmail.com
(Andy Levy) writes:
>
>
> On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 13:55:02 -0500, Michael Maskalans <dml@tepidcola.com>
wrote:
> >
> > Hey all,
> >
> > I'm looking for ideas on a vibration that I've got in my Dakota. It was
towed while I was out of town for christmas (flatbedded while still in Park),
and since I picked it up, I've had a pretty bad vibration from somewhere in the
driveline.
>
> Why was it towed?
>
> Possible tire damage from the drag up the ramp?



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