Finally after owning this vibrator for 21 months and 71000 miles I have been fixed. Not the truck. The truck still vibrates. I hired a Lemon Law attorney five months ago and today the truck was bought back by DC for very close to the purchase price. The trucks gone, I have a big check from DC and a new 2005 Ford F-150 super crew that is as smooth as silk. It may not haul as much and have as much power as the ram cummins. But it sure dosent vibrate. I drove five different 2005 ram diesels and they were much better than my 2003 truck but I just could not bring myself to put any more money into DC's pocket. I have owned around fifteen trucks, two of them chevy and two ford diesels. I have never had a problem with any of them as I have with this 2003 Dodge. My headache is now gone. Good luck guys with your hunt for a fix. I dont think you will find one unless you hire an attorney. By the way the attorneys fees are paid by DC. So it wont cost you a dime unles you need to hire a professional witness ( mechanic ). I did not need to. I had plenty of documentation from work orders. I think this web page is a great tool for owners to share ideas and experiences. Thanks for all the help guys and good luck.

 

Sorry to see you jumped ship but I can understand why. I think I am one of the lucky ones as I don't feel any vibe around 70 mph, or at least I don't think I do. I keep thinking I do and if it does, you can hardly feel it. Not like people say where they mirrors shake and stuff rattles off the dash. I have nothing like that, just a slight feeling and that is if I am LOOKING for it. 2500 miles on the truck so still waiting for it to show up

Time to change your signature below.

 

I noticed the 70mph vibration for the first time on my way home from my mom's house on Mother's Day. It only happened sometimes, but it was quite annoying. Hopefully I won't have to trade in my truck, because 70mph is about the perfect cruising speed for this area

 

Any info. you might be able to give us on the lemon law proceedings..I have had my dode since april of 04 and hate driving it because of the noise.. I only have put 4282miles on it and would like to get rid of it but don't what to take a beating on a trade in or something..
Thanks
Tom

 

You have to contact a Lemon Law Attorney within your state first. Show him the repair work that has been done on the truck and he should be able to tell you if you have a case or not. Each truck is different from each other so each case will have a different out come. My case turned out very good for me. Its a long drawn out process. My case took five months to finally get the truck bought back. Get this. In the paper work sent from Dodge was a large window sticker that read. This vehicle is to be sold at auction and was placed in the windshield before I left the dealer. I feel sorry for the person who ends up with it.

 

sorry to hear that you didnt buy another cummins,i believe over time you will miss your dodge ram/cummins,however,with the 70mph vibe,i cant say i blame you,perhaps if DC acted sooner and was more sensitive to your concerns this could have been prevented.the f-150 is a fine truck and i hope you have many trouble free miles that you and your family so much deserve.i hope you will still participate in these forums and offer your input,good luck with the new truck,hope you got the tow n go package!(msaTOW)!

 

Some guy will buy it cheap at the auction and fix it. They will live happly ever after.

 

Dieseldavesr, I already miss the power of the Cummins motor. Its too bad that Cummins motor is in an engineered mess. I loved the truck, I didnt love the vibration that came with it. And Haulin_in_Dixie I had two different Dodge engineers from Detroit work on the truck and they both were stumped. Thats when I got an attorney. They both did agree that the drive shaft would flex more if it were longer and had a carrier bearing inline. The Mega-Cab due out this fall should solve the problem. It will be built on the crew-cab long bed frame with the short box and a longer rear shaft and carrier bearing. This Ford F-150 will last me two years and about 100000 miles, then the bugs should be worked out of the Mega-cab. Maybe. At least I will know what to look for when I test drive one.

 

msatow,

best of luck and sorry about all of the trouble that you have had.

my one suggestion is to not go and look at the 2004/2005 Ford F-150 forums on ford-trucks.com. you will be very unhappy and scared to find out that they have had more than their share of vibration problems as well.

i am kinda looking forward to 2007 myself. i have the 05 in my sig that should last me a long time and may be a longterm keeper, but I have to plead guilty to being interested in the next gen Ford SD, GM's HD's, and the new FULL SIZED Tundra that is rumored to be around the corner. Now that I have a good work truck I may be able to get me a real redneck cadillac like the king ranch

i mean cowboy cadillac....

 

It wasnt so much that the truck had a problem, all trucks have a problem from time to time. Its how the manufacturer handles the problem. Dodge drug this out over an eighteen month period, then said we cant do any more live with it. I wont spend 40,000.00 and be treated like I was. If you have a problem admit to it and resolve it. Dont try to sweep it under the rug.

 

I also have an attorney problem is this far DC want pay for my attorney fees but am offering a sticker for sticker solution was offered a buy back but the 33cents a mile turned me off it would of been over $5,000 for 15000 miles so think I am going to take the offer at hand. Drove 2 other cummins and heard the same sound coming from the rear not happy with it so I am going to have to suck it up and get a Hemi. would like to wait and get the 6.1 Hemi but i believe thats going t o be a 2006.5 delivery. Its too bad the diesel is just an impressive motor and with all the traveling out of state I do just cant take the droning sound anymore.Even my kids have had it

 

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but.... I believe the 2500 gasser has the 11.5 AAM rear axle, the same one the diesels have so you may end up with the rear end noise anyway. If you buy a hemi, I hope you like it better than I liked my '03. NOT AT ALL. It was a gutless gas guzzler. Not fast and very thirsty. Only 9 mpg pulling my OPEN bike trailer. 14 was normal cruising 70 on the eway, NOT the 18 claimed. When I bought it, I was debating between the '03 1500 hemi and a new leftover '02 Harley Ford 150. Should have bought the Ford. I'd probably still be driving it rather than the '04 CTD I ended up with. Foolish me, I actually believed all the "HEMI" BS ads on TV!

 

Vibration and trucks has been on going for years(decades)Nissan trucks vibrated back in the mid 80s and Nissan said nature of the bbeast no repair.Others have had issues with same policy before D.C.Nothing new.

 

When I bought my '05 Hemi powered Ram, I told the salesmen about the vibration and the lack of a cure. I'm sure they are all aware of the problem and the fiasco surrounding it. I even asked in Meridian Mississippi while we were there to see our son about it. They said bring it in Monday and they'ed throw an aluminum driveshaft on it as they thought that to be the cure. Anyhow, the Tampa Fl dealership offered me the '05 Hemi powered duplicate of my '03 for my truck and $2k. I thought he was BSing me but he put it in writing and that was it. I went back that night and picked it up. I can't help but wonder if they did me a silent buyback of sort to keep my business with Mopar. I've bought a lot of Mopars over the years. I couldn't pass up the deal.
The gas powered 2500 has a 10.5" AAM rear axle like my '03 S/O Cummins powered 2500 had. All HO Cummins Rams have 11.5" and all 3500 gas and Cummins have 11.5" rear axles.
The Hemi is anything but weak or slow. Mine will readily rip the tires loose with LSD on dry pavement. It'll roar right up to 5500rpm in first, hit second and settle me right back in the seat! I don't make a habit of it but on occasion I like to get on it to feel the acceleration and hear the exhaust. The 2500 doesn't have a resonator and sounds great bone stock. It tows our 5th wheel 70mph no problem. In tow/haul mode on the flats it'll run in 4th O/D .75 at 2000rpm. Rolling hills or headwind calls for 3rd at 2600rpm with TC unlocked uphill at 3000rpm. Steep hills call for 2nd at 4200+rpm where it sounds like an animal out the tailpipe but is smooth as silk and maintains speed on the hills better than my previous standard output Cummins. I'm sure the HO is a whole different cat but my S/O was no more of a puller than the Hemi.
The downside is mileage. I'm getting 14~mpg very light city driving, 17hwy at 70mph and 8.5 average towing with 7.2worst and 9.9best at 58mph flat no wind. I can't stay awake at 55-60 so that only lasted three tanks and I was back up to 68-70mph. The Cummins in the same truck same exact circumstances got 17-18.5 city, 19hwy (4.10 rear end probably hurt there) and 10.5mpg towing average with worst 9.6mpg and best 13.5 at 58mph.
Will it last past 300k miles, who cares, it'll be long gone before then. My next truck will more than likely be another Cummins powered Ram. Not for any fault of the Hemi. I just like the character of the Cummins. Like my Harley... Those who bleed Premium Blue understand.

 

Hounddog, This is not the usual yumyumyum vibration associated with low ratio rear wheel drive vehicles. The Mustand and Crown Vic even suffer from that when you put a low ratio ring and pinion in. The cure for that is an aluminum or carbon fiber drive shaft. The vibe that's ruining the fun in some Rams is a defect affecting a percentage of Cummins powered Rams and is not motor. I could shut mine off at 70 and feel the vibe about the frequency and strength of a vibrating recliner. Great for sore muscles but it sure got tiring after a quarter's worth. And knowing it was shortening the life of the rear end and tranny.