My car is shaking really bad, feels like I keep hitting bumps, even when I'm not...when driving down the highway if I let go of the wheel, it moves itself back and forth really badly...feels like it is pulling to the left

-Roof will not cause that. Shaking steering cause from un even wear front tires.


Good luck

Mai

Warped brake rotor usually cause high vibration at high speeds. But you can also feel it at lower speeds. But bad ball joints and tie rod end will cause vibration at high speeds. Ball joints will pop at pot holes, sometimes. Tie rods can be felt in the steering wheel at a stop. Move the wheel slightly to the left and right, you can feel/hear a tap as you turn it.

Have you checked the cab mounts, motor mounts, spring or hanger bushings?

Sounds like tires need to be balanced.

Vibration from about 40-60 mph is usually attributed to wheel balancing, but the onset when you hit a bump seems to indicate play in the steering linkages (tie rods etc) or suspension members and stabiliser bar rubbers but you had that all checked out, that brings us back to the wheel balancing.

Dodge is known for using rubber bushings in everything. They don't squeak like the poly ones do but they do rot after 10 or 15 years and cause clunking noises like you described. More than likely your clunking is coming from a tie rod which is what connects your steering wheel to your tires. Crawl under the truck near the wheel and look for the steel bar that hooks up to the back of it. Have a friend turn the wheel back and forth, or grab the bar and give it a hard shake. If there is any play, the bushing is shot. You can replace the tie rod ends yourself using the old ones to compare but it will still need an alignment, so I usually let a shop do it. New poly bushings will cost a little more but you will never have to replace them again. A good alignment shop should charge less than $200

The clunk sounds like it has a bad u-joint in the rear drive shaft. The rattle in the front may be a broken swaybar link.

Have the front shocks check out, the shock helps keep the tire to the ground, when hitting bumps.

may have a bad tire you can balance a bad tire but will still shake

Hi Tony,

There is a problem with either the the wheel integrity, the steering linkage or all the above.

This is a dangerous and potentially life threatening situation.

As someone who has lived through a ball joint breaking off of it's connecting rod, I can tell you first hand that a steering wheel that doesn't steer is no fun at highway speeds.

Please have your vehicle looked at by a pro.
If you drive it, drive it slow, but drive it to a mechanic.

Mike