Either pieces parts were not available at the time or the assembly of the drive shaft and its center support bearing and dampener were not constructed to allow replacement of the dampener assembly which is to my recall what the mechanic believed the failure to be.

Had to use the truck as was vibrating. Took to dealership first, dealership said it was probably the tires. Took truck to tire dealer, paid to have tires trued, rebalanced and 4 wheel alignment checked. Problem was in drive shaft center carrier member dampener and bearing area. Replaced drive shaft and carrier bearing dampener assembly, problem fixed, no more vibration from rear end.

At around 25,000 miles, the truck developed a vibration. Having felt similar vibes, I figured it was rotors and hung on for the ride. Always in a time crunch, I replaced pads at 65,000, didn't turn rotors, knowing good and well that I'd have to soon. The the truck starts to squeak at low speeds, especially backing up. Then, damn... the front and rear u-joints shred on me. I put the truck up on jack-stands, put it in gear, and watch the driveshaft bounce around. Still under warranty, I take it in to Manuel Dodge in FW, TX and all they do is replace u-joints and say there's nothing else wrong. Well, I have to work every day so I hang on for a rough ride for the next 30,000 or so. Go down to the beach, deep sand, replace pads again... You know how it is! So three weeks ago I decide to do a complete brake job. New rotors(front), new pads front/rear. As I'm leaning out the door open door to test brakes, I hear the rear u-joint clank. Damn... Scheduled to go out of town so I take the truck to FW Gear & Axle(great place) and they balance the driveshaft, new u-joints, new carrier bearing. Truck has never ridden so smooth.

The moral of the story? The Dodge dealers in FW suck! And I prefer the '96 that I had MUCH better than the '02. The '02 looks badass, but is a crappy build. And I'm stuck with it.

Truck not used for off road as its not a 4x4, has small v8 so not raced at red lights, just a simple good gas mileage truck used mainly on highway. Truck is 2002 with 90k on it and rear locked up at 55mph, slid into ditch and am having a hell of a time repairing it. Factory don't care, and even told me that that particular rear is discontinued. Dealer wants $3500 for parts (not including labor) Google the issue and you see dozens of people with this problem, yet Dodge will not recognize it, nor care about their vehicle once it leaves their lot.