It's with a heavy heart that it's time for my family to part ways with Babe the big blue ox. She has treated us well but since our daughter was born has not been getting the attention she deserves. This has been an amazing Colorado rig for us getting me and my family on some great trips...
I'd check for play in the steering box and tie rod ends for starters. The vibration can be caused by a myriad of things like wheels out of balance, driveshaft out of balance, u-joint wear, camber angle being off, etc. I think the spec for play in the steering wheel is something like an inch...
Do it!
Edit. Missed the part about the hole in the frame. Depending on how big its probably still worth it. I paid much more and had a similar issue. Pulled the body, cut out the rust and welded in 3/16" plate to repair the hole. Worked great and still strong with no signs of further damage...
I responded over on my old RMS thread but from personal experience I'd rebuild while you're in there. It's all pulled apart already and from my mistakes I wish I had just done it right the first time. Definitely new gaskets cause that gear oil seems to find every little hole and starts a drip...
If you need any help on the rebuild let me know. I've now pulled mine apart about half dozen times and put it back together due to different issues I ran into during either the rebuild or the original install to the new tranny.
Hey,
At that time I did not rebuild the transfer case but did do all new gaskets. This past winter I ended up dropping the transmission and transfer case so I could do a rebuild on the t-case. I was popping out of 4hi and 4 low so figured it was time to do a rebuild while I was in there...
Here ya go. The one on the bolster is not a hole, both look like small burns. I may have had these near the welding table while I was welding the brackets in my new seats. Here are pics, let me know what ya think!