- Thread starter
- #61
new bearings need to be pressed on and you really should tear the diff down and inspect it all in order to confidently rule it out as the source.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
new bearings need to be pressed on and you really should tear the diff down and inspect it all in order to confidently rule it out as the source.
Oh right. Def donāt have time for that. Let me think about the logistics of this, borrowing a car, and the next order of events.Sure, you will need to pull the inner shafts first.
Excellent! I understand completely and will try this tomorrow. I also have a buddy coming over with new 31'' street tires im going to swap on mine and drive to see if it is my tires.Iāve been thinking on this and I might have an idea how to check this out if the bearing is really bad.
Now chock the front wheels with something large preferably wheel chocks at the front of the tire and drive up against them.
The idea is to load up the pinion and force any play in toward the outer bearing.
Then set the e- brake and place the transmission in park.
The crawl under and see if there is any play in the companion flange.
...at which point i would then crawl under and rotate the front shaft, feeling for play?looking forward to your findings. I was thinking that if you have some ramps, they might work better. You could remove the rear drive shaft, lock the center diff and then drive up the ramps part way and place the tranny in park. The truck would then roll back slightly and rest with the front axle holding it in position on the slope of the ramp.
you won't be able to rotate it but what you are looking for is up and down play. And there will likely no be much at all even if it's bad. Place your dominant hand on the drive shaft just behind the u-joint and your other hand partially on the diff and fingers on the pinion dust cover. Then attempt to move the shaft up and down while concentrating on your hand that's on the diff for any movement....at which point i would then crawl under and rotate the front shaft, feeling for play?
Roger that. thanksyou won't be able to rotate it but what you are looking for is up and down play. And there will likely no be much at all even if it's bad. Place your dominant hand on the drive shaft just behind the u-joint and your other hand partially on the diff and fingers on the pinion dust cover. Then attempt to move the shaft up and down while concentrating on your hand that's on the diff for any movement.
I think this might've been suggested already, but did you check the height of the greasiness on your knuckles?Update.
So today I tried the suggestion by Rick to feel for play in the pinion bearing and with all my might, I could not budge the flange even a smidge.
Also swapped over a buddies new 31ā less aggressive tires and although they were quieter and seems to wander less, the vibration was unchanged at 50mph. So it is not my tires.
Also while the front was jacked up I checked the wheel bearings and calipers. All was good.
So I guess that means it is still a vibrating front shaft. But it is not the shaft itself, because at this point I have tried 4 different shafts. So it is a driveline angle, or a bent axle shaft or worn spindle or something in the front axle. Or front tcase bearing.
Any other ideas?
Ah so this is really good info for me.Caster looks to be just right. But is it????and the pinion angle is still not???
I then decided after talking to Dave at Dobinsons that the VT 2.5ā long travel were for heavy rigs. I did not know that at time of purchase. That is why the rear was so high. So I decided to swap springs. Again. This time went with even lower Dobinsons 2ā no load linear springs. (C59-169) and (C59-168).
This netted exactly 2ā of lift front and rear. They also handle really great on the road.
Now the rear shaft angle was over corrected so I added Dobinsons adjustable rear UCA to correct. (This also eliminated a speed bump clunk Iād had for years! Yay!)
After falling to Dave at Delta we decided to leave the rear panhard lift bracket installed with the 2ā lift as it keeps the bar level.
View attachment 2940111View attachment 2940112View attachment 2940113
Why? Just curious.but that is sketchy in my opinion