Driveline Vibration

[mcguirejohnson]

Hey there, I am having some trouble pin pointing what is causing my truck to vibrate while I'm driving. This issue came up a couple of weeks ago and it is very distinct compared to the usual small vibrations that my truck has (mud tires, SOA lift, etc.) It only happens when the truck is in gear and I am on the gas more so when i am accelerating than cruising. I can feel the vibration in the steering wheel, and on the shifter. Whenever I let off the gas and put it in neutral the vibration goes away and it rolls smoothly. I have checked my driveshaft and all of the bolts are tight, and I went through my front hubs and made sure they were tight. My guess is that it is either a U-Joint, or something worse like the transfer case. Let me know what you guys think.

MJ

 

[klinetime574]

Pinion bearing? Did you grab each of the four ends of the driveshafts and check for play?

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Pinion bearing? Did you grab each of the four ends of the driveshafts and check for play?

I have not done that yet. The gears are fairly new so I doubt that they would go out this fast. I will look at it tomorrow and report back. I'm still leaning towards something around the trans/t-case because I can literally feel it and hear it right underneath the console. Thanks for the reply!

Mj

 

[Stumpalama]

Did you check the condition of the engine or trans mounts? Have you separated or greased your drive shafts or rotated your tires recently? Did you lose weights on a wheel?
Does it do it in 4wd as well?
Interesting you feel it in the wheel and the shifter.
As part of the isolation process, you could alternate removing drive shafts and seeing if that eliminates the issue. If it does and depending on which one was removed when the shaking was eliminated, you have narrowed you problem down a fair bit.

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Did you check the condition of the engine or trans mounts? Have you separated or greased your drive shafts or rotated your tires recently? Did you lose weights on a wheel?
Does it do it in 4wd as well?
Interesting you feel it in the wheel and the shifter.
As part of the isolation process, you could alternate removing drive shafts and seeing if that eliminates the issue. If it does and depending on which one was removed when the shaking was eliminated, you have narrowed you problem down a fair bit.

Those are all really good ideas, thanks for the help! I will be able to go through and try all of these next weekend (currently at school and do not have any time). I forgot to mention that there is a very distinct popping sound which sounds like it is coming right around the transmission whenever I am giving it gas. I will report back to you guys when I get the chance, thanks for the help!

Mj

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Ended up being blown u-joints.

Thanks again for the help. Time to think about a torsion bar.

Mj

 

[klinetime574]

Shucks. Glad you found the problem though.

Do you have a DC shaft on the front and rear?

 

[Crick60]

90% of the time it's uni's. Good catch and great follow up post!

 

[Output Shaft]

& if you want it to be good as "new" take it to a driveshaft shop and they can balance the driveshaft for you. When the U-joints are replaced, they can offset the balance a smidge. Might as well get it perfect if there is a shop nearby...If not, not a big deal. When a driveshaft is taken to a driveshaft shop for them to replace the U-joints, it is a matter of course that the driveshaft is always balanced afterwards.

 

[Stumpalama]

Thanks for closing the loop. Glad to see it was something "less major" like the t-case.

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Shucks. Glad you found the problem though.

Do you have a DC shaft on the front and rear?

Yes front and rear. I did not replace the u joints when I installed them on my rig a year ago which was probably not a good idea. Congrats on the 5 speed by the way!

 

[mcguirejohnson]

& if you want it to be good as "new" take it to a driveshaft shop and they can balance the driveshaft for you. When the U-joints are replaced, they can offset the balance a smidge. Might as well get it perfect if there is a shop nearby...If not, not a big deal. When a driveshaft is taken to a driveshaft shop for them to replace the U-joints, it is a matter of course that the driveshaft is always balanced afterwards.

I will give the shop a call on Monday. I dropped them off earlier today. Thanks for the heads up!

Thanks for closing the loop. Glad to see it was something "less major" like the t-case.

You and me both. I was very exited to find out that it wasn't something major. Thanks again for your help!

Mj

 

[Stumpalama]

No worries. That's what this site is all about. I have certainly taken more from this site than I've given, but I help where I can.
Plus it's fun when something you suggest helps someone out.

Cheers,
Stump