Front DC drive shaft vibration:
- Thread starter ShottsUZJ100
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- Thread starter
- #242
We completed our first actual trail run in the LX. I'm in luv with this truck! I absolutely luv the added suspension lift height (despite the reduction in wheel down-travel compared to my 80). I WILL find the solution for this truck and am contacting Mr. Slee on Monday. 
- Thread starter
- #243
-Spike- said:
I paid $1300 and that included replacing every bearing, seal, and part inside..short of wheel bearings and birfs.
cc93cruiser
CRUZAHEAD
Shotts from all the experiances with the bad vibes, do you think it would be a wise choice to buy the front DC shaft for my cruiser with OME J's on 1 inch spacers even though I have no vibes at all? Will this DC front driveshaft cause any bad vibes ( even though I have no vibes at all, I have always thought it is a good idea to buy it anyways, what do you think?).
- Thread starter
- #245
cc93cruiser said:
Me the wrong dude to ask. Sorry.
All I know is if I had whatever springs on and at the height I liked and everything worked....I'd leave it alone. Until mine works we'll change things.
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cc93cruiser said:
Why change what works, are you looking for problems?
cc93cruiser
CRUZAHEAD
I know, I am just paranoid I guess from all these threads ;p ....I want to buy something for the cruiser, just don't know what.....Tools R Us said:Why change what works, are you looking for problems?
Tools R Us said:Why change what works, are you looking for problems?
x2
if you really must spend money, i'm in need of a bull bar
PM me and i'll pay for shipping.
cc93cruiser
CRUZAHEAD
concretejungle said:x2
if you really must spend money, i'm in need of a bull bar
Well, why did you buy your DC Fr Driveshaft? You only have a 2.5" lift? I doubt you got any bad vibes with a small lift like that
.......I will still buy you a bumper though, if you want 
FJBen
SILVER Star
cc93cruiser said:
Are you running any caster correction???
cc93cruiser
CRUZAHEAD
Old Man Emu Castor Correction Bushings only......
FJBen
SILVER Star
cc93cruiser said:
Just another reason to show every truck is different.
I'm putting on J's and spacers(up front)
1. I'll measure my caster BEFORE the lift
B. I'll measure my caster AFTER the lift to determine where I'm at and where I need to be
*. I'll do the ujoints on the day before I do my lift...
From there I should be able to make a decision OR talk with da Man (aka SLEE OFFROAD) to see if I should go caster plates? slee arms? etc...
I'm used to an old 55 on 35's that wandered lanes at a time and vibrated more than the spin cycle on the washer....but soon I'll prolly be
enough to worry about my "grande hazlenut latte, no foam, two sugars, whip cream, soy milk (sorry Ty 
)" from Starschucks getting "vibrated" on the way to L.L. Bean....such is the life....
FJBen said:I'm used to an old 55 on 35's that wandered lanes at a time and vibrated more than the spin cycle on the washer....but soon I'll prolly be
Yeah, whats up with the whipcream??
It fascinates me that some trucks are prone to vibrations that others in similar to near identical setups are not. Cool, or discouraging .. depending on which side of the caster line ya fall.
TY
Working through vibration
Stock 92 FJ80 - no lift
Steering wheel shimmy when accelerating straight, gone with wheel being turned.
Mostly body / seat vibration in vehicle that kicks in around 40mph.
Tires balanced - Road Force and rotated.
Front Axle rebuild 2,000 miles ago.
No bearing play at 12 & 6 and no play at 3 & 9
No shimmy with front driveshaft removed (u-joints replaced and balanced)
Rear driveshaft out now for u-joints and balancing
Shimmy in steering wheel back with front driveshaft
Shop put front driveshaft back "in-phase", but no rear driveshaft in yet.
?????
With no rear driveshaft, would an in-phase front driveshaft still vibrate? Going to correct this shortly.
Shocks leaking and need replacement. Calling CDan soon. Would it really be bad shocks?
I realize that these ???? will be answered when I re-orient the front driveshaft and install the rear driveshaft and replace the shocks. I'm a few weeks out from that and wanted to ask the forum in order to prepare myself.
I don't hear a noise, so should I consider output bearings if these actions do not correct the shimmy and vibration. Remember: Shimmy gone with front driveshaft out and returns with rebuilt front driveshaft and rear out.
Thanks for engaging the wheels of knowledge with me.
Rob
Stock 92 FJ80 - no lift
Steering wheel shimmy when accelerating straight, gone with wheel being turned.
Mostly body / seat vibration in vehicle that kicks in around 40mph.
Tires balanced - Road Force and rotated.
Front Axle rebuild 2,000 miles ago.
No bearing play at 12 & 6 and no play at 3 & 9
No shimmy with front driveshaft removed (u-joints replaced and balanced)
Rear driveshaft out now for u-joints and balancing
Shimmy in steering wheel back with front driveshaft
Shop put front driveshaft back "in-phase", but no rear driveshaft in yet.
?????
With no rear driveshaft, would an in-phase front driveshaft still vibrate? Going to correct this shortly.
Shocks leaking and need replacement. Calling CDan soon. Would it really be bad shocks?
I realize that these ???? will be answered when I re-orient the front driveshaft and install the rear driveshaft and replace the shocks. I'm a few weeks out from that and wanted to ask the forum in order to prepare myself.
I don't hear a noise, so should I consider output bearings if these actions do not correct the shimmy and vibration. Remember: Shimmy gone with front driveshaft out and returns with rebuilt front driveshaft and rear out.
Thanks for engaging the wheels of knowledge with me.
Rob
Last edited:
It is possible for shocks to cause, or more correctly allow, vibration. Is this a new vehicle to you? If not, did it ever feel 'right' to you? If so, what was changed that caused the vibrations, or did they come around gradually? My usual advice is to correct the known problems and then assess the situation. Change the shocks, and have a gander at the steering dampener while you're there. If your driveshafts have new U-joints (and changing them wasn't coincidentally the cause of the vibration) and are balanced in the stock configuration (in or out of phase, I don't remember which it's supposed to be ATM) on a stock suspension I'd look elsewhere for the problem. Unfortunately pulling a driveshaft changes the way torque is delivered, and it can be very difficult to determine what's going on. You are fortunate to be working with a stock vehicle, if you make sure all the parts are in correct working order you should be able to fix the vibration.
-Spike
-Spike
Thanks Spike. I agree that with parts out, finding the culprit becomes more challenging. To answer your questions:
I acquired the vehicle with 92,000 miles on it about 2 1/2 years ago. I had not noticed the vibration, but had limited highway and speed exposure over the first year or so; however, it felt right. I had studded snow tires all the way around as I had been living in Wyoming. I thought the highway vibration was from them until I replaced them with BFG Long Trails. The vibration was still there, somewhat reduced and more annoying because I drive a lot of highway speeds now in Raleigh. Then I found loose wheel bearings and clicking in my birfs so I rebuilt the front axle (swapped birfs sts too) a short while ago. BTW, rear rebuilt last year due to leaking seal. So I actually noticed the shimmy come about after, though not immediately, the front axle rebuild. Thus the problem grows over time. As I looked for the culprit, I decided the lengthy write-up about u-joints as posible causes could be the answer. I dropped the front DS and the shimmy went away, and a good bit of vibration. The u-joints had uneven wear, so I replaced them and balanced the shaft. Now my rear ds is out for the same work and the front is back with the shimmy. When the rear ds is ready, I will swap again and have the front ds re-balanced out-of-phase as they assembled / installed it in-phase. I would feel better about the shocks as a possible culprit if I knew that the in-phase front ds could still produce vibration without the rear ds being attached, as my mind tells me in or out-of-phase shouldn't matter with only one driveshaft, but I am NOT the expert, thus my posting of the question.
I guess the old addage 'time will tell' gets changed to 'time and new parts will tell'
I'm fortunate that all of the work needed to be done and I have found bad or worn parts in all of my work. Otherwise the money spent would have been wasted. I was hoping to get to the solution by now though.
Thank you for your post and let me know if you have any other suggestions / input as I appreciate the forum's experience.
Rob
I acquired the vehicle with 92,000 miles on it about 2 1/2 years ago. I had not noticed the vibration, but had limited highway and speed exposure over the first year or so; however, it felt right. I had studded snow tires all the way around as I had been living in Wyoming. I thought the highway vibration was from them until I replaced them with BFG Long Trails. The vibration was still there, somewhat reduced and more annoying because I drive a lot of highway speeds now in Raleigh. Then I found loose wheel bearings and clicking in my birfs so I rebuilt the front axle (swapped birfs sts too) a short while ago. BTW, rear rebuilt last year due to leaking seal. So I actually noticed the shimmy come about after, though not immediately, the front axle rebuild. Thus the problem grows over time. As I looked for the culprit, I decided the lengthy write-up about u-joints as posible causes could be the answer. I dropped the front DS and the shimmy went away, and a good bit of vibration. The u-joints had uneven wear, so I replaced them and balanced the shaft. Now my rear ds is out for the same work and the front is back with the shimmy. When the rear ds is ready, I will swap again and have the front ds re-balanced out-of-phase as they assembled / installed it in-phase. I would feel better about the shocks as a possible culprit if I knew that the in-phase front ds could still produce vibration without the rear ds being attached, as my mind tells me in or out-of-phase shouldn't matter with only one driveshaft, but I am NOT the expert, thus my posting of the question.
I guess the old addage 'time will tell' gets changed to 'time and new parts will tell'
I'm fortunate that all of the work needed to be done and I have found bad or worn parts in all of my work. Otherwise the money spent would have been wasted. I was hoping to get to the solution by now though.
Thank you for your post and let me know if you have any other suggestions / input as I appreciate the forum's experience.
Rob
92 Front DS - in or out of phase
Once I thought I was wrong, but I may have been mistaken ?
My 92 FJ80 FSM does not show the front driveshaft off by 90 degrees, or out-of-phase. I thought it was to be and saw Semlin's post:
Can anyone tell me with confidence that this is indeed true for the 1992. I don't want to fix it if it isn't broken.
Thanks for greasing my wheels of knowledge!
Once I thought I was wrong, but I may have been mistaken ?
My 92 FJ80 FSM does not show the front driveshaft off by 90 degrees, or out-of-phase. I thought it was to be and saw Semlin's post:
semlin said:
Can anyone tell me with confidence that this is indeed true for the 1992. I don't want to fix it if it isn't broken.
Thanks for greasing my wheels of knowledge!
- Thread starter
- #258
I AM WETTING MY PANTS!
All of the bad vibration and shudders are GONE!
We left the lift height alone (5.5" front and 5" rear), removed the front D/C shaft and Slee Caster Plates.
Then, we threw in the front arms from my '93 with OME CC bushings and the '93's front shaft.
All that's left is some minor grrrr and a tad of buzz-type vibes about 75-80MPH. I'm so excited! I'd drive it Moab the way it is now!
So, the plan is to buy a new OEM front shaft and throw it in. Then remove and re-balance the rear shaft and re-tune the rear upper arms.
If all the grrr doesn't get out I MIGHT remove those 1.25" front spacers and be done. Either way, an alignment's last.
WOO HOO!
All of the bad vibration and shudders are GONE!
We left the lift height alone (5.5" front and 5" rear), removed the front D/C shaft and Slee Caster Plates.
Then, we threw in the front arms from my '93 with OME CC bushings and the '93's front shaft.
All that's left is some minor grrrr and a tad of buzz-type vibes about 75-80MPH. I'm so excited! I'd drive it Moab the way it is now!
So, the plan is to buy a new OEM front shaft and throw it in. Then remove and re-balance the rear shaft and re-tune the rear upper arms.
If all the grrr doesn't get out I MIGHT remove those 1.25" front spacers and be done. Either way, an alignment's last.
WOO HOO!
sleeoffroad
Supporting Vendor
And then let me know what your caster is at. Pretty sure it is going to be close to 0 or negative. I can not believe it handles ok with that setup.
FJBen
SILVER Star
I'd be interested to see what you are at caster wise...my guess is on the very low side...0 to .5 range.
I have 5.25" and I was at -2.8 before I put Slee's arms on. now I'm at 4.4
I have 5.25" and I was at -2.8 before I put Slee's arms on. now I'm at 4.4
