Pulsing/droning vibration at highway speeds

[jjstahl3]

going to list my 100 for sale at some point so I think I'm going to really try and figure this out - got under the truck and noticed my rear drive shaft is labled f and r my guess would be front and rear but they are reversed from what I would expect - the PO had the rear shaft retubed before I bought it - is my drive shaft in reversed? and would that matter?

 

[marcfj60]

Looks right to me. The slip yoke should be nearest to the rear axle, not the transfer case.

 

[UltraFJ40]

Looks right to me. The slip yoke should be nearest to the rear axle, not the transfer case.

Just to keep it from being confusing. IIRC, on later models the DS was reversed, no? Also note the tranny type. The position shouldn't matter but the phasing does.

 

[jjstahl3]

Pulled out my rear shaft and drove around with zero vibration at 60-70 the u-joints are very loose on the rear shaft and definitely needed grease but Im going to send out the rear shaft for new u-joints and rebalance etc - but definitely found the source of the vibration

 

[DMX84]

I had a similar issue with the vibrations that would come and go about 2 years ago. I checked everything including the u-joint's with the normal twisting back and forth (that usually gives a clunk when shifting into drive or reverse).
No slop noted and wasn't until I pushed myself from under the vehicle using the drive shaft that I felt it move!.
Upon further investigation it revealed a bad U-joint. I had zero slop with the twisting motion, but had tons of slop in one axis!
So what would happen is it would slip off center and cause the vibration and at times it would slip back to center and fix its self.

I was ready to R&R the shaft and have the local drive shaft shop in Taos fix it until I read the forums here of horror stories of vibrations after new u-joits.

turns out Toyota uses special thickneses of keepers to center the u-joint. If they just any old clip or mix them it will not be "centered" correctly and cause vibrations at certain RPM's / frequencies.

So check for slop in your u-joint by try sliding the shave inline with each pivot axis on the u-joint.
And see if your u-joints are factory or not. If you suspect they are not factory it could be the improper installation of the u-joints.

DMX

 

[Silver City Cruiser]

Just a thought... Have you looked at the revised TSB on Sept 1st 2005- EG-038-05? It addresses some vibration issues with the 100 series at idle in gear but intresting to me was the motor mount replacement note. "with the new mount there may be a vibration at 80 mph. If this occurs put the old mounts back in" . It also adds a additional mass damper to the frame on the drivers side along with other various exhaust dampers of different frequencies. A skilled NVH tech. at the dealer has the ability to use the scan tool and the accelerometer tool to get a NVH diagnosis on what is causing the vibration. It seems as some of the problems are driveshaft related. Driveshaft timing and phasing are critical as well as U-joint condition and centering. Another missed area comes from over greasing the slip yoke. Hydraulic pressure pushes the drive shaft apart and can cause vibrations. Remove the grease fitting from the slip yoke and jounce the truck to remove excess grease. A through examination of the shaft and flanges will solve most speed related load and unload vibrations. Ask for a NVH diagnosis if you are stumped. This will isolate drive shaft from tire and engine.

 

[Sandroad]

So I’m at a loss to know what to do next with my ’04 vibration. It’s a stock truck with 105,000 easy miles. Symptoms are the same as the OP, oscillating droning vibration at 55 and 70 that I feel in the seat. It’s getting worse and so far defies fixing. I’ve tried all the interim steps I found on MUD and have now reached the point I have: brand new road-force balanced tires (LTX MS/2), brand new front and rear OEM driveshafts, added the ps side frame weight (used from a MUD member), newly greased front wheel bearings and spindle bearings, a one year old cat-back OEM exhaust system (including a new muffler damper), and new OEM shocks. I’ve carefully inspected the truck for anything loose or broken or leaking grease (like CV joints). And still the vibration. I had hoped to use the truck for some long-distance traveling with a new camper-trailer in the coming months, but the vibration is bugging me and is frustrating (and expensive so far). I suppose I can learn to live with it, but the truck didn’t vibrate like this when I bought it 50,000 miles ago. Maybe I need a big sub-woofer to shake the truck all the time? Anyway, the only clue I know about I have not fully chased down is the transfer case output shafts had some noticeable play, at least front to back. It was hard to tell if there was any side to side, but I can’t find any record of a consistent problem with TC output bearings on a 100 series and there is only the typical vibration in the shift knob, so I doubt that’s the problem. I’ve had the driveshafts off-on so many times tracking down the vibration that if I take them off again, I’ll have to replace the worn out nuts and bolts. Any ideas are welcome, including telling me to live with it.

 

[jjstahl3]

Have you pulled one drive shaft at a time and driven around on one shaft only to see if it goes away with either the front or rear shaft out?

It ended up being my rear drive shaft and I figured it out when I drove around with only the front shaft in

Sent the rear drive shaft to a shop have new u joints slip yolk greased etc and vibration is gone

My tires were really worn and I thought it might be tires but it was not

Don't give up and live with it as it will drive you crazy

 

[Sandroad]

Yup, I did the one driveshaft at time thing. Beno suggested that before I bought either shaft new. (This was after replacing all 4 u-joints in the original shafts.) With the original shafts, with new u-joints, the vibration was slightly better with EITHER shaft out. So, I went with both new. The vibration is no better and at this point, I'm fairly certain it's not the driveshafts. Since my original driveshafts were apparently fine and now have new OEM u-joints, I'll post them in the classifieds. That's were i put the tires I took off (LTX AT/2).

 

[Dallas99]

Yup, I did the one driveshaft at time thing. Beno suggested that before I bought either shaft new. (This was after replacing all 4 u-joints in the original shafts.) With the original shafts, with new u-joints, the vibration was slightly better with EITHER shaft out. So, I went with both new. The vibration is no better and at this point, I'm fairly certain it's not the driveshafts. Since my original driveshafts were apparently fine and now have new OEM u-joints, I'll post them in the classifieds. That's were i put the tires I took off (LTX AT/2).

Sandroad-- I'm having the same droning issue with my '99, almost exactly at 70mph, only during acceleration. I'm just beginning my research, but also came across this post:

I had an issue where my LX would drone at high power settings. My foot would go to sleep the vibration was so bad. My mechanic recommended replacing the transmission mount and the vibration is gone. After 7 years the rubber deteriorates. When i pulled the old one and set it beside the new one, the look and feel the same but 10 years is a lot of wear for these mounts. Once i understood how critical the rubber parts were, I replaced the engine mounts and the rear upper/lower control arms and the panhard and so much smoother. Give it a try if your rig is over 7 years especially if you live in the southern US with lots of heat - the rubber just fails.

 

[Sandroad]

Hmm......I had not read that one. Thanks.

 

[PADDO]

It might be worth checking your roof rack cross bars (if fitted) are tight. When they work themselves loose you'll get a body drone/vibration around the 70 mph mark. Happened to me twice, once after adjusting the bars for fishing rods and just last week coming back from a hunting trip that involved a few miles of corrugations and washboard tracks. Bar securing nuts worked loose and as soon as I hit the highway on the way home got a gawdawfull drone. Sometimes its the little things.

 

[Dallas99]

It might be worth checking your roof rack cross bars (if fitted) are tight. When they work themselves loose you'll get a body drone/vibration around the 70 mph mark. Happened to me twice, once after adjusting the bars for fishing rods and just last week coming back from a hunting trip that involved a few miles of corrugations and washboard tracks. Bar securing nuts worked loose and as soon as I hit the highway on the way home got a gawdawfull drone. Sometimes its the little things.

Man, I would have never thought of the roof rails. I feel the vibration in the gas pedal as well, but will check these while I'm at it. Interesting note for those that are experiencing this phenomenon, the ambient temp dipped to 32 today and the vibration/droning was noticeably reduced.

 

[CA Cruisin]

Any updates, Sandroad since the holidays? Did you find the solution yet?

 

[mtullis]

I have a 2005 with similar problem. Driveline vibration around 70-73 MPH mine seems to get worse when I let off the gas.
I've replaced front and back U-joints, help a little but still there.

 

[cDan]

Just finished building '23 T bucket...same problem. Pulse / drone every couple of seconds when I hit 2200rpm....right under my butt. Took wheels off.....took drums off, didn't help. Run it in park/neutral to 2200rpm......no drone. Everything is new....motor mounts, trans mount. Took the driveshaft out and ran it in gear........drone is back tho not as bad. Going to take the 16in driveshaft to shop monday just to be sure it's not that. Everyone i've taken it to just shakes their heads.......this is a poser.

 

[marcfj60]

Any chance it could be related to U-joints out of phase. I saw a neat demo on Youtube that showed how a driveline with the input and output at different angles from the main driveshaft will have pulsing motion. And then if the Ujoints are not in phase, oriented the same, it will magnify the pulsation.

 

[cDan]

Any chance it could be related to U-joints out of phase. I saw a neat demo on Youtube that showed how a driveline with the input and output at different angles from the main driveshaft will have pulsing motion. And then if the Ujoints are not in phase, oriented the same, it will magnify the pulsation.

you're talking about a single drive shaft..right?

 

[marcfj60]

Yeah, a single driveshaft, which would have two u-joints in it. I saw this video recently and it got me wondering about my vibration, which is more pronounced when I have a bunch of stuff in the cargo area or towing a trailer.

 

[Sandroad]

Great video.