Why is it so loud?

[mister bean]

Perhaps this has been covered, but I had trouble finding anything in the archives.

I know this is a 60, and they're loud. But this one is really, really loud, and vibrates a lot, and it didn't used to do either nearly as much. It's pretty much normal until about 55, and then it quickly gets louder and vibrates more until I can't bear it at about 65. If I push the clutch in, it actually gets worse, particularly the vibration. So I suspect it's something in the driveline between the tires and the clutch.

I've had the tires rotated and balanced, and that didn't do anything. I have noticed when I'm sitting still with the transmission in neutral it is making more noise than it used to, and it seems to be a bit worse if I have the front hubs locked, but not by much. The u-joints were replaced on the rear drive shaft last year, which doesn't mean that they aren't at fault, but it makes me suspect them a bit less. Any ideas?

 

[dogboy2]

vibration....broken motor mounts???

noise...what kind of noise?

-db-

 

[gulp3000]

Mine was pretty bad when we bought it. I had the old tires balanced and rotated, new shocks, and checked the U-joints. Having no experience with '60s, I just accepted it as an old rig that vibrated. Put a set of new BFGs on it and cured all the vibrations.

I would say that odds are really good that a tire(s), wheel(s), U-joint, or drive shaft is the issue. I guess it could be a motor mount, but I have been driving for 6 months with a broken one and it doesn't cause any vibrations. It does cause a problem when wheeling, but a new one will be in soon.

 

[lovetoski]

A few thoughts:

check the front wheel bearings and knuckle bearings for play. Loosness here can give severe vibration.

Check tie-rod ends and drag link ends for excessive wear. Loosness here can also give severe vibration.

In general, vibration felt through the steering wheel is coming from the front axle, while vibration felt through your butt is coming from the rear axle.

How are your shocks? How is the steering damper? Minor problems can be aplified if these are worn.

 

[brett76]

i would check for play at the end of your driveshaft in your diff. may be play in the ring and pinion

 

[60wag]

I have noticed when I'm sitting still with the transmission in neutral it is making more noise than it used to, and it seems to be a bit worse if I have the front hubs locked, but not by much.ideas?

Noise in neutral.... Exhaust manifold leak? Have you checked the oil level in the tranny, transfer, and both differetials? My '82 would definitely make more rumble with the front hubs locked. When I got it, the oil level was low and the front pinion seal was bad so I figure it was run without oil for a while. It still worked just fine though.

 

[cabron]

Definitely could be a leak/crack exhaust manifold. Rule out little things like tires out of balance and jack up front and see if wheel bearings are shot.

 

[mister bean]

Ahaa!

Well, I started with checking transfer case oil, and it was low so I figured I'd go ahead and change it along with the differentials and transmission. In the middle of doing that I looked over at the drive shaft and noticed that the bolts looked a little loose. So I tightened all of those up and finished up with the oil change and it's about a million times better. It's hard to believe how smooth it is on the highway now.

On a side note, gear oil in your hair totally sucks. Especially after rolling around on the winter dirty garage floor and getting a bunch of sand and leaves in it. It took four shampooings including an initial one with goop to get all of it out.

 

[lovetoski]

On a side note, gear oil in your hair totally sucks.

At least you are working in a garage...I work on the street, sometimes with rain coursing down the gutters...

One thing I've learned though, wet or dry, is to wear a hat when working under your truck. Much easier "clean-up" that way.

Glad you figured out the problem. Note that you figured it out yourself, by keeping an eye out for potential problems...you are obviously on your way to becoming a certified cruiserhead! Congrats!

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Ahaa!

Well, I started with checking transfer case oil, and it was low so I figured I'd go ahead and change it along with the differentials and transmission. In the middle of doing that I looked over at the drive shaft and noticed that the bolts looked a little loose. So I tightened all of those up and finished up with the oil change and it's about a million times better. It's hard to believe how smooth it is on the highway now.

On a side note, gear oil in your hair totally sucks. Especially after rolling around on the winter dirty garage floor and getting a bunch of sand and leaves in it. It took four shampooings including an initial one with goop to get all of it out.

A good lesson in checking the simple stuff first. Good diagnosis. The low oil in the t-case is a problem. I'll bet you find your transmission overfull. Before you destroy a perfectly good t-case, either replace the seal between the tranny and t-case (hard) or get the hose from Man-a-fre that connects the transfer fill plug to the tranny fill plug to prevent oil starvation in the t-case(easy). This is a very common problem-check the archives for details.

 

[Benji]

A good lesson in checking the simple stuff first. Good diagnosis. The low oil in the t-case is a problem. I'll bet you find your transmission overfull. Before you destroy a perfectly good t-case, either replace the seal between the tranny and t-case (hard) or get the hose from Man-a-fre that connects the transfer fill plug to the tranny fill plug to prevent oil starvation in the t-case(easy). This is a very common problem-check the archives for details.

I would check this as well. As said, the simple solution is the Man-A-Fre oil return kit.

http://www.man-a-fre.com/parts_accessories/oilreturnkittransmissiontransfercase.htm

 

[mister bean]

Thanks for the additional advice. I was expecting the transmission to be overfull because I've read some of the threads about that in the archives. But it was the normal level.

The filler plug for the transfer case was stripped by somebody in the past, and can't be tightened much more than hand tight, so maybe some of the fluid has been seeping through there? The transfer case was a bit wet below the level of filler, but dry above.

I didn't think of it at the time, but I've got some teflon tape so maybe I should have wrapped some of that around the threads of the plug.