scrappy isb67
Gold Member
just because they "feel" tight doesn't mean they are not the problem. i had one that was tight when installed, when I took out the DS is when I found that "tight" joint was bad because it wouldn't move by hand.
Ford Ranger Vibration
- Thread starter Red Horse
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Bird
Rest in Peace
One of my brothers had a customer with a pickup with a vibration; said he'd been to a dealer and they couldn't find the problem. When my brother told the guy he thought the problem was u-joints, the customer didn't believe it because they felt tight, and were tight. My brother told him what it would cost to replace the u-joints, and told him if he agreed to that, they'd do the job, and then if the vibration wasn't cured, the customer would have new u-joints and owe nothing. Needless to say, that fixed the problem.
OP
Red Horse
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Scrappy/Bird-appreciate the feedback-will keep you posted.
creekbend
Super Star Member
It seems that many possibilities have been suggested. What about a cracked or broken motor mount.?Just a thought. Best wishes.
clemsonfor
Super Member
Can you change how the crosses are aligned?? They are in a set yoke on each end of the shaft? You cant turn a joint in an axle, the only thing you can change is how it is put into the trans??? Maybe i am forgetting something, but i have taken out many drive shafts including a front or 2 and have also replaced joints myself, although these days i pay the shop to just press new ones into the shaft for me, i do still remove and install the drive shaft myself.
clemsonfor
Super Member
If were just throwing stuff out there, that it could be. I think the guy who said to rev the motor to the RPM you would be at 65mph is saying what i am but just not actually saying it. by sitting in neutral reving to say 3200rpm or whatever you take the whole drive line out of the equation, if you shake then you either have a Miss (or skip in the engine, ie missfire) or you have an unbalenced engine from a pulley or something else that may have a bad bearing in it. I doubt this is the problem myself but there is a remote chance it is. My first thought along with 75% of folks here is U joints.
I have had bad joints to that felt tight, they will "squish" sometimes, you can hear this if you have your window down and idle around. they will still feel tight usually. The last ones i had that were bad were ones that barely squished and then at speed they would vibrate pretty bad. So bad that on a 150 mile round trip i noticed it on the way and on the way back it was shaking so hard that i worried i was going to throw the shaft. I did have about 1000lbs of lumber in the truck, maybe less, i kept speed slower. I had 4wd so i was not worried, just stop pick up shaft and throw in back and limp back home in 4wd. Oh and these felt tight to someone if they did not know what they were feeling for, maybe a tad sloppy but not realy as bad as they felt.
That clunk could also be in teh rear end when you shift, like mis aligned space in your gears.
I have had bad joints to that felt tight, they will "squish" sometimes, you can hear this if you have your window down and idle around. they will still feel tight usually. The last ones i had that were bad were ones that barely squished and then at speed they would vibrate pretty bad. So bad that on a 150 mile round trip i noticed it on the way and on the way back it was shaking so hard that i worried i was going to throw the shaft. I did have about 1000lbs of lumber in the truck, maybe less, i kept speed slower. I had 4wd so i was not worried, just stop pick up shaft and throw in back and limp back home in 4wd. Oh and these felt tight to someone if they did not know what they were feeling for, maybe a tad sloppy but not realy as bad as they felt.
That clunk could also be in teh rear end when you shift, like mis aligned space in your gears.
AGRIMAN
Platinum Member
I'm not sure how you checked the joints but if you didn't have the truck in neutral then they probably did appear to be fine. If left in park or gear there may not be enough play in the bad joint for it to show.
Park it on level ground (shop or yard) and leave it in neutral. Go underneath an rotate the drive shaft
back and forth at each joint and look for any movement between the joint and cap. If you are worried about crawling under it, jack up the rear (both wheels). This will also help in finding a bad joint as you can work the tires back and forth.
OP
Red Horse
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Guys-again thx for all the responses. if I don't spend a lot of time plowing snow tomorrow its going on a frame lift and will run it up to the 65 MPH to see what's what.
crazyal
Super Member
I would have someone watch the drive shaft from thee side as you put it in gear to see what's moving (if anything). Just make sure you keep the parking brake on. A bad u-joint can be seen as the yoke and drive shaft will not move together. My ex had a 2004 Trailblazer with about that same mileage that had something similar happen. It would vibrate at high speeds and clunk when she put it in drive. When she would put it in park it would roll if on an incline more than expected. I finally found that the rear end was shot. The spider gears in the ring gear carrier had fused themselves to the shafts. The oil looked great, not really sure what happened. I only found it when I watched the yoke on the pinion turn over a half turn without the suv moving. When the gears fused themselves to the shaft it was like having both rear tires locked together. The cast iron ring gear carrier split into two but the bearings on each end of it were keeping it from falling apart. The two halves of the carrier had moved far enough apart where it was out of balance. Putting it up on a lift wouldn't show a problem because there was no load on the tires.
sam5570
Veteran Member
man thats bad ideal if you got the truck up in the air and that bad ujoint decides to break could be be a very bad day for one or more people, plus if its on a lift the rear axle is extended all the way down which is going to bind the shaft to some degree. just put it on the lift take the bolts out of the shaft at the rear end and then pull it out and make sure the caps on the ujoints is not froze wiggle it in every direction and i bet you find your problem.