I have recently noticed a vibration in my truck. It happens at around
70 mph. I have the stock tires and wheels on and they are in balance. I
first noticed it a little off and on while on a trip from Atlanta to
Louisville.

It has now began to happen everytime above 70 mph. below 70 it is
smooth. Feels like it could either be coming from the rearend , drive
shaft, or u-joint.

Had anyone else experienced this?

I have a one piece drive shaft so the two piece deal is not the culprit.



I plan on checking the u-joints when the rain stops and also refilling the xfer case with mobile 1 synth this weekend.

I have added mobile1 synth in the front and rear diffs and changed the tranny to mobile1 synth earlier this year.

I have 38K on the truck so far.



Thanks

Mike

Do any kind of towing with truck? "wild" driving? Seems like low milage to have a joint wear out.



Certainly interested to see what you find out.

Max,

I have done some light towing with her. I towed close to 7k with her
from Atlanta to Park Falls WI when she was only three weeks old.

Made the trips one other time.



The rest of my towing has been fairly light loads anywhere from 300-800 miles one way.

She is a dailey driver for me. I have ran a couple of boxes but nothing too wild. one or two burnouts.

Your tires can be in ballance but have a cord seperation problem. You may want to give your tires a closer look or rotate them front to back and see if the vibraton moves. Just an idea. Edited by: Blue Max

i had a brand new set of goodyear mtr wranglers and 3 of them were out of round causing a similar vibration. one speed its smooth and the next its rough. i had to finally convince the tire dealer to test them on a different machine. they finally admitted the tires were causing the problem and replaced the tires with bf goodrich mud tires at their expense and this was with 12,000 miles on the goodyears. No more vibration.

I had a bad U-joint giving me that exact symptom. Went with greasable Spicer # 5-160X


$14.00 vs $90.00 for O.E.M.Edited by: Dr Crane

How hard is it to change a u-joint? Can a pair of needle nose pliers be used to remove the retaining clip?



Also, I have heard from a guy who says that the greasable u joints seem
to fail in about the same milage. But he has major HP and torque
added. Does quarter mile stuff and truck pulls.

The greasable joints (non smoking kind) should last longer, but do they really?

Had the rubber around the carrier bearing fail on mine. Thought a u-joint was bad but they were good.

Have trouble with the tires too, can't get them balanced right.

I have had the same problem with my 3500 since new, took truck in and dealer took driveshaft out said U-joints were ok, well vib at 80mph still there.......14000 miles and so far narrowed down to a bad tire(s) problemhttp://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley7.gif hate to buy new tires now so will wait and just drive below 80.

Well I picked up a NAPA u-joint for 12 bucks today. I will replace in a day or so and let you know how it goes.


It might be the tires but I cannot find any problems with them. No bubbles or seperation can bee seen.


I will also change the x-fer case with synth ATF fluid when I change the u-joint.





Mike

I have a 02 Dmax short box crew (under warrantee) with a high speed vibration from 76mph to 83-4mph. The new factory tires(take offs from a new one) have been rebalanced(the rear ones) & the driveshaft & ujoints have also been replaced with no change. The sound appears to be coming from the rear.(we think) At about 80 it's at it's worst, you can feel it in the peddles, floorboard & seats, but not really in the steering wheel. It sound like the worlds largest womens vibrator at that point(it will give your a headache if you continue at that speed) I have Westin tube steps on it that make it all the more worse( like tuning forks) I loosened them up & helped, but it still vibrated just not as loud. These steps just bring out the the problem even more. Could this really be in front end?...maybe the airdam? This is a at speed issue because running in a lower gear(going slower) but in the same RPM range...it does not vibrate. ANY IDEAS???

I vote for the tires being the problem. I had a set of BFG's that balanced well everytime, showed no visible deformations and no strange wear. however, I had the worst front end noise and vibration when that tire was up front, it was less noticable when it was rotated to the back but still present.


This past weekend I got 4 new BFG's, same size, truck drives like new now. No vibration, less noise, talked to the tire guy and he said that had several tires do the same thing. Internal defects that don't show on the surface but effect ride and drive.


I've also lost a rear U joint, symptoms are similar, the GM U's can't be greased for "strength reasons", so they only last so long.





I re-read your post and got thinking, kinda sounds like a differential, my father just had his 2500LD in for similar symptons. It made a noise that I suppose you could call a buzz, more like a growl...at speed. Edited by: 403turbo

Stand alongside the truck at the back, grasp the top of the box firmly, and try to rock the rear of the truck back and forth - hard! If you hear a 'clunking' noise, your rear wheel bearings could be loose. Doesn't cost enything to check / adjust.


Mine had an oscilating vibration at around 80, kinda ignored it. After replacing rear axle seals and adjusting the rear wheel bearings, the bad vibes appear to be gone. Just a thought...

Sounds like tires to me also.


I have replaced my U-Joint at 49,000 miles this summer. It takes more than pliers.


My truck would mak a helluva clunk when put into or taken out of gear.


I thought it was premature for mine to go out at 49K as all of the other trucks I own or have owned I have only had 1 need replaced before and it was at 150 to 160,000.


My truck is total stock and I tow about 15-20% of the time.

FWIW... I also replaced a U-joint at about 70k miles.


Wish I had Dr. Crane's Spicer #.... nobody I checked with could x-ref it... I ended up shelling out the $90 for OEM. With re: to changing it... if you've got a decent press/vice, it shouldn't take but an hour to drop the shaft, change it, and button it all back up. The only watch-out is to make sure that you take care in alignment when pressing the caps back into the yoke ears...... not a big deal, but the aluminum tends to gall a bit easier than steel if you let the cap get cocked at all.


I was *amazed* at how little that big HD-looking shaft weighs!

Guys

I would not use greasable u-joints because they are hollow and lose about 30% strength under big loads. Be carefull.
mike

Hmmmm.......http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/smiley5.gif