Vibration-Then Roaring Vibration

[Rob]

i did have the slip splines apart, but was aware that they needed to stay timed, so they were marked and replaced in their original setting. there is slight bit of movement in the splines, not so much that im worried about it, it has to be able to fit together and this minimal amount of movement doesnt concern me. although i may go to a shop for a second opinion. it is still real cold here and foggy/snowing/raining so i may not get into the work today. yeah i know all about safety glasses, we are required to wear them all day at work so they arent a bother, plus ive had some close calls with debris in the eyes!! thanks for your concern and thanks for your help. its greatly appreciated!

[bill chasser]

well did you get it fixed?

[Rob]

LOL! No not yet, to be honest, i havent had a spare minute lately to do anything between work and home, plus i started some physical therapy for an injury i have to my lower back. hopefully i can get it this weekend!!!!

[mrnecsteve]

Get them WITH zerks,especially if you go offroad or into water. The zerks are protected with a ball type device. They dont leak.

[Rob]

yeah i am real familiar with zerks. the aircraft i work on have them all over the freakin place. airplanes get real messy!!! hopefully i have the energy and motivation to try and fix this, this weekend.

[mrnecsteve]

Yepper...40 years ago,cars had them all over the place too. Then they went with caps and you could retrofit with zerks....Then they eliminated the threaded hole altogether...which sucks.Lifetime grease ???? hah! Refresh the grease once a year and you can see the discolored old crap and sometimes water come out of them. On rear whell drive vehicles you'er now lucky if the u joints last 70,000 miles...but the manufacturers did save maybe 10 dollars by removing them from the ball joints,tie rod ends,pitman arms,and ujoints.i once bought a grease needle that could be used to refill the ballon type sacks on front ends of cars.It helped somewhat by keeping the existing grease from drying out,but was was not quite the same as a purge.Take apart a "lifetime" failed ujoint and chances are you will see that the grease has turned to wax.
To the engineers that decided to eliminate zerks on cars and trucks.....wish I had their address so I could chuck the defective ones into their front yard .Imagine if all truckowners could do that ?? That would be hilarious and reintroduce accountability to cutting costs when designing vehicles! (for japanese trucks we could drop them from a propellar plane...like the good old days)
Wow...this subject has got me started.....can you imagine dropping 10,000 defective and flimsy Tundra tailgates from a plane on the Totota factory????

[Rob]

LOL, yeah that would be too funny wouldnt it!!!! i hate that the manufacturers cut corners then jack up the cost. things dont last like they used to.......

[Huffin03PSD]

Dont beat yourself up over this. I had the vibration.. the vibration turned into a sqeak and vibration combination. I was able to turn the squeak "on and off" by modulating the throttle at highway speed. Turned out to be the center universal joint near the center carrier bearing on the driveshaft. If there is slack in the u-joint, you'll feel a vibration at every rotation of the driveshaft. In my case, it was worse going up hill.
80 bucks for the part and an hour labor. Have to find a shop with a press or an air chisle to get the old one out.

Hope this helps!

Dave

[ipz2222]

Classic ring and pinion noise and sympton. Rear end people are hard to find. Most 4x4 shops do rear ends.

[Rob]

so i know its been a long time since i was supposed to change my u joints. well tonight i finally had time to do one so i chose to do the one that is just aft of the carrier bearing. man what a bear to do.... took me an hour or so to get it done. anyway, it seems to have fixed my vibration/drone. ill drive it at freeway speeds this weekend to see if i found my culprit.... thanks to all the gave advice!! i appreciate it!