Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Bent drive shaft, thoughts?

[David_VT]

Hello,

Somehow my driveshaft has become bent... Oo.



I watch the shifter vibrate as we drive down the road.



When the truck was on a lift we spun the rear end and sure enough the drive shaft has a nice wave going.



I have looked all over it and don't see any signs of impact.



Could this be from torque on my mildly modified truck? I only have stage I dd's ,a hot PE box, and the JDsaxs clutch.



Should I even try to use the powertrain warranty on this?



Looking for thoughts from my fellow ram owners,



David

Oo.

 

[Sled Puller]

There is no way that a bad u-joint is giving the impression the shaft is bent, is there?

 

[DEZLPWR]

huh?

My shifter vibrates, particularly in 3rd and 5th gear, but my shaft is not bent. (that doesn't sound good!)

I think it's the NV4500... . Do you have a lift kit? I do.

 

[illflem]

David wasn't that you who got stuck real bad in the mud last year...

 

[JTroiano]

Drive shafts may have a little wobble in them normaly. The question is did the factory balance it with the wobble, wich is OK or did you bend it. The only way to find out for shure is to have it checked at a drive shaft shop. A cheap trick is to take a hose clamp and put it on the drive shaft and start with the screw part of the hose clamp at the low side of the bend and then drive it and see if your vibration is better. If it is worse then rotate the hose clamp 1/4 turn and try again until you make a difference and if you can lesson the vibration then try two in that position. if it is worse then you have to much weight. Then rotate them opposite each other until it is as good as you can get it. This will cover up other out of balance drive line issues. I have donne this a couple of times because I am to cheap. One was a Suburban with the hub broken off of the center of the torque converter. It was perfect with one hose clamp. It would drive me crazy at 60 mph with out it. Hope this helps. Excuse the spelling, to many beers.

Jon T

 

[David_VT]

Wow,

Some of you have too good of a memory...



Yep, been stuck in the mud several times. Always about the same place. . nice big field that is too wet to cross with the beast...

(but no obstructions to hang up on)







Thanks for the clamp description. I recalled something about it but could not remember the way to do it. ONCE AGAIN THE TDR MEMBERSHIP PAID OFF AGAIN!



I had the ujoints looked at the other day when we saw the shaft being out of round. They looked ok and did not seem to be loose.



Another maybe related symptom is that when I do get on the throttle on a hill, I hear this god awful harmonic vibration from under the truck that a big rig driver told me is just the sound of torque in the driveline... go figure?? I don't beat on the throttle too much any more as I need the rig to last until I can afford a new one. . probably GEN 5 ram. .



I am looking for a shop to check the shaft but will try the clamp idea in the mean time...



Thanks all!

 

[JTroiano]

You don't have mud stuck on a rotating mass? Been there Maybe pull the cover off the diff. and take a look.

Jon T

 

[HVAC]

Drive Shaft On "E" Ticket Ride

David, spend the money to have that drive shaft cut down, added to and rebalanced. Otherwise your going to have a harmonic/vibration at 140 - 145 mph

 

[David_VT]

HVAC,

Yeah but as long as I just pass through that number quickly the vibration drops back off... ...





Oo.

 

[LarryB]

Dave

The guys at the driveline shop told me that excessive torque can twist/bend a driveline like you describe. With your JoeD clutch, Commins torque, and being stuck a few times... ... . Mmmmm... ... could it be?

 

[Jetson]

Yep, excessive torque, especially with windup of the rear end, can bend the drive shaft(break it too).

 

[illflem]

David my point on stuck in the mud was as Larry says, twisted from torque rather than an obstruction. Didn't think of it being off balance with mud in it though.

 

[JTroiano]

I was trying to say maybe there is mud stuck to one of the wheels were you can't see it? Or maybe on the fan blade or some other rotating mass. The other thing is you could have broken a spider gear or another part of your diff. and it doesn't take but a couple of minutes to pop the cover off and look.

Hope this is clearer.

Jon T

 

[David_VT]

OK, I was a bit dense on the mud bit. .



Yes, I've checked everywhere but inside the dif. I will try to check that this week, thanks for the tip!



My tire shop has pulled, balanced and replaced several tires in our quest to find the problem. It was there that we saw the driveshaft going up and down while spinning on the lift...

 

[Dlginla]

My bet is torque, I drive fire-engines (manual trans), I've seen quite a few snapped right off by rookies leaning to drive them... . you probably did torque it at some point to get out of a tough situation.