noise + vibration

[914x4ctd]

For about the last six months or so my truck started getting this strange vibration starting about 50mph and going away at 56mph. It happens in 4th or 5th only when towing or going uphill.

It also happens if you stand on it go get onto the freeway. I have made a few changes since I first felt this. At first I thought it was bad ujoints. Changed them. The getrag was getting noisy so I changed out to a new nv4500hd. Problem still exists. Getting worse. You can also hear it from the floor. I have checked all of the obvious. New trans mts also. Have checked the rear diff-seems fine. No metal inside. Any Ideas? Anybody else had this problem? Is it normal for t-case to have a little play on the rear output shaft? If you let off the pedal going up hill or down hill you feel nothing.

 

[SRadke]

Noise and vibration that are load and speed dependant? Sounds like drivetrain. You ruled out transmission and u-joints. I assume you checked the clutch while the trans was out and it was good, tight pilot bearing etc. Could be rear diff, or transfer case. Tell us more about this play in the t-case output shaft. Side to side, in and out? If your hubs were in it could be in the front end as well.



-Scott

 

[phillips5]

Make sure that you can turn the front drive shaft freely when the hubs are unlocked and handle is in2wd. Might not hurt to go for a drive with the front shaft removed. Then go for a drive with the rear shaft removed put in fwd or it will go no were.

 

[beagle3]

I have the Banks package and had a noise like you are discribing. On a hard pull like towing my boat uphill in 5 th gear I would have a vibration, if I let off on the pedal the noise/vibration would end.



What it turned out to be is the exhaust pipe was too close to the frame and when I was under a load the engine would torque slightly to the side and move the exhaust pipe into contact with the frame. "Causing the noise/ vibration.

I loosened the hanger and clamp and reposistioned the exhaust pipe and that fixed the problem.



I hope this helps. Mark

 

[dpuckett]

Might also get your driveshaft checked if the exhasut pipe checks out ok. I had a similar problem in a 92 W250 reg cab, and the shaft had something like . 075" runout. Made a bad vibration/ groaning noise under load, and it ate Ujoints to the tune of 1 on each end every 10K.



Daniel

 

[914x4ctd]

Beagle3,

Does your exhaust pipe have a clamp attached to a bracket off of one of the bolts to the bellhousing? I noticed that mine has a rubber bushing/grommet. Where was it contacting? T-case crossmember? The noise growls deep in the floor and cam be heard in 4th gear or 5th gear at 50-56mph. Much more noticeable uphill or on the pedal hard or towing.

dpuckett,

The ujoints that I just replaced looked original. They were spicer and really hard to press out. Looked ok inside. No lines on shafts.

Driveshaft appears to be original also. Has a sticker on it but I think it is stock. Slip yoke ok also. If the pipe is not the problem I will take it to the driveline shop and have it checked out.

Thank you to all that have replied so far. I am trying to end the bombing at the drivetrain end so that I can go bombing on the engine.

 

[914x4ctd]

sradke,

The t-case output yoke does move side to side and in and out also. Very little movement but yes it does move. Is this normal?

Could somebody else check to see if they have play on the t-case output yoke also? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[SRadke]

The front yoke of the driveline does just slip over the spline in the rear of the T-case. There will be a little slop. If it is for example enough to feel but not enough to measure with the average equipment it's proabably normal. The exhaust looks like something worth looking into.



-Scott

 

[914x4ctd]

Sradke,

the t-case is probably normal. I will check Exhaust. Today is Christmas so I will probably not be under the truck today. Also it is raining really hard today.

 

[paccool]

I noticed you said the U joints were changed. Do you have a 2 section drive shaft or a single section? The extended cabs have a 2 piece and there is a carrier bearing at the middle of the shafts that can go bad and cause vibrations.



Also, some of the guys have reported additional shims need to be installed under the bearing to correct the drive line angle. Do a search on drive line in the first gen section and see what pops up.



If you have a one piece shaft then disregard this info.

 

[914x4ctd]

Paccool,

Yes my truck is a reg ceb w/1piece drivesahaft.

thank you for the thought.

 

[914x4ctd]

So far no luck guys. I continue to drive it hoping that it will brake so that I know that was what the problem is. This vibrations are really tough and they want to make you pull your hair out. Last night after dinner I took my quad out to the snow and towed it on a 5x8 trailer that weighs about 300lbs. and with a 350lb quad on it. Even when towing a small amount like that it vibrates worse. Weird though goes away at 56mph but you can still tell that there is still a vibe there at 65mph but the frequency is so close that you cant hear it or feel it as well. Not nearly as smooth as it was 6 months ago.

 

[AlK]

A couple of years ago or so someone mentioned that some of the bolts on the engine-transmission crossmember had come loose. Just a thought.

---

Al

 

[SRadke]

Another thought

Sometimes a loose pinion bearing can cause vibrations in a driveline. Wouldn't hurt to give that a wiggle and see if it's tight. I've also experienced some issue with the nut that holds the yolk to the pinion on the rear end backing off. Generally that causes a good knocking noise and can let the grease sling out of the pinion seal.



-Scott

 

[914x4ctd]

A1K.

Crossmember bolts are tight. New mounts aslo. Thank you.

SRadke,

I put the shifter in neutral and felt the driveshaft at the pinion. Feels tight side to side and in and out. Has a very slight amount of play when you turn it back and forth. Feels normal. My other truck has about twice the play as this and is fine.

I did grab the driveshaft at the t-case does have play. Nut is tight seal is wet as if it had been leaking a little. Oil level is fine. Maybe as much as a 16th of an inch play. I dont have anything to compare to with a fixed yoke t-case. My other trucks have a slip yoke. How long do the bearings in the 205 t-case last? I have 205. 000 miles in it. I also checked the exhaust pipe. It has a lot of clearance, dont think that it is causing a prob.

 

[1stgen4evr]

noise/growl

I think you indicated that the noise you are hearing is new to your truck. Just a thought that you might be hearing the growl from the clutch. My truck will growl if I apply too much throttle with low rpms. Does the noise go away with additional rpms? But all this should be familiar to you from way back. They will all do this noise from the clutch. Like I said, just a thought.



James

 

[914x4ctd]

1stgen4evr,

Yeah I thought about that. I dont think that the clutch could be the prob because it also does it above 2000 rpm in 4th and about 1500-1900 in 5th. thank you for the reply.

 

[sawcut]

vibration/noise

I chased a vibration in my 92 w-250 std. cab for two years! I replaced everything that I could think of, even had my driveline u-joint's replaced twice and drive line rebalanced twice. I finally gave up on it and just drove it for about a year. Then I decided to lift my truck, I bought new rims, a 4" skyjacker lift kit, and some 315/75/16's. I put the rims on my stock tires just to see what my truck would look like, and see if it helped my vibration. It looked better, but did not help with my vibration. After a couple of weeks I put my lift on my truck. To my amazement the vibration was gone. The skyjacker lift kit has little shims that adjust your pinion angle. All this time and all I needed was two little shims. There is a t. s. b. about pinion angle on our trucks. My vibration was just like you described, except my was between 55-60 and then it would go away. Up hill or just getting on the throttle between 55-60 would make my whole truck vibrate. hope this helps. SAWCUT

 

[914x4ctd]

sawcut,

That makes sense. Did your '92 have the 3. 5" factory blocks or the 6" factory blocks? Mine has the 6" blocks.

 

[914x4ctd]

I fixed it guys.

To the best of my knowledge, our trucks either came with a 3. 5" block or a 6" block in the rear. I am not sure but it seems that the '92-'93 models have the larger block. My truck is the early '91 that originally had the smaller block. When I bought my truck a year ago it already had the 2. 5" skyjacker springs on the front and it had the smaller block along with an add a leaf in the rear. The truck was owned by a carpenter so as you can imagine he had it loaded down most of the time. No problems then. The day after I bought the truck I removed the extremely heavy lumber rack and the camper shell below it. The truck sat level but had a very hard ride in the rear. It beat me to death for about a month.

One day I pulled up next to another reg cab w-250 at the hardware store. His was a '93 and was all stock. In fact the cleanest one I have seen, only had 30k in the odometer-sweet. Anyways his sat just as high at the back of the truck. I noticed that his had the 6" blocks. He said that he was the original owner and that it came that way. So I went to my Dodge parts department and bought the blocks for the '93. I then removed the add a leaf and installed the newer blocks. Before I installed the new blocks I noticed that there was a left and a right. Although they are only available in right side only. The counterman said there is not one left side in any warehouse and they do not make them anymore. So I had two right sides. There is a slight angle built into the block but it was maybe only 1-1. 5 degrees. I checked my other dodge and the blocks were perfectly flat. So I milled the new ones flat. I Installed them in the summer and at that time I still had a large load in the bed so it then drove perfectly. Well I unloaded the truck and drove it on a long highway trip but the raods were flat and any of the hills that I hit I was above 60 mph. So I did not notice it until a while later when I towed my boat up to the lake and hit some good hills.

Well tonight when I got home from work I made some shims and installed them between the axle and the block. Vibration gone. The angle will have to be re-cut on the blocks.

Thank you guys for all of the thoughts and ideas to help me get rid of my headache vibration. Once agian Thank you to all that replied.