Vibration after dealer worked on truck

[John Berger]

I took my truck to the dealer to fix the leaking tailshaft and pinion seals. I also got them to replace the yoke. The truck is fine until I get to 58 mph and I can feel a "buzzy" type of vibration until I hit 62 mph. This was not there until they did the repair work. I suspect one of three things: faulty install, a bad u-joint or the fifth gear nut problem. I doubt the latter, however, because the problem showed up after the repair. The vibration is not really bad, but it was not there yesterday. I noticed it in fourth gear as well. Also when I let off the fuel and drop it into neutral at the same speed I feel the vibration in that same range. I notice the mirror vibrates as well. A very slight touch to the mirrow steadies it. Any suggestions? I'm going to take it to the dealer tomorrow and have them test drive it. Any information to add would be greatly appreciated. Everything else functions fine. I checked the fluid level in the transmission and rear. All things check out OK. Shifting is fine as well.

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1999 Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab 2wd; 5 spd; 4:10 LSD rear; Mag-Hytec differential cover; US Gear EGT and Boost gauges. Stewart Warner Fuel Pressure Guage with dual senders. Amsoil foam air filter and synthetics from nose to tail.
Cummins Power, don't leave home without it

 

[B.G. Smith]

Sounds like the drive shaft , either didn't get the rear U-joint centered or might be the center bearing if it is a two piece drive shaft. bg

 

[PUFF00]

Just thinking out loud here, but here are a few things I can think of:

- Somehow they threw your driveshaft out of balance. See if you can find any dents in the shaft, or if there are any places that look like there used to be a balance weight there.

- The pinion nut is not torqued properly. I don’t know the exact torque, but these suckers need to be torqued by Arnold Schwarzenegger—the Dana 44 nut in my Jeep is torqued to 150 ft. lbs.

- Bad u-joint bearings, or cap out of round—this would make getting the u-joint in the yoke very difficult, so I doubt it is this. Make sure all your u-joint cap retaining rings are there.

- U-joint straps not torque down

- A remote possibility: If they just let your driveshaft hang when they did the rear end, then perhaps the other yoke/u-joint was damaged by the weight of the hanging driveshaft.


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2001. 5 3500 QC 4X4 6-speed HO 3. 55 black
1998 Jeep TJ black http://www.nm4w.org/members/puffer.htm


[This message has been edited by PUFF (edited 04-25-2001). ]

 

[Dave Zuber]

If this shaft has a fixed yoke then it has a slip coupling in the center of it.

Check to see that they got the slip coupling 'clocked' correctly. The u-joints at each end of the shaft should line up. If the slip joint is off only one spline you'll notice very small vibrations, two to three splines gets very bad.

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Dave Zuber, 91 Dodge 250, Cummins, 3sp Auto, 4x4. Triumph Tiger, XR400, XR650L
Triumph Tiger, XR650L, XR400, Hodaka Dirt Squirt.

 

[Evan A. Beck]

Chances are, they put your driveshaft in wrong... It has to go in the EXACT same way it came out, so marking it at the u-joints is a must. If they didn't do that, then there could be a wobble, albiet very slight. Go back and INSIST they balance the shaft.

 

[John Berger]

Just got done with the test drive. The mechanic that put the new yoke in drove the vehicle. They ordered a new u-joint. It goes in on Monday. The drive shaft looks fine and the u-joints look lined up. The mechanic finished the job due to the guy being assigned to my truck getting swamped. He said he would have ordered a new u-joint with the yoke and replace both at the same time. By the way, they did not replace the pinion seal so that would eliminate some of the potential problems you guys addressed. I'll keep everyone updated. Thanks for the input. The dealership appears to have made a turn for the better in the service department. The guy who put the yoke in, recently became a Turbo Diesel owner, albeit the under-valved variety #ad
, but that makes me a bit more comfortable when taking the truck in there. I also slipped him a subscription form for the TDR.

[This message has been edited by John Berger (edited 04-26-2001). ]

 

[GTX]

My 99 4X4 auto has had the same vibration since new and the dealer could never find anything wrong. Drive shaft has never been out so I know they have looked real hard to find the problem. The speed of your vibration is the same as mine.

Please keep us informed as to the fix.

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99 2500 QC Auto 4X4
Amsoil Dealer

[This message has been edited by GTX (edited 04-26-2001). ]

 

[illflem]

John, sometimes if the tailshaft housing has been leaking for awhile dirt will get under the seal and grind a groove in the shaft where the seal rides. You can replace seals till the end of days and it will still leak until the shaft itself is replaced. Might want to point this out to them.

 

[John Berger]

I was installing my differential temp gauge yesterday and guess what. The brand new tailshaft housing seal is leaking again. Not even a week old and it's dripping. I'm betting they got the entire install wrong. I'll be seeing them tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted on the 'fix' #ad

 

[John Berger]

They ordered the bushing for the shaft. That, the new seal and a new u-joint go on the truck Wednesday. We'll see. By the way, the vibration is gone now. Right about the time the seal started leaking again.

[This message has been edited by John Berger (edited 04-30-2001). ]

 

[John Berger]

The dealer finally got the vibration taken care of. They had to replace the seal again and they also installed a new bushing in the tailshaft housing, plus the new u-joint. According to the work order, the old u-joint was too tight. Either way the vibration is now gone. I drove the truck that night and guess what? The pinion seal that they didn't find a leak in was leaking quite noticeably #ad
Why they didn't believe me the first time is anybody's guess. After they looked at it yesterday, the decided to order a new rear end yoke. And they will just add it to the other ticket, so I don't get nailed with another deductible fee. I believe they should have looked at the yokes when all of this started, but they are making it right and I'm very pleased with the way they are treating me and the truck. There is hope. I did my part as well, by filling out the report cards they give after a repair is performed. Plus treating them nice helps. It's nice to report something positive associated with dealer service.

 

[John Berger]

I took the truck in for repair of the leaking pinion seal. They replaced the pinion yoke and the seal. They said they lost some fluid when taking the seal out. I checked the level before I left the dealer lot. The level is good enough to get home (about 4 miles). I notice that there is still gear lube on the pumpkin. I assume #ad
that it is residual from the repair. I get home and top off, dry the pumpkin and go about the evening's business which included installing my Rancho's that were waiting for me when I got home. I got the rear shocks installed and some other things done over the course of the next 3 hours. The pumpkin was seeping gear lube at the seal and it had a nice little stream running down to my Mag-Hytec. And it had sat for all that time. I dried it off again and watched for about 5 minutes and I could see the stuff start to seep out at the bottom of the seal #ad
Never saw anything like this. By the way, the new yoke looks good #ad

Anyway, I took the truck for a ride and the end result is a leak worse than prior to the installation of the seal and yoke. Maybe it takes two installs per seal to get it right. On a good note, the truck seems smoother with the new yokes in, but the Ranchos may be a factor. So I guess it's a wash (gear lube wash that is) #ad
The truck is with the dealer as we speak. Hopefully they will get it right this time and I can start working on the next BOMB project - DD2's #ad


[This message has been edited by John Berger (edited 05-10-2001). ]