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Chasing down rear driveshaft vibes

Discussion in '2nd Gen. Tacomas (2005-2015)' started by mikalcarbine, Dec 2, 2023.

  1. Dec 2, 2023 at 1:55 PM
    #1
    mikalcarbine

    mikalcarbine [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I have Deaver U402 Stage 1 in the rear along with a camper shell and I'm chasing down some rear driveshaft vibrations. I just replaced my carrier bearing which was long gone (100k miles) and replaced all my u-joints. The new carrier bearing has made my vibes worse. Before I was running just the OME CB drop and had some take off vibes but nothing once moving. My u-joints had some visible wear once I had the caps off but were overall in good shape.

    Doing some reading it seems like the two best options are 1) align t-case and pinion and create a straight driveshaft (matching angles) between the two shafts or 2) align first shaft with t-case (within 1*) and then align the pinion with the first shaft.

    I tried scenario one and used a 2* shim to get my pinion to 0.6* lower than my t-case and used washers to align both first and second shaft at 5.2*. This gave me terrible vibes. If I remove the 2* shim I'll be around 2-2.5* up from my t-case so I just ordered a 1* shim to play around a bit. I figured being only 0.6 under my t-case shouldn't cause such bad vibrations as the pinion will flex up with the axle wrap. Should my shafts be perfectly straight with one another or should I be aiming for my rear to be 0.5-1* higher/lower than the first shaft?

    I then went for scenario two, I removed all CB spacers and flipped the CB to get my first shaft 1.25* lower than my t-case. My pinion is still at -0.6 but the vibrations seem to be much better than when I was dropping the carrier bearing in the first scenario. I think if I remove my 2* shim the pinion will be pretty close to parallel with the first shaft but my 2nd shaft is 7.2* so I can't imagine that the u-joint working angle of 7.2* would cause less vibrations than the 5.2* in the above scenario?

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. Dec 2, 2023 at 2:39 PM
    #2
    NateInAZ

    NateInAZ Well-Known Member

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    It sounds like you prefer the DIY approach. If I had the knowledge and time I would too.

    i used azdriveshaft.com in Mesa to replace the carrier bearing and balance the driveshaft.

    I did not notice any driveshaft vibrations at the time but the carrier bearing needed replacement and a spacer.
    I already had plenty of vibrations coming from the cupped tires I was trying to solve so I would not have noticed driveshaft vibration as well.

    I should be doing something with the rear suspension due to the camper shell and gear I carry. Plus hitch mount carrier for the Dual Sport bike.
    I have and 1.5" progressive add a leaf pack and torque air bags.
     
  3. Dec 2, 2023 at 2:57 PM
    #3
    gotoman1969

    gotoman1969 Well-Known Member

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    3" ToyTec coilovers, JBA UCA's, Bilstein 5100's
    Is it possible you got the driveshaft out of phase when putting it all back together?
     
  4. Dec 2, 2023 at 3:01 PM
    #4
    mikalcarbine

    mikalcarbine [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I'm having it balanced on Wednesday just to be safe. I took it for a longer test drive and the vibes are pretty bad with scenario 2 (CB flipped).
     
  5. Dec 2, 2023 at 3:07 PM
    #5
    gotoman1969

    gotoman1969 Well-Known Member

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    Does your driveshaft have the double cardan joint right after the carrier bearing?
     
  6. Dec 2, 2023 at 3:50 PM
    #6
    mikalcarbine

    mikalcarbine [OP] Well-Known Member

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    No just a single u-joint like the example below. I've been considering having a local shop mod a double cardan after my CB to clear this up once and for all.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Dec 2, 2023 at 3:56 PM
    #7
    gotoman1969

    gotoman1969 Well-Known Member

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    Looks good to me. Keep us posted post balance.
     
  8. Dec 2, 2023 at 7:59 PM
    #8
    SpeedwayTaco160

    SpeedwayTaco160 Well-Known Member

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    I got tired of my vibrations and ended up buy a new OEM driveshaft today. Smooth as glass, hasn't felt this smooth in over 10 yrs
     
  9. Dec 2, 2023 at 8:06 PM
    #9
    EL DUDE

    EL DUDE Well-Known Member

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    I’d get a single piece shaft made and be done
     
  10. Dec 2, 2023 at 8:35 PM
    #10
    lr172

    lr172 Well-Known Member

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    I did #2 first after lifting the rear 1”. Got vibes on take off from a stop. Then replaced u joints and cb then followed #1. T case down angle matches diff up angle within 1/2 degree. Dropped cb a bit to make the angle between the two driveshafts 1/2 degree. Needed 2 degree shim with stock leaves, with shim forcing the pinion down. NO vibes.

    Usually best to point the diff down 1-2 degrees to account for axle wrap. You want the angles to match while in normal driving state. Experts say the average street car with leaves sees somewhere between 1 and 2 degrees up on pinion angle from the at rest position during normal driving. No idea what it actually is on a taco.

    option 1is always best, as the additional length achieved reduce the angle that the ujoints are subjected to. With an angle too acute, they wear very fast and can bind slightly.
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2023
  11. Dec 8, 2023 at 2:58 PM
    #11
    mikalcarbine

    mikalcarbine [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Just got my shaft back from the shop. They said the balance was pretty off which I was suspicious of since I bought this truck. He said he's seen a ton of OEM Tacoma shafts like this, some even impossible to balance, very interesting. They had to add additional weight to the center slip yoke area to get mine right.

    It feels much better but nothing like what it felt without the rear driveshaft in these last few days. I replaced my 2* shim with a 1* and now my pinion is approximately 0.2* lower than my t-case. I don't think it's getting much better than this unless I could find a 1.5* shim to lower it a bit more (~0.7*). I added a few washers to my OME CB spacer and my front shaft is about 0.3* higher than my rear. Still getting a little vibration, especially when coasting off throttle and decelerating. I need to drive it around a bit more, I might remove 1 more washer to increase the angle between the shafts a bit.

    What I did notice is that my rear shaft is not straight on the horizontal plane (viewed directly from top or bottom) and I don't have enough adjustment in the CB bolt holes to get it straight. I have it pushed all the way to the drivers side and I still have 1/4" or so that I need to go to get the shaft in a straight line horizontally. These compound angles could be causing some of my issues. This must mean my rear axle is off center a bit? I'll have to take some measurements to see if I can confirm.
     
  12. Dec 8, 2023 at 4:26 PM
    #12
    jboudreaux1965

    jboudreaux1965 Ragin Cajun Fan

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    Might have to bite the bullet and switch to a one piece driveshaft. I wasted so much time and money chasing driveshaft vibration and axle wrap. I had a 4" custom aluminum one piece driveshaft made, some of the best money I ever spent on my truck. Solved all of my issues.
     
  13. Dec 8, 2023 at 4:44 PM
    #13
    GilbertOz

    GilbertOz Driver

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    Who makes reputable, good-quality 1-piece driveshafts for Tacomas?

    --> Tom Woods quit selling Taco one-piece driveshafts because so many Tacoma owners were abusing the Tom Woods return policy. (Lots of lifted Taco people with vibration issues that weren't related to the driveshaft but got blamed on Tom Woods products anyway.)

    From the Tom Woods website:
    "Due to this product's inability to fix Tacoma drive shaft vibrations 100% of the time, and because of the extra costs incurred by us and our customers when handling returns when they don't work as expected, this drive shaft has been discontinued. Sorry, I know some of you were looking forward to getting one of these shafts. No, we cannot make exceptions and just make you one anyway, even if you really really want us to."

    ... this is why we can't have nice things...
     
    lynyrd3 likes this.
  14. Dec 8, 2023 at 4:59 PM
    #14
    mikalcarbine

    mikalcarbine [OP] Well-Known Member

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    What's your max highway speed? I'm too concerned about critical speed without running a 4" shaft. I'd like to maintain my ability to cruise at 85 on the highway without worrying about my shaft blowing up on me.
     
  15. Dec 8, 2023 at 5:02 PM
    #15
    fatfurious2

    fatfurious2 IG: great_white_taco

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    I was chasing a vibration for 2 years on my Tom Woods. Turns out even when you replace ujoints, it should get rebalanced, but most people dont. I also replaced the part of the double cardan that bolts to the tcase. Didn't think it would need to get balanced because there wasnt a weight attached there

    A balance cost me $35 and its been a dream driving after that. I was kicking myself for not figuring that out before 2 years hah.
     
  16. Dec 8, 2023 at 5:16 PM
    #16
    TacoTuesday1

    TacoTuesday1 Well-Known Member

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    I've heard the rear propshaft should be angled, not perfectly straight.
    Knew a guy who said he had vibes, then rebuilt his propshaft opposite which made it easier to access zerks.
    Apparently if you take it apart, the shafts can be switched. Further increasing clearance also.
    Wish I tried that. Was unaware at the time when I took mine to be rebuilt and balanced at a shop.

    No vibes, used to run OME lift spacers. Then, to try and replicate those spacers height that OME recommends with suspension lift,
    I sourced my own.
    Reason being I went with IEDLS poly carrier bearing. And the flat metal plate I believe is needed to flip it or something, for 4x4 DCSB
    (it goes in different orientations based on truck variant)
    Since then, a few other CB's have come out

    I've heard you can also use a phone app to figure out angles

    At that point, the IEDLS CB was sitting in a much different height from where my stock worn CB was with OME spacers,
    so I measured and tried my best to get as close as possible to mimic that
    by using spacers. From a good hardware store.
    Solid metal tube, DOM for welding supply I guess. They had various sizes to choose from, so after measuring I settled on what length to pick. And longer bolts.

    I don't know if boltup orientation matters, such as marking the flange mating area with paint marker when taking the propshaft off and back on.
    I've probably not been 100% on top of that. It might not matter. I'd hope it's the shaft must be in balance; not flanges.

    I regret not painting or PC'ing those parts before the install. Need to take them back off and do it. They came bare metal. Such as the flat bar, curved bearing holder, DOM sleeves, all bare metal that rusted.

    A dedicated driveshaft is cheap, especially if it's just balancing.

    Only "issue" that may have happened was I thought it convenient to take the propshaft out, drop it off to be serviced, and limp around a couple days in FWD. (4x4 on, propshaft disconnected)
    I've been told this is more stress on the front diff taking all the load, that does not hold a lot of fluid. And not to beat on it.

    Well, right after that, started making noise. Cold, initial takeoff, when the clutch bites, there's a groan for like a second. Not sure what it is, if I messed something up from this (overstressed front diff),
    or my CM HydroTOB being not perfect

    come to think of it, the IEDLS CB in flipped orientation won't even fit/bolt up (hits the truck) unless spaced out; seems everyone spaces it differently/uses different parts to space it

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I probably wiggle felt by hand side to side movement, forward to back movement, before tightening it down, to try and find it a happy spot settled in the middle
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2023

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