Drivetrain Vibration between 30 - 45 mph

I have a mysterious vibration problem...

I have been paying close attention to when it occurs in engine operation and also what changes I have made to the vehicle to see/not see changes in the occurance and behaviour of the vibration.

Symptoms:
- Pulsating vibration almost 1 per second. I timed it at about 5 pulses every 7 seconds.
- Does depend on rolling speed. As I slow down, the frequency slows down.
- Does not depend on engine speed (All engine speeds within gear speed)
- 4 th gear only
- 30 - 45 mph (which is 4 th gear on level pavement)
- Vibration is coming from under floorboard and is most intense under passenger side

The following conditions do not change the behaviour and occurance of the vibration:
- Ambient temperature (cold or hot)
- Tire Pressure
- Tire Rotation
- Driveline grease service (only oil zerks)

The follwing things DO change the behaviour and occurance of the vibration:
- If I am in 4 WD, the problem does not occurr

Some things I want to check now that I am thinking about this:
- Turn OD off and see if the speed at which the vibration occurrs increases (this will rule out if the vibration is occurring only in 4th gear).

This problem is driving me bonkers!

Anyone have any ideas?

 

i have this same problem in mine. i figured something to do with my rotors warped and the pads are just rubbing, i have a bad cv axle and the boot is gone so i figured its just the metal grinding. or its cause of my spacer lift that causes the known driveshaft vibe.

 

I have the same vibe. Have you noticed the vibe after 20 minutes of driving? Mine goes away after around that amount of time.

 

no mine is constant until 4 wheel drive is locked in.

 

is your truck lifted?

your front diff drive line is the issue. Get a diff drop, should solve the issue.

 

i have one just never installed because my cv's were almost flat...but i will install in the next few days. thanks.

 

Well Diff drops really don't "drop" the diff. They rotate it so the drive line and the u joint are more strait.

 

OP - Any update on your end? Lifted? Diff drop?

Blackdawg - You made me realize I didn't notice the vibes until after I removed my diff drop but maybe it was just a coincidence... I reinstalled the diff drop today and still the same problem.

Vibes from 30 to 40 3rd and 4th gear. Similar rates as the OP and no vibes in 4wd.

 

Hmm well usually vibes in the 30-40 range tend to be front drive line issues. 50-60 is usually rear.

That said though I had vibes at around 40-45 when my carrier bearing went out.

Do either if you have a bearing drop?? Is there a lot of play in the bearing??

 

^^I bet what he said above. its the carrier bearing just my 2cents

 

My Truck is lifted. 3" OME. But the problem existed before the lift as well. Adding the lift did not change the behavior or occurrence of the vibration.

 

I have another problem that I discovered the other day and I think it might be related to the vibration issue...

My 4WD gets stuck when I try to disengage it. This is what typically happens:

Engage:
I put vehicle in neutral > Press the 4WD button on shifter > Put vehicle in drive

DisEngage:
I put vehicle in neutral > Press the 4WD button on shifter > Light does not go off, 4WD is stuck! > Try a couple more times > Still stuck > Turn off vehicle > Turn on vehicle > Light goes out > Put in drive and drive forward > Clank!! Pops out of 4WD.

Theory:

Could my auto locking hubs be getting partially stuck so that when the the vehicle is in 2WD the front diff is being driven because the hubs are still locked?

I don't know enough about how the locking hubs works... any thought?

 

No bearing drop. No tears in the rubber part but I can move the driveshaft up and down more than a 1/4". Bad? Pardon the questions, I'm not too familiar on this subject.

Also, when in gear, should the driveshaft move at all? I can turn it maybe a 1/16" or 1/8". Basically, it's not 100% rigid.

Edit: Oh boy, just noticed a spray of grease along the underside above the center DL joints. I'm not sure if it's from grease I didn't completely clean out or from a blowout.

 

Sub

 

Crap man..not your AAD hubs but the actual 4wd actuator sounds like its going bad. It's not super common but does happen. They also..sadly..not cheap. I'd look into that as at problem. I don't think that will effect vibes unless its not coming out of 4wd when they happen

I wouldn't worry about the grease. Plus that center double joint cant come apart. It's one solid piece that would need replaced. Lucky for you usually when a u joint goes out for us it's the one right before he diff. If you can see the shaft moving back an forth in the joint it's shot.

I believe a bit of play is normal in the drive shaft. However..the big play on the bearing seems odd. I'm going to go check my rig in a minute to confirm that ill report back.

 

Blackhawk, any update on the play? Thinking about handling this beginning of the year.

 

I had a pretty noticeable vibration in mine especially at coast and under light load below 65 or so. It was most noticeable between 35-50 when coasting. I had a bad U-joint at the rear of the t-case. Not a loose joint but actually one that was tight. Changed that and it got a little better. The rear carrier bearing I'm assuming was original with 252k on it. You could move the driveshaft up/down about 3/8" freely in the mount. I just swapped that out over the weekend and the vibration is gone. On my stock bearing the rubber was fine and the bearing was fine but the bonding between the two was shot so the bearing could move freely. I still have a very slight vibration between load and coast that I know is improper ring and pinion setup. The diff was just built when I bought the truck and the guy told me he never checked the backlash but the wear pattern was perfect. But it's quiet and it's super-minor so I'm not tearing into it.

 

My truck has a pulsing vibration between 65 and 70. It does it every 5 seconds. Anyone know what would cause that?

 

My truck is stock everything and has the identical symptom as the OP have described.. However mine seems to occur between 15mph to 35mph..

Bumps in the road seems to aggravate the symptom. Meaning one minute, the truck would be fine, then go over a bumpy stretch of the road and then slowing down to the 15-35 range will recreate the issue.

the vibration seems to be strongest right below the driver-side floorboard. Engaging the 4WD ADD will cease the vibration. Then disengaging the ADD result in the vibration coming back and usually take on a different frequency. (Meaning from 1 vibration/sec to 2 vibrations/sec). Something about changing it into and out of 4WD changes the driveline mechanism causing the vibration.

I've read from a Tundra forum where the same issue was linked to the front drive shaft. The guy wrapped a rubber band around the front drive shaft preventing it from spinning in 2WD (two wheel drive) mode. Apparently, with the ADD system, the front drive shaft spins slightly, potentially causing the vibration. I haven't tested this theory out yet.. but I had planned on removing the front drive shaft. Probably will not get to it.

 

[FONT=&quot] Check out these links. It solved the vibration of 30-45. The 10-15 vibration is the rear driveshaft. From what I have searched the first part of the driveshaft coming from the transfer case must be perfectly level or you get the Vibration.
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[FONT=&quot]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P68OCu_ZeI[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hHbn4eHaqs[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3lB_ss6ytk[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4qw5GtfoRc[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiasSTuDfPA[/FONT]