Fixed My Vibration

Some of you might recall I have had a driveline vibration pretty much since I got my truck which is a 2013. It is a very distinct vibration you can feel in the truck. It was most prevalent at 60 MPH. What makes it even more confusing is that the vibration would vary depending upon the road surface. It first made me believe that it was the tires. After I switched over to the Michelin's and it was still there I knew it was my driveline.
I got underneath and took a close inspection at everything. The only thing that caught my eye was the center driveshaft bearing. It is held onto the frame by 2 bolts that allow the bearing to be adjusted fore and aft. It was actually cocked a little to the side.

I decided I wanted to index the driveshaft 180 degrees to see what difference it makes. You MUST do the entire shaft if this is something you do. I greased all the fittings, reinstalled the driveshaft and made sure the center support/bearing was perfectly straight.

I did this on Monday and it is smooth at all speeds and on a certain road where it was very pronounced.

I can't say for 100% certain if it was the driveshaft being indexed, the bearing support or simply greasing the joints that fixed my problem. It only makes sense to look at all 3 areas and do them while you are under there.

Now I just have to figure out how to stop the front window mouldings from creaking. I have tried just about everything I know to do and it's driving me nuts.

 

Glad you sorted out your driveline vibration. How come you chose to have it be your problem, rather than taking it to the dealer and having it be his problem?

(This is a loaded question, as I am having trouble getting my dealer to address the problem. He feels the problem, he knows it's there, but he cannot do anything about it ...)

 

Sorry to sound like a newb, but can you explain what you mean by "index180 degrees"?

I did some reading on the term indexing and am now just confused.

I get the greasing of the joints and adjusting the CB, but not the indexing.

Thanks

JW

 

I worked in the dealership capacity for too long and know too much about how they react, perform warranty procedures and such. I am a full time ASE technician that was fortunate enough to be trained by Toyota and Lexus. If I can perform a repair on my vehicle then I'm gonna do it.

 

In my situation "Indexing" meant that I removed the driveshaft, turned it 180 degrees and reinstalled it. It is a term that is used often in the tire business. If a tire is being difficult to balance they will take and spin the tire 180 degrees on the wheel and try to balance it. In most cases it works.

 

Wouldnt indexing 180 degrees put the shaft out of balance considering it was balanced at the before setting ?
Were there any balancing wieghts on your driveshaft ?
Interested because I would like to try this with my truck

 

Not at all. From what I read he turned the driveshaft as a whole (flange to flange) 180 degrees. So long as he did not separate the two shafts (ac and dc only), This will not take the driveshaft out of phase.

I'm glad this worked for you. If you want to, you can post this in the drive shaft vibes solved step by step thread, (I'll try to add a link in a bit). Please be sure to add the speed of the vibrations with your model and drivetrain configuration (ie ACLB 4x4). It's a bit of a blanket thread for vibes.

 

I was more concerned with balancing weights that were possibly used with the original driveshaft alignment . If he turned the driveshaft 180 , any balancing weights that were originally used would cause the driveshaft to be unbalanced . Considering that it worked for him , I am guessing there were no balancing weights on the original shaft alignment . I didnt know you could put these shafts out of phase as I beleive they are master splined

 

geaarcruncher,


I have to respectfully disagree with your statement, driveshafts are balanced on a machine, weights added to compensate, then installed in vehicle, rotating the shaft 180* will not 'unbalance' a shaft, but it may help with harmonics, thus helping with vibrations...


if the shaft was spin 180* by moving the center yolk and turning 180* then, yes, possibly out of balance and definately out of phase because the of spline alignment, completely different issue...


glad it worked for you OP....so many different ways to tackle the vibrations in these trucks....

 

Got it !!! lol

I actually went outside and looked at my driveshaft .its a flange to flange . I thought there was a slip yoke on the front thus the confusion . I have built hundreds of driveshafts .

 

I'll hit on a few questions that have been brought up.

The driveshaft on my DCSB can only be turned 180 degrees. It will not allow you to do install in in 90 degree increments. Unfortunaltey.

@bldegle2- You nailed it when you mentioned harmonics. I should have referred to that term. I firmly believe it was an harmonic type vibration I had.

The driveshaft manufacture will balance the shaft as a whole unit. You must not disturb this at all. It even states on the shaft that is ONE complete unit and if replaced it must be done as an entire unit.

When Toyota installs the shaft the rear end and the transmission yoke can be in one of 4 positions. They do not have a procedure of how to install it in a certain position.