Bad Vibrations after Carrier Bearing and 3 ujoints replacement? Should I go 1 piece

it can be a mind bender if you over-think it (as i did lol). in the end i just tried to get the joint in the middle by the CB between 0 and 1 and let the others fall into place. the leaf shim is also a possibility but the CB is the easiest to change ... but having those angles gives you a good frame of reference and it's relatively easy to test with thin washers until you get something that works.

anything like this will work great --

$27 Wixey WR300 Digital Angle Finder Gauge with Magnetic Angle Finder Base and Backlit Digital Display Angle Ruler - 180 Degree Digital Electronic Level Accessory for Woodworking Tools

https://www.amazon.com/Wixey-WR300-Type-Digital-Backlight/dp/B00T6YZ0K6

 

Awesome I just bought that to check out my angles and will report back. Did you have the same issue and it fixed after adding shims?

In the meantime, could we have damage or off balance the ujoints after hammering it back in place for the locking pin?

I didn't have this bad of vibs before installation so idk if the entire driveshaft needs balancing?

BTW I do have a 2.75 lift in front (5100's w887 and AAL in the rear) ECGS was also completed during driveshaft maintenance.

 

Should have mentioned that lol

 

Yeah i figured i didn't add a backstory on my current setup...but still I didn't have this vibs when i had the lift for over 2 years now.

I also spoke to @Speed Freek and he's going to find a day where I can take the truck back to make sure everything is aligned and clocked correctly.

Definitely recommend him to SoCal folks that need maintenance stuff done. He won't ghost you and will stand behind his work.

 

Why wouldn’t you start with having the drive line balanced? Seems like the easy and cheapest route to possibly fix your vibes.

 

That's actually my next step after I check the degree angles (Thursday) and then going to meet with the member that helped me do the maintenance to see if everything was put back correctly.

There is a shop in Monrovia, CA but they're charging $155 to balance it..........

Anyone know of a Driveshaft/line shop in SoCal they recommend?

 

Cause theoretically if he didn't knock a weight off or something, balance wouldn't be an issue reusing the original shaft as it was aligned previously.

 

That’s off the truck too? That’s high lol I had mine done at a Napa with a machine shop. They replaced the u joints and balanced it for 95. I supplied the new u joints

 

i agree that you should check the shaft balance given that's the only change. maybe also double check that they're properly greased. i've never replaced those joints so i can't really comment. i have a similar setup but not exact -- 5100s, headstrong 2" coils and AAL with ECGS -- measured +2.5" after install. 25/75/16 so pretty basic. my wheel bearings were toast so i replaced those and added UCAs b/c i couldn't get the caster in check. i had a shudder on acceleration from dead stop. ignored it for awhile and then finally started tinkering with the driveshaft. it now drives excellent all around. you could read that thread i mentioned earlier on the angles for days and let it simmer. the angles are thrown off from the lift so it makes sense ... but then again, you were good until now, so the balance could definitely be off. i'd recommend doing one thing at a time and jot down notes/thoughts after each change. a) measure angles so you have a point of reference b) make sure the shafts are properly balanced c) verify tire pressure / wheel balance and possibly align but that may be overkill d) measure angles again and possibly tinker, re-measuring and taking notes along the way. it may sound miserable for some, but i enjoy this stuff so this actually sounds ok ... good luck and keep us posted!

related threads i watch that (unfortunately) show that everyone has slightly different problems and solutions:
- https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vibration-diagnostics-for-all-tacomas-write-up.520607/
- https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/drive-shaft-vibrations-solved-step-by-step.244535/
- https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/just-fixed-driveline-vibration-for-free.153050/
- https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ucas-and-alignment.40470/

 

I agree.

I've been working on vehicles since I was 14 years old ( currently 65 ) and have never had to balance a drive shaft for a vibration issue.

Your experience may be different, but if it makes you feel better... Not my dime.

 

This if the weights are still there, chances are "balancing" your prop shaft (i.e. paying a guy to say he did something) won't fix the vibe. My first guess would be the carrier bearing as originally stated. My second guess was that the yoke was offset during removal or installation and the shaft is out of phase. I'm not sure if the slip yoke on the Taco even allows for this since some manufacturers use a spline design that doesn't allow for improper installation. Based off of your marks, that doesn't seem to be the case...

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I did get an alignment from RPM Garage last week since I replaced my tie rods (inner/outer) as a preventive maintenance. (It helped a bit)

I'm taking it back to the member that helped me out so that he can do some inspection and see if anything is out of the norm. (might need to flip the CB?)

But when I say vibes are bad you can see my passenger seat shake like there no tomorrow. (50-68mph)

But after the maintenance day, it was super late and we finished around 830pm and after I drove home I noticed right away the vibs was really off. We assumed it would be the alignment but I was also scratching my head in terms of that. Well I did the alignment and it's vibing.

 

Has a bad rear wheel bearing been mentioned? I had a vibe I could not chase down and changed just about everything you have listed.

A chassis ear can detect it. Jack up the rear, put the truck in neutral and spin the tire by hand. You can hear the grinding pretty clear.

 

I haven't checked the rears but I replaced my front wheel bearing 20k ago. I wasn't having the vibs problem before the driveshaft maintenance since I'm pretty sure it's something related to the CB/ujoints or the yoke isn't aligned properly. I will find out more on Friday as I'm schedule to go back to the member that helped me.

My only thought is that the old CB was sagging pretty bad during my lift and overtime the sagging of the CB helped with the angles of the pinon because of the AAL. And when we put a new CB it didn't like that "real" angle haha (If this make sense)

 

You hammered the ujoint back together? I thought you only did that after it was all back together to push the cups against the retainers and put the slack back into the joint so it doesn't bind and wear it out prematurely.

What are the chances a needle bearing or 2 didn't fall over during reassembly?

Smear grease into the cups to hold the needles in place.

Also use a string to make sure the driveshaft is straight front to rear.

Good luck in tracking it down.

 

The TW member that helped me used a socket and hammer to press the caps back over the joints. (He didn't have a press set).

This is exactly what I'm thinking could be wrong so going to have him recheck everything on Friday.

 

I'ma betting that's what happened.
A ball joint press and sockets will do the trick.
Get more ujoints just in case. Pack the needles with grease. Pack it. Any extra is going to be pushed into the cross.

 

Yeah will try to rent one on Friday and see if we can reuse the spicers that I bought.

Would rather not try to pay an addtional $60 (OEM ujoints) x 3 = $$$ And if i don't use them I can return them but will get hit with Toyota 20% restocking fee.

But then again the Spicers I bought were around $22 x 3

I could've just avoided the headache and went OEM in the first place.

 

I'd get 2 just to be safe. Better to have and not need than to need and not have.

How do you know you would have avoided the headache going with OEM?

 

before you tear everything back apart, do this:
1. Rotate your driveshaft till the zerks all point straight down
2. tie a taut string from the transfer case joint to the pinion joint
3. lay directly under the string and see if the middle zerk is in line with the string

My guess is the answer is NO, so loosen the bolts holding the CB and tap it over until all three zerks are exactly in the same line. Road test and report. Everybody worries about angles, and almost everyone forgets that there are two directions of alignment.