Drive Shaft Vibrations Solved Step-by-Step

Glad that worked. A CAD model is way to go since anytime you change the pinion angle, it lifts or drops the front of the rear differential and that changes the angle of the rear driveshaft so angle change at pinion u-joint is not the same as the shim angle. Plus it changes the angle at the center bearing when angle of rear shaft changes and you may need to try a few different shims sizes to get a good solution. You can do same calculation using trigonometry if you sketch it out and collect a lot more measurements than shaft angles.

 

Tom woods is the only way to go. Especially if you have a lift. Truck feels so much better and responsive to the gas pedal imo

 

if you have the money, get a custom Tom woods driveshaft… you won’t regret it at all and you will never deal with the Carrier bearing ever again lol

 

Apparently not making rear DS for tacomas anymore

 

just as a quick mention since nobody else is mentioning it.... consider new U joints whenever a change has been made. when i lifted mine, it seems the old u joints were maybe worn to the angles they were use to before the lift. i tried a lot of things too. but then by merely replacing the u joints on both ends of the last shaft, everything is like new and not a single hint of vibration. just sayin you never know.

 

Complete bullshit for real. I was about to buy one this year.

 

I just purchased one from Panhandle Driveline in Panama City. Same thing. 3.5 in Double Cardan single piece DS. Should be installing this weekend.

 

Do they have a website? All I could find was a FB account. Did you just give them all the dimensions and whatnot?

 

From Tom Wood's website:

*Discontinued*
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 really is a bummer. I'm sad they went through issues and resorted to doing away with this. I have their DS and it rid me of vibes completely.

 

Just got the new DS from Panhandle Driveline. Thought I’d share some pics. I wish it were Coated/painted but I guess a lot of DS arent?

 

Is it industry norm to spot weld a washer to the DS in order to balance it? I guess it isn't much different from the square weights I'm used to seeing.... just wondering.

 

yup tacked round weights are normal, it’s not a washer it is a drilled slug

grab a can of por15 spray paint or similar and spray it before you install it

 

average idiots ruining it for everyone else, i’ve seen a ton of threads over the years and without fail folks miss two key points:

1. rear pinion angle for a one piece dc needs to be right up the shaft

2. with 4:56 gears you hit mph limitations

anyone returning one saying they still have vibes is an idiot it’s impossible when properly installed

 

Should anything be done here to protect from elements? This was previously covered by the old DS but now is exposed.

 

Wow what a bummer.... Im sure other companies will step up and start though. Just a matter of time.

 

So this is the measurements I’m getting. I tried with zeroing from the rear flange on my third attempt and the anngles are pretty consistent.

I’m thinking 2.5 degree shims should fix the vibes.

I took it to 4WP to get an opinion and the tech said that it’s probably not a shim and just needs a carrier bearing drop. I’ve read a few that were successful going with a drop, but it seems like more sense to fix the rear pinion angle, even though the CB drop would be so much easier.

looking for some solid advice, if anyone is knowledgeable. Thanks.

 

I just wanted to pipe in on my experience with vibrations. I installed an icon RTX pack with vibrations around that 18 mph mark and in the 60’s. After some off road and flexing I re torqued the u bolts. I then did install a CB drop due to binding I was feeling at low speeds and I’m sure was happening at higher speeds.

After much research on this topic and my own experiences with the issue. It comes down to having the u bolts torques correct and not have any stretching of the drive shafts.

Vibrations could also be caused by the axle wrap caused by acceleration. This phenomenon occurs most likely when one has a ubolt flip kit installed.

 

I have the same icon pack. My only vibration is at take off. All u bolts are correctly torqued. I’m think these springs are just not as good at preventing axle wrap as others. Any thoughts?

 

When did you tuque the u bolts? I found that after the initial install I had to re-tuque them three times before they stoped moving and vibrations quit.

 

Just retorqued them the other day. Vibration did not change at all