Driveshaft Vibration after new carrier bearing

Lol... a 2 piece with a carrier bearing has a more severe angle to the diff than a one piece driveline. A larger diameter driveline can be just as light (or lighter) than the stock diameter driveline. And just simply lifting our trucks can cause the need for shims to correct the pinion angles.

 

False, there should be no angle at the diff on a DC shaft.

 

Whatever helps you sleep at night. I think we are tlking about 2 different things here.

But... you either have more ground clearance with a 2 piece DS and and more severe angle of the back half of that 2 piece drive line... OR you don't give up ground clearance with a 1 piece driveline... you don't get to have it both ways.

Just lifting our trucks with a suspension lift changes the angle of the driveline to the diff... Lifting a truck 2.5 inches with an (approx) 45 inch driveline (back half of a 2 piece) is going to create a steeper angle of approach than a 2.5 inch lifted truck where the lift is spread over an (approx) 70 inch driveline... it's called geometry.

 

Yeah the shaft is at an angle, duh. You said "severe angle to the diff".
Proper pinion angle for DC shaft below. The diagram is slightly incorrect in that the DC joint should split it's angle between it's two u-joints, not just one as drawn. Also setting the pinion angle at around 1° down (sometimes a little more) from the shaft is preferred in the real world. This does two things. First it induces slight movement in the diff end single joint, spreading the wear (and lube) as opposed to a single point load on the needles. Second, even well designed leaf springs will allow some degree of spring wind up (axle wrap). Allowing the pinion angle to approach zero under load instead of departing from zero provides both smoothness and strength when needed most.

On another note are you folks with multiple support bearing problems aligning them properly at install? Not a huge issue but an issue none the less. I have seen them centered and off slightly, OE out of the box. The outer race of the bearing has a groove cut on it that can be seen/aligned thru/with the hole.
FWIW my present OE bearing has 200K lifted miles with pinion angle corrected properly with shims, smooth as silk.

 

I had problems with my CB also but all I had to do was lower it 3/8” and it all seems fine now.

But I had hell for awhile figuring that out...

 

Look dude... no need to have an attitude.

If you are going to quote me... do it right. I said "MORE severe angle to the diff."

 

"Severe" or "more severe" still leaves "angle to the diff".

 

And the angle to the diff is more severe if you are dropping a given distance over 70 inches as opposed to the length of the back half of the OE 2 piece driveline.

That is fact.

Now, keeping an OE 2 piece is definately an option. I never said it was a bad option either. I said I am thinking MY option is to investigate a single piece option. And, in typical fashion, someone on this forum wants to douse themselves in rubbing alchohol and set themselves on fire because >it was designed that way therefore better<

Our trucks were not "designed" to be lifted. Lifting them changes angles and then we have to go further out of the design specs to rectify those problems.

Yes, a single piece driveline causes the need for shims to correct the drop of the diff from the frame. But you should shim the diff anyway (with a 2 piece) if you want to keep the designed aproach of the DL to the diff if the truck has been lifted anyway.

Some people shim the diff and/or drop the carrier bearing... and for some reason, no one bats an eye to that. But dropping the carrier bearing changes the angle of the output shaft, and there is no shim for that... but lets worry about the u-joints and not even think about the transfer case... that totally seams logical.

 

The part I find funny is how people are convinced that the 2 piece drive shaft is neccesary, because the geniuses at Toyota engineering did it that way, so it must stay that way... even though everything is being done around the driveshaft to CHANGE the angles that the geniuses at Toyota engineering actually designed.

Here's a theory that blows all of that out of the water... on an Extra cab and Double cab the overall length of the driveline changes from 6cyl AT 4x4 / 6cyl MT 4x4 / 4cyl AT 4x4 / 4cyl MT 4x4 / 6cyl AT 2wd / 6cyl MT 2wd / 4cyl AT 2wd / 4cyl MT 2wd

That's 8 different drive shaft lengths... so maybe, just MAAAAAAYBE, the geniuses at Toyota engineering designed it the way they did to streamline the assembly line process and it had absolutely nothing what so ever to do with the strength of the length of driveshaft, or the workability of a single piece driveshaft.

8 different DS lengths would have caused the diff to have to be shimmed to 8 different possible angles depending on the DS length. The carrier bearing puts the DS at a known spot and known angle for all 8 configurations.

 

The shaft angle is one thing, the angle to the diff is another. Click to expand.

I suggest you read the Tom Woods Driveline 101, specially the part on the benefits of DC joints.

 

What started off as a misunderstanding of each others terms. Drive angle / ujoint angle to diff etc.... Turns into this. Alright guys play nice.

 

No... actually this started out with someone assuming I didn't know about diff angles, shims, and the fact that a longer DS needs to be a larger diameter DS... and that what I was proposing was a >waste of money< therefore suggesting my idea was a bad one.

But I think I have responded to those assertions with respect, and have not intended any of my responses to be -not- "playing nice."

 

I haven’t had a big problem with mine, there was just little play

oh okay. I didn’t know that. Well that explains why it lasted so long. And also, the guys at the shop uses Precision as well. Never heard of them before but I assume they’re good.

 

SKF & Precision are both high quality manufacturers when it comes to bearings. They are probably on par with OEM for wheel bearings, carrier bearings, etc. The support bearing in our trucks are just an exception.

It usually isn't even the bearing that goes bad but rather the rubber surround wears out. For whatever reason Spicer is the only one that seems to last.

 

My Timken seems to be holding up fine.

 

I’m installing a spicer ford ranger carrier bearing. Should work much better than stock

 

I've never actually had a bearing go out, always the rubber surround.

 

I have owned 5 Tacomas the past 20 years, three 4WD, two 2WD. Only new one was a 2006, ordered it, 4WD TRD, etc. It vibrated right out of the box.
All auto trans, and all have had the vibration, some better then others. I just bought possibly my last one, 2004 PreRunner. Put new Michelin Defenders on it,
helped vs the Goodrichs. Had it at the Toyota dealer yesterday, checked the carrier bearing all U joints, all good. Tech took it for a ride, liked it, said to live with it,
if it isn't my main ride, I agree. It does smooth out at 70 mph+, still there. I am not the expert, but just thinking if we put about 500 lbs. stationary in the bed,
see if that cures it. My 4Runners did not have it.

 

I have owned a 1st gen, 2 2nd gens, and now a third gen. Only time I had a vibration was when the carrier bearing rubber deteriorated, and then after I replaced it. I traded it in before I put the SKF on, and I was going to keep the SKF around for the '06 4Runner -- but I checked, and the 4Runner has a single-piece driveshaft.

The original carrier bearing wasn't in terrible shape, so I am wondering if just getting the driveshaft balanced anytime you do a carrier bearing or u-joint is just a smart option. Seems like these things may be a bit finicky.

Now that I think about it, my '77 Celica has a carrier bearing. I should have checked to see if it's the same part.

 

I don’t want to hijack this but I have a question for you angles guys that would be beneficial to the tread. I had a local shop build me a one piece for my truck this last week. Didn’t get to drive it until today and the vibration is horrible above 70 MPH. What would you guys suggest.