Nitrousbird Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 I got a bad high-speed vibration after an "off-road" incident in the Avalanche (stuck up to the frame, probably moved the truck a good 1/8 of a mile or more before having to get it pulled out). Ever since then, it has had a BAD vibration. Below 50 MPH, you don't really notice it much. At 65 to 75 MPH, it vibrates the whole truck badly, especially from 70-73MPH (you can both feel and loudly hear the vibration). At around 76-80MPH, it smooths out nicely to where you barely notice it. Above 80, it starts again. Things I have tried: - Power washing everything. I pulled all the wheels, cleaned them inside and out. Powerwashed axles, driveshafts, wheel wells...there isn't any mud left. I was under there tonight and visually inspected. - Rotated tires. - Today I had all 4 tires balanced. None of this has made any difference at all. I figured the tire balancing would do the trick, but it didn't even improve it 1%. Now I have to start throwing money at this...so where to start? It does it in 2WD, so I can count out the front driveshaft. Rear driveshaft looks okay, other than a lot of surface scale rust. Pull that and have it balanced? Then what? None of the wheels show any sign of damage/inbalance. It has been this way for weeks, since I don't drive it much (I have a company vehicle, and drive the wife's car a lot on the weekends, plus local driving is under 55MPH). But I took a long trip two weeks ago, and it was awful, and will be doing the same this weekend. Any ideas on what to try next would be appreciated. Otherwise, I'm going to have to go the driveshaft route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neonkiller Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 When and who balanced them? And did it get worse? Take the palm of you hand and follow the tread... inside edge and outside edge. Then tell me if they are smooth or bumpy. Also try jacking up your front wheels and checking the left and right motion of your wheel to see if its a tie rod or the top to bottom movement see if its a bearing also. Just my two cents before you start dropping money. Also you bring it by my Discount tire I work at and I'll put it up on the lift see what I can find for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 When and who balanced them? And did it get worse? Take the palm of you hand and follow the tread... inside edge and outside edge. Then tell me if they are smooth or bumpy. Also try jacking up your front wheels and checking the left and right motion of your wheel to see if its a tie rod or the top to bottom movement see if its a bearing also. Just my two cents before you start dropping money. Also you bring it by my Discount tire I work at and I'll put it up on the lift see what I can find for free. Gotta <3 Shanton After looking at that thread and how far and deep you drug it, my bet is on the rear drive-shaft being tweaked somehow. Doesn't take much to wreak havoc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 when you pulled it out, what did you hook onto? coulda been something pulling it outta the ditch, especially if whoever pulled it hooked it onto something they shouldnt have, like an a-arm or steering rack or something like that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 when you pulled it out, what did you hook onto? coulda been something pulling it outta the ditch, especially if whoever pulled it hooked it onto something they shouldnt have, like an a-arm or steering rack or something like that Given he has an avalanche so that he has 2 giant eyelets right off the front bumper, I doubt this is a concern.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Rear u-joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Given he has an avalanche so that he has 2 giant eyelets right off the front bumper, I doubt this is a concern.. i didnt realize an avalanche had those, i assumed it would be a 1/2 ton chassis, and im not familiar with GM, but the ford 1/2 tons dont have front hooks (atleast the older ones didnt, the new ones appear to)....so i was just throwin it out there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinisterSS Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Rear u-joint. this^^ there's a front and rear u-joint on the drive shaft, so crawl under it and grab the drive shaft front and rear to see if there's excessive play, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 this^^ there's a front and rear u-joint on the drive shaft, so crawl under it and grab the drive shaft front and rear to see if there's excessive play, Just to add... Pull the shaft out. See if one has a "rough spot" when rotating it in its full axis. Even if the joints check out, you'll only be out the 20 minutes it takes to undo the couple 10mm? 1/2" bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 ETpaul tire shop has a machine the can put on each wheel(one ata time) while on the car, and run it up to high speed to see if its coming from one of the wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 from the pictures i saw of the truck stuck i would say you need to have the drive shaft checked. it may look ok but you could have knocked a weight off of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 from the pictures i saw of the truck stuck i would say you need to have the drive shaft checked. it may look ok but you could have knocked a weight off of it. WHAT??? THERE WERE PICS TO ACCOMPANY THIS HERE POST??/!!/??? Post 'em OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81983 it doesn't look like you could have hit the drive shaft from those pictures but there is still a chance and who knows what was in the grass they you can't see. normally a bent shaft will be noticeable even at low speeds and doesn't smooth out. an axle on the other hand can. to test that one out you need to jack the rear of the truck up and put it in drive and watch the side to side movement of the wheels. to get the best idea of if thats it or not place a brick on the pedal and drop the jack really fast. the wheel that hops first is the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neonkiller Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 ETpaul tire shop has a machine the can put on each wheel(one ata time) while on the car, and run it up to high speed to see if its coming from one of the wheels. That would be a roadforce machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifford Automotive Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Driveshaft or U-joint. Been there done that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 place a brick on the pedal and drop the jack really fast. the wheel that hops first is the problem. maybe i dont undestand....but this sounds like an awful idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted July 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 When and who balanced them? And did it get worse? Take the palm of you hand and follow the tread... inside edge and outside edge. Then tell me if they are smooth or bumpy. Also try jacking up your front wheels and checking the left and right motion of your wheel to see if its a tie rod or the top to bottom movement see if its a bearing also. Just my two cents before you start dropping money. Also you bring it by my Discount tire I work at and I'll put it up on the lift see what I can find for free. Discount Tire @ Easton balanced them yesterday. They pulled all the weights and just re-balanced each wheel. It did not change the vibration any at all - no better, no worse. I inspected all the tires when I pulled the wheels to clean them - I didn't see any thing abnormal on them. No rough spots or chunks out of them. They are getting worn out (31k on Nitto Terra Grapplers). I didn't spin the wheels on the hubs and specifically check for play, but didn't notice anything abnormal when I pulled and reinstalled them...something I need to check. when you pulled it out, what did you hook onto? Front tow hook, and it pulled out from the ditch very easily, so I doubt I could have done any damage from the pulling out part. this^^ there's a front and rear u-joint on the drive shaft, so crawl under it and grab the drive shaft front and rear to see if there's excessive play, No play when I was under there yesterday. After checking some of this other stuff, and if it checks out okay, I will likely want to get the driveshaft rebalanced (and probably just do new front/rear U-joints, as at 131k miles now, probably isn't a bad idea). Are there any shops on the North side of town anyone can suggest? I always used the Napa off of 104/Frank Rd when I live in Reynoldsburg, but that doesn't really work for me anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted July 28, 2010 Report Share Posted July 28, 2010 Joe, not that it's a bad idea to balance the shaft, but you should be able to visually see if a weight got knocked off. I'd really check out the joints. Bad joints won't always have "play" in them. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifford Automotive Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 I have seen mud inside wheels before. It happens so fast when it hits, the tire mantains pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboRust Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 itd be worth your time and money to just drive down to columbus joint and clutch off 62&270s... stay away from driveline 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1647545494 Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 yep just run the whole driveshafty down there probably 150ish to get the u joints replaced and driveshaft rebalanced Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TA In Progress Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 Had the driveshaft for my Jimmy straightened, balanced ,and new Spicer u joints installed for $120 at Columbus Joint and Clutch. Can't go wrong with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tbutera2112 Posted July 29, 2010 Report Share Posted July 29, 2010 itd be worth your time and money to just drive down to columbus joint and clutch off 62&270s... stay away from driveline 1 whats wrong with driveline 1? they did great work for me, at a great price too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave1647545494 Posted July 30, 2010 Report Share Posted July 30, 2010 whats wrong with driveline 1? they did great work for me, at a great price too the got really lucky then when they guessed how much weight to stick on your driveshaft then becuase they don't have an accurate way to spin balance the driveshaft derek gave them like 3 or 4 trys at the driveshaft in his rx-7 and they couldn't get it right one trip to columbus joint and clutch was problem solved Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboRust Posted July 30, 2010 Report Share Posted July 30, 2010 whats wrong with driveline 1? they did great work for me, at a great price too heres a link.. i wont clutter this thread http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67586&highlight=driveline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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