2004 DII drivetrain vibration mystery
- Thread starter drewhinkle
- Start date
My tom wood's shaft was pretty much vibe free to 100mph the other day. Keep it greased and it should be fine.
mbrummal said:
Reminds me of the old saying...... Faster and faster until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.....
Tom Woods drive shaft conclusion
So where was I? Oh yeah... I returned the front drive shaft to Tom Woods for them to "triple check" the balance. They said that they had to replace the 5 weight with a 6, but that it wouldn't make that much difference in the vibration. I told them that it didn't vibe much and that I only wanted it to be smooth like the shafts that came stock on the vehicle. I sensed their lack of confidence is being able to give me a properly balanced drive shaft, so I asked them what their recommendation was. They recommended a refund, so I took it. It seems that Tom Woods shafts live up to their reputation as not being balanced for highway use but good for off-road use.[COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][/FONT][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR]
So where was I? Oh yeah... I returned the front drive shaft to Tom Woods for them to "triple check" the balance. They said that they had to replace the 5 weight with a 6, but that it wouldn't make that much difference in the vibration. I told them that it didn't vibe much and that I only wanted it to be smooth like the shafts that came stock on the vehicle. I sensed their lack of confidence is being able to give me a properly balanced drive shaft, so I asked them what their recommendation was. They recommended a refund, so I took it. It seems that Tom Woods shafts live up to their reputation as not being balanced for highway use but good for off-road use.[COLOR=blue !important][FONT=inherit !important][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][/FONT][COLOR=blue ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR]
Great Basin Rovers (GBR) drive shaft review
After Tom Woods failed to deliver a properly balanced front drive shaft, I decided to poke around a bit and found GBR. I talked to Bill Davis who clearly knows his stuff and is passionate about his craft. He told me how is shop is geared toward quality instead of quantity. He offers 2 front shaft options for the DII -rebuilt factory unit and heavy-duty unit with Spicer parts. After spending considerable time with me, he ended by saying that either would be balanced properly (even the heavier than stock model) and not cause a vibe in my driveline, but that I didn't need to spend the extra $ on the upgrade since my rig never goes off pavement. Bill shipped it out the same day, and it's been smooth sailing up to 100mph since I installed it! New grease fittings, too. Conclusion: I HIGHLY recommended GBR for your drive shaft needs.
After Tom Woods failed to deliver a properly balanced front drive shaft, I decided to poke around a bit and found GBR. I talked to Bill Davis who clearly knows his stuff and is passionate about his craft. He told me how is shop is geared toward quality instead of quantity. He offers 2 front shaft options for the DII -rebuilt factory unit and heavy-duty unit with Spicer parts. After spending considerable time with me, he ended by saying that either would be balanced properly (even the heavier than stock model) and not cause a vibe in my driveline, but that I didn't need to spend the extra $ on the upgrade since my rig never goes off pavement. Bill shipped it out the same day, and it's been smooth sailing up to 100mph since I installed it! New grease fittings, too. Conclusion: I HIGHLY recommended GBR for your drive shaft needs.
Need help with ideas! 35 and 75mph vibe, not violent, but I do feel it. Rear flex joint replaced a year ago, 120K on the clock of 2001DII. Two driveshafts tried, the one from GBR got sent back for being even more pronounced compared to Todco, which got re-balaneced by my local professional shaft shop for trucks. Still feeling it, and curiously, the Todco shaft feels a tad more vibier after the balancing act. Cant live with the vibe as most of my driving now is long distance. Running out of ideas. There were no shaft "explosions" on my truck, always replaced them ahead of the critical time, vibe started hanging around during the previous stock shaft, was kind of there always, just became more tangible lately to become a deal breaker for me.
Put it in low range, drive and see if vibe is still there it may be transfer case. Could also be a bad diff. I have a bad vibe around 60-70 on slight deceleration and I am 90% sure mine is the front diff. Lockers going in next month so I will find out soon.
I've learned to live with mine. I have a TW DC front shaft, it's been sent in twice for rebalancing, and the vibe is present whenever the front shaft is in. Only hits at ~73mph to about 85mph and you really feel it when you lift off the gas.
Thank you Joey! Will try that, although from what I recall I cant get too fast on low range. Last tried on deep sand a few years ago, worked like a charm. Can I even get to 35mph on low? Will try, see what transpires. On the last front drive shaft change I've looked at the output shaft/bearing of the transfer case, no particular play or anything out of order noticed. Could it be the sagging of engine mounts? What was also noticed were clicks coming from the rear drive shaft when manually rotating the wheels with the truck suspended, the flex joint is fairly new nevertheless. Suspended up in the air on the professional lift the truck had no particular vibes going up to 55mph. But then again, its a very very different scenario from it on the ground. It is butter-smooth most of the time, but the sheer vibe after 75mph is killing it for me. :banghead:Joey said: