I searched about this for a while but didn't find 2 much. When I drive and get to about 68 mph my truck gets the shakes pretty bad. Always has since i've owned the truck. I'm pretty sure it's the drive shaft since when I changed gears from 3.73 to 4.10 the shake happens at a lower speed. It's so bad/annoying that I can't drive any fast, and most of the speed limits I drive are 70 mph. Also only a couple weeks ago I did change out both of the universals, and I don't think its the tranny b/c it has done it with two different ones. I've also turned the drive shaft 90* at the axle to all four positions to see if that might help, but only a little bit. So driveshaft or something else?

I've heard of having the driveshaft balanced, how much does that usually cost?

Is there a DIY method?

 

Alright well I played with this a little more trying to get this truck smoother. I added some weight with a pipe clamp and got a little more vibration out. But the tranny lost OD so it's a moot point. It still vibrates good when I hit 65mph but if I get up to 85mph it smooths back out, ne one have a clue why it would do that?

My tranny is comin back from the shop in the next couple days so when I go to swap it in i'm going to have the tires and drive shaft balance. Is there anything else you guys would suggest to get the vibrations out??

 

sounds like a tranny problem if it lost OD.....

 

Yea but this is the second tranny it's seen in the past month and it did it with both?

 

well being your truck has a custom driveshaft you might need it balance but get your tires balanced first

 

This same thing happened to me (92 single cab 4 banker manual) and i drove it that way for a year. one morning my yoke broke and i droped my drive line. new yoke no more problems. it started out as just a crack and over time it shock it self free

 

ALright guys I really need some opinions please.... I just talked to the drive shaft shop that I had sent the drive shaft to in order to have them balance it. They said the drive shaft is 6 inchs longer than a 3 inch diameter drive shaft should be and that's whats causing the problems. They said they can't balance it since its too long and it would cost 250 to build a new one.... what do u guys think? ever heard of this before?

 

if it is 6 inches longer then it should be for a 3" tube then what are they going to make your new one out of? I think if it was me I would call a different shop and give them the dimensions of your drive shaft and see what they say.

 

They make it out of the 3.5 inch diameter steel tubing, I've heard of this before, but the driveshaft on there was made at a shop a couple years ago by the previous owners?

:Edited:

 

Logan, I agree with Chad...

 

Alright, do either of you gentlemen know of any shops in our area?

 

you might try Drive Train Specialists in Warren they might be able to help you or even Mumbly's offroad shop in Clinton Township.

 

Bingo! I agree again... I am slow today....lol.

 

Ah alright, I had no clue Mumbly's would do ne thing like that, there real close to me, Thanks Guys!

 

i don't now if they do what you need but they might be able to give you a name of a shop or 2 around you.

 

If it's a one piece shaft that was made or lengthened for the engine swap, then the shop may be right about the 3" diameter being too small. Didn't the supercabs come from the factory with a 2 piece shaft and a center carrier bearing in 1991?

 

Yea as far as I know the truck would have originally come with a two piece drive shaft. The one on the truck now was custom made for the truck, knowing the swap had already been done.

I talked to the shop again and the new driveshaft would be made out of 3.5" steel compared to the 3" steel driveshaft that I have now.

 

how long is the shaft now?

 

I know my drive shaft on my truck is aluminum and one piece in my 2wd extended cab...

 

I'm not sure off hand, I have to call him back and find out for sure.

 

I get the same thing, but my truck doesn't have much in common with yours. I think it's the wheels needing balancing though... Just haven't had time to do it yet.

 

The original driveshaft in my truck would start to vibrate at 68 MPH. It was replaced under warranty and after that, it wouldn't start blurring the mirror until 75+. I'm hoping that it will be better than that now that it has been shortened and rebalanced.

That was just a mild imbalance though. It sounds like his problem is a lot worse than mine was.

 

Alright guys I still need some help please. I now have a new 3.5" inch thick walled steel drive shaft, balanced tires, new rear axle, and a newly rebuilt tranny all installed. I still get vibrations once I hit 70 mph and they get worse the fast I go. Also I got some vibration right aroun 40 mph. It's definately better than it was before, but not good enough. What else should I be checking or could cause this nusance?

Any and all comments are greatly appreciated, i've run out of ideas...

 

feeling in your butt of the seat or in your hands?

maybe a bent rim or axle... maybe.... hmm... dead dead dead shocks maybe...hmmm

 

Maybe we can go for a quick ride on the 18th zach, if ur willing.

It starts in my foot, then seat of the pants as my speed increases. Feels like the entire truck more than steering, but i'm not all that sure.