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Driveshaft issues/noise

5K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Spartan89 
#1 ·
I figured I would start something new for this issue. Has anyone here had an issue with their driveshaft in a 2wd crew cab? Mine is making noise and vibrates the truck at a higher rate of speed, usually worse when it's cold. It has new U-joints, carrier assembly and has been machine balanced. Is this something I need to be concerned about, and if I don't replace it soon, will it cause catastrophic damage to other components? Thanks in advance! I would post a video but it's difficult to hear the noise under the truck because of exhaust and engine noise.
 
#2 ·
Sounds like your carrier bearing is no good. But check your trans mount while you're under there.
 
#3 ·
I did check the trans mount, as far as I can tell it seems to be in good shape. I dont have the pancake style I have the taller version. Also the carrier bearing is brand new, it did come from Rock Auto though. I was able to look at the driveshaft from underneath while the truck was on a lift and the driveline spinning under engine torque and it looks like the harmonics of the shaft are slightly off. Idk I'm slightly at a loss.
 
#6 ·
I rebuilt the drive shaft on my 2008 Titan SE crew cab RWD two weeks ago because the rubber carrier bearing bushing was completely destroyed. I put in a new Spicer Dana carrier bearingand three new Moog 295 super strength greaseable universal joints (purchased from RockAuto) using a press. I marked everything so it went back together in the same position. After I reinstalled the drive shaft, I had vibrations that weren't there before I did this work. The vibrations were noticeable from 30 MPH got worse at 45-50 and scary at 60 and above. I found a good, professional (big rig/big truck) shop in my area that had a drive shaft balancing machine and took it to them and they balanced it for me but they found one small issue with my work: the front u-joint (closest to the transmission) had too much play in the yoke because the new snap rings were too thin. These were the new snap rings that came with the new u-joint. They put thicker snap rings on that u-joint and then balanced it and the vibrations are gone.

So that's one thing you can check. Hope this helps!
 
#7 ·
Good to know, never thought about thicker snap rings. I did have a local shop do the work with the U-joints and carrier assembly. I did the same as you and bought the Rock Auto joints and carrier assembly. However the shop I went to said they would only balance the shaft with the U-joints they install, which are the OE style Spicers, non zerk fitting type. Also they cant warranty the work if they dont install their U-joints. Looks like I might have gotten bamboozled into over paying for some not so good U-joints. Looks like I will be calling them up tomorrow and having them recheck the shaft. Thanks for the info. Will update soon!
 
#8 ·
Wanted to post an update on the issues. So the noise turned out to be in the transmission, I think the valve body. I had a local shop do a full fluid flush, refill and the noise went away. I had a little over 100k on the truck at the time. Apparently these valve bodies are sensitive to old fluid. So if you have a strange noise that sounds like it's coming from the tranny and you haven't changed the fluid, start there. It only cost me 300$ and would have saved me a whole lot more in time and money if I would have started there.

Now onto the driveshaft, still getting a noticeable vibration over 75. I checked the torque on the carrier assembly nuts and it was off, so I torqued them to spec (36lbft). The vibration seemed to dampen down, but not go away. So I dropped the shaft out of the truck and took it back to the shop to have them check it over while it's still under warranty. They called me back and told me that they got it close to perfect, which tells me it still has a bit of vibration in it. I'm going to pick it up tomorrow and the tech wants to talk to me about it when I do. That's usually not a good thing, so I will update after I pick it up tomorrow.
 
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