Thread: Drive vibration

Originally Posted by devo

Thanks for all the input so far
One question before I start pulling out the left hand front drive shaft due to inner cv rubber boot cracked.

If that cv is the cause of the vibration. Would I feel the vibration through the steering?
So far there is no vibration felt through the steering wheel.

The vibration is consistent with prop shaft vibration in older cars
the centre bearing damper rubber looks in good condition and feels solid compared to youtube video of one where the rubber has delaminated.
this afternoon am going to rotate the tyres first and see if that changes anything.

cheers Devo

Do you have a GoPro camera? Can mount and go for a drive and look at these items in real time.

I have had to replace the front prop shaft on my D4.

Started out as an occasional screech like a stone caught in the brakes.
There was absolutely no play in the shaft so it went undiagnosed for thousands of km while we changed front half shafts & deliberated about engine mounts.
The noise got worse, beyond the power of the stereo to mask it.

Then I saw this:
Propshaft.jpg

Just a glimpse of ball bearings about to escape.
Still no play.
20201126_201152.jpg

This got me back from Mt Isa to Brisbane.
20201126_201128.jpg

The noise was unpleasant to say the least.

My advice is to check the front prop shaft.

Originally Posted by PerthDisco

Do you have a GoPro camera? Can mount and go for a drive and look at these items in real time.

Go Pro is a great idea

I have a no brand name similar to go pro. will try that and see what I get.

Have rotated the tyres as a first step although it didn't feel like tyres. Made no difference unfortunately.
As I have a small slit in the inner boot of the left hand shaft I have ordered one. A new shaft that is. Have to wait another week unfortunately.

Will try the go pro idea and see what happens from there .

As there are so many components in the drive it is difficult for me to decide where to start.

Thank you everyone for giving me a direction to start.

Cheers Devo

Originally Posted by devo

could you explain how to check the rear shaft and bearing pls other than check for play by hand
Is there another check I can make

Cheers Devo

I had a wheel bearing go, it was very difficult to detect as there was no lateral movement in any wheel. However when I had the offending wheel jacked up, wheel off and put a socket and bar on the axle nut and turned the hub, I could then feel the worn bearing "grind" through the bar and socket. Mine was a rear wheel bearing that had failed. I hope you find the issue. Cheers from the UK.

I think the rear tail shaft is a two piece with a bearing supporting somewhere near the joint. Easiest way is to get under with a pry bar and see if you can detect excessive play.

Originally Posted by Pippin

I agree. The disparity between front and rear (90% Front 30% Rear) is not good over time.

Full time four wheel drive should have equal size and wear tyres all around. The transfer case has to work much harder with unequal sizes creating much more heat and breaking down the lubricant quicker which can lead to premature wear.

As previously stated, start with the simple stuff first. Also get all your uneven wheels balanced and rotated before you replace them with equal size tyres. Anytime I see one of these vehicles with uneven tyres I wonder about it's service commitment.

There is an app you can get for your phone that can pinpoint vibration issues in your car. Might be worth the $99. Might save you replacing parts due to guess work.

NVH on the App Store

If the vibration is worse going around a bend, particulary say left vs right it may be a front wheel bearing.