bad vibration at higher speeds
- Thread starter malloynx
- Start date
i have a custom one piece driveshaft and have horrible vibration starting around 75 and getting worse the faster i go. at 60 it rumbles, but if i go a little faster itll go away.
now, before it was much worse making the car unbearable to drive on the highway.
i got new tires and balanced them my self off the car, vibration still there. took the DS off and had it balanced, the vibration strangely got a little better, but recently it has been getting worse again.
im hoping it is the wheels, i am going to have the wheel dynamically balanced tomorrow morning and will see if that solves my problem.
i just installed new front wheel bearings and my ball joints are still good, im not really surewhat else could be the problem. ill post back afteri have the wheels balanced at speed on the car and let you guys know if this fixes the problem.
now, before it was much worse making the car unbearable to drive on the highway.
i got new tires and balanced them my self off the car, vibration still there. took the DS off and had it balanced, the vibration strangely got a little better, but recently it has been getting worse again.
im hoping it is the wheels, i am going to have the wheel dynamically balanced tomorrow morning and will see if that solves my problem.
i just installed new front wheel bearings and my ball joints are still good, im not really surewhat else could be the problem. ill post back afteri have the wheels balanced at speed on the car and let you guys know if this fixes the problem.
Harmonic vibration 
This is a big part of why Toyota went 2 piece and the reason I won;t go for a single piece shaft as with my 5th and Diff ratios I don't want to risk top end runs vibrating the car to pieces.
Ford released an SUV type thing here that's limited to 180 KPH for this very reason.
This is a big part of why Toyota went 2 piece and the reason I won;t go for a single piece shaft as with my 5th and Diff ratios I don't want to risk top end runs vibrating the car to pieces.
Ford released an SUV type thing here that's limited to 180 KPH for this very reason.
Hmm. So do you suggest getting either the stock DS re-tubed or having a custom 2-piece made, Ian?
Kurt: The 2 piece part of the rear section of our shafts sucks as the bonding can "slip" putting the Uni's out of phase inducing vibrations.
I have this part replaced with a single tube amd keep the centre bearing and run at 150+ mph with no vibes.
When my 9" is don't I'm building a brand new custom 2 piece using the very best Strange parts (pics in my thread)
I have this part replaced with a single tube amd keep the centre bearing and run at 150+ mph with no vibes.
When my 9" is don't I'm building a brand new custom 2 piece using the very best Strange parts (pics in my thread)
IJ. said:Harmonic vibration
This is a big part of why Toyota went 2 piece and the reason I won;t go for a single piece shaft as with my 5th and Diff ratios I don't want to risk top end runs vibrating the car to pieces.
Ford released an SUV type thing here that's limited to 180 KPH for this very reason.
but this cant be completely from the driveshaft? the vibration is very noticable and i just couldnt imagine this being a normal side effect from running a single piece.
a slight additional rumble, sure, but not what im experiencing? if so then that sucks and i waisted a butt load of money, only to have to go back to the stock DS.
lagged said:but this cant be completely from the driveshaft? the vibration is very noticable and i just couldnt imagine this being a normal side effect from running a single piece.
a slight additional rumble, sure, but not what im experiencing? if so then that sucks and i waisted a butt load of money, only to have to go back to the stock DS.
IJ is correct...harmonic vibration. I see you got it balanced; is it steel or aluminum? Aluminum has more of a dampening effect. Are all your bushings good on the rear? Especially the sub-frame bushing
Lagged: Uni's don't spin in perfect circles they tend to do a figure 8 and the longer the shaft the more pronounced this affect is.
Awhile back I tried to explain this but got drowned out but everyone that had bought a 1 piece and thought it the best thing since sliced bread so gave up and wandered off.
At certain RPM the shaft will go harmonic as well as get a whip up from the figure 8 path of the Uni's neither of these 2 effects are pleasant.
Awhile back I tried to explain this but got drowned out but everyone that had bought a 1 piece and thought it the best thing since sliced bread so gave up and wandered off.
At certain RPM the shaft will go harmonic as well as get a whip up from the figure 8 path of the Uni's neither of these 2 effects are pleasant.
IJ. said:
Is the u-joints used a factor? On my aluminum single piece, it actually cured a lot of vibration problems I was having with the 2 piece shaft....course it could have been the worn out 2nd tube as you mentioned. I've done several over 130 mph runs with no abnormal vibration on this shaft at all. My problem is a front end vibration...driving me nuts trying to ferret it out.
The reason I asked about the rear end bushings is vibration can be transmitted to the shaft through the differential (or from the differential itself) and create a harmonic that way. A steel shaft will make it worse.
From what I understand, what's happening is the driveshaft has a natural resonance. Vibration from the tranny, u-joints, differential, and rear suspension can cause this resonance to set-up...it depends on the frequency of the vibration source. A longer driveshaft (i.e. single piece) is more susceptible to resonance...that's why Toyota used a 2 piece shaft with shorter lengths. Is my line of reasoning flawed here?
JDub: If you're running a Turbo Diff your shaft speed may not be high enough at 130 to get into the whip zone.
I think your old 2 piece have have slipped mine did on an NA so I got it welded.
Most long 1 piece shafts will have a cardboard tube or a poly insert inside to damp out the harmonic ringing but what I'm talking about is much more destructive if ran at sustained speeds. (you feel it more than hear it like something is binding)
Look at your old shaft the Uni's should be in line.
I think your old 2 piece have have slipped mine did on an NA so I got it welded.
Most long 1 piece shafts will have a cardboard tube or a poly insert inside to damp out the harmonic ringing but what I'm talking about is much more destructive if ran at sustained speeds. (you feel it more than hear it like something is binding)
Look at your old shaft the Uni's should be in line.
jdub said:IJ is correct...harmonic vibration. I see you got it balanced; is it steel or aluminum? Aluminum has more of a dampening effect. Are all your bushings good on the rear? Especially the sub-frame bushing
ugh its steel, AND i have an NA lsd on top of that.
bushings are still good.
to the FS section i go...
Old thread bump, but lots of good info here. I had a bad center support bearing, so I decided to replace it with a Ford ranger bearing as some others on here have done. I marked up the flanges before removal, but my dumb ass removed the nut on the bearing flange and the whole thing slid apart, which is when i realized that I never marked the splined section... Anyways, since the U joints must be in phase with each other ( from one shaft to the other) there were only two possible ways to put it back together anyways. I got it all buttoned up and took it back on the road, and it now has a terrible vibration. Starting at about 40mph and getting worse with more speed, to a point. I went back in and unbolted the flange/ rotated it 180 degrees and the vibration is still there, just as bad.
While I was under there the second time, I looked at the rear bonded section and the shaft is totally out of phase! I would have to say the joints are almost 90 degrees off. I just can't seem to figure out why I was not getting any vibration before, and now I am, with nothing but the center support bearing being changed. Is it possible the vibration was being taken up by the rotted rubber in the original bearing?
Anyhow now I have to figure out how to repair this. I am running a W58 with 7mgte, planning to make 350-375hp. Is it possible to get the rear section back in phase, and then get it welded up? Still not sure if this will fix my vibration. Another option is to get another used w58 drive shaft, and finally i could get a one piece. I daily drive this car and it rarely sees the track, so I want something that is going to keep vibration minimal but still have strength for the track ( can't imagine any of them are a problem at my power levels). Any opinions? I would opt for a once piece, but now I am not so sure after reading all these things about whip and vibration. Thanks.
EDIT: BTW I am running a 4.33 LSD rear end.
While I was under there the second time, I looked at the rear bonded section and the shaft is totally out of phase! I would have to say the joints are almost 90 degrees off. I just can't seem to figure out why I was not getting any vibration before, and now I am, with nothing but the center support bearing being changed. Is it possible the vibration was being taken up by the rotted rubber in the original bearing?
Anyhow now I have to figure out how to repair this. I am running a W58 with 7mgte, planning to make 350-375hp. Is it possible to get the rear section back in phase, and then get it welded up? Still not sure if this will fix my vibration. Another option is to get another used w58 drive shaft, and finally i could get a one piece. I daily drive this car and it rarely sees the track, so I want something that is going to keep vibration minimal but still have strength for the track ( can't imagine any of them are a problem at my power levels). Any opinions? I would opt for a once piece, but now I am not so sure after reading all these things about whip and vibration. Thanks.
EDIT: BTW I am running a 4.33 LSD rear end.