Trying to track down the cause of a slight vibration during driving. Naturally I went straight for the driveshafts. I pulled the front one off to inspect the u joints. They seem all good but I did notice the front driveshaft yoke didn't move freely at all. Like ,I could get it to move but I had to hit it with a mallet.
I can't recall how easy they should come in and out. Any ideas? Might this be the cause of the vibration.

It did happen during an offroading trip with heavy crawling. Thanks for any help.

 

I believe there should be "some" play in the joints. They should feel not too stiff and not too loose. You like that answer?! Sorry, I know it's vague but you know it when you feel it.

You mentioned "it happened during an off-road trip" do you think you binded up on a rock during a crawl? It's certainly feasible.

Have you pulled the shaft and locked up for a test spin to test if the vibration vanished?

 

Me again, and while I've got your attention. Any ideas as to the light vibration? It's steady at slow speeds and less at high speeds. Very slight. Average person probably wouldn't notice but I'm so hyper sensitive to every little sound and movement.

Checked and double check the driveshafts and joints. The flux coupler thing (rubber hockey puck) has a few small stress cracks but nothing big and it's is not loose at all.

 

Try pulling the shaft out and strike the yoke that is stiff with a large (maybe 32oz) steel mallet. Don't hit it too hard. Just give it a few light strikes. This will help the joints move more freely in the yoke, especially if it was rebuilt recently. Grease up all the fittings until fresh grease oozes out. Then wipe off the excess and reinstall the shaft. I am assuming that this is not the original shaft, because if it is, replace it immediately.
I hope this works for you.

 

BTW my rotoflex is the original and I have 102k on my D2. It has stress cracks, but I do not have any vibrations. So I doubt that the rotoflex is your issue.

 

Thanks for the replies. Well it is the original but all the u joints have been replaced with greesable ones. That was about 2 years ago and I grease them every 6 months or so.

I have the front shaft out now so maybe I'll take it for a drive. Just engage the centre diff lock and go I guess right?

 

Correct.
......

 

OK, well figured I'd close this one up. it ended up being my passenger side engine mount. It had sheared off. I'll replace when the new part shows up. That was the vibration.

As far as the driveshaft goes. I did get the yoke out. I cleaned it and added a nipple for greasing. I seems to be moving better now.