Ok, so I'm looking for engine and transmission mounts, rotoflex (mine is starting to show wear), and track bar. I do have a slight exhaust rattle, but that is a different sound and the vibration actually shakes the vehicle.

The vibration does increase with speed but not with RPM, so it's probably not engine mounts. I'll probably try other things first and get to those down the road either way.

Edit: and check the CVs. Is there an easy way to do that? I'd like to not remove the damn wheel bearings AGAIN.

 

Have you checked your radius arm bushings yet? They would have to be pretty worn to get the sounds you are talking about, but they do wear out.

Also, a badly out of balance wheel, bad wheel bearing, worn shock, or a bent rim can make for some nasty vibrations. You might want to jack the front wheels off the ground one at a time and check for any play.

 

I have not. I noticed one little dry rot crack in one of them a while back, but they didn't look that bad.

I did jack up each wheel to check the bearing and they are fine, i think the vibration would be pretty constant if it was a wheel out of balance, and none of the rims are bent.

I do know my shocks are all worn out pretty badly (same shocks that came from the factory), but I'm saving to get a whole Terrafirma kit before I replace them.

 

Seriously if your running the original u joints they need to be changed even if they are not your vibe source. Its cheaper now before they require a new trans.

 

I'm not, it has the greasable joints. Thanks though.

 

Hi Alex_M, wheel balance is notorious as it changes according to speed, road surface and cornering. Please don't believe it stays constant as it can vibe at say 30-40mph and then again at say 65-75mph and above that appears fine. I'm not saying wheel balance is your particular problem but many are under the illusion it is progressive related to road speed and it certainly isn't. The problem with wheel balance, or out of balance, is it's also sha@@ing out many other components, radius arm bushes, Watts/Panhard bushes, wheel bearings, shockers, track and drag link ball ends etc, etc. It's far cheaper to have the wheels re-balanced than risk the potential wear/damage it causes notwithstanding it also screws up the handling on bends particularly.

 

I doubt this oddball vibration cause that I had is your culprit,........I think I may be the ONLY one that has ever had this. My 2003 D2 came to me with an odd vibration under the seats that was higher frequency that what you generally experience with a wheel balance issue,.....after completely rebuilding both driveshafts including the centering ball gizmo,....no change, I was glad I got the greasable joints in there, but frustrated. I remembered that when I pulled the rear shaft down, that it was not completely tight at the rear shaft e brake drum attachment point,.....I wondered if perhaps the shaft not being properly tightened had allowed the brake drum to waller out the holes and thus no longer be properly centered.

I pulled the rear shaft back down to have a look (takes 10 minutes), and the brake drum holes seemed to all be snug and round,.....not wallered out.

Back to the drawing board,........I was still thinking the problem had to be the rear shaft brake drum and had a thought while driving it one afternoon, to pull up on the e brake handle while driving, and if the drum was off center or maybe warped from someone leaving it on and driving,.....then there would surely be a pulsation through the e brake handle.

I gently pulled the e brake handle at about 20 mph and could not believe the pulsation/ vibration I had at the e brake lever.

Next day, I pulled the rear shaft again and this time I pulled the rear shaft brake drum off (not easy as the countersunk screw holding it in place was all buggered up,.....I had to drill it out to get the screw head off, then extract the screw body). I put the rear shaft back on using a stack of new washers around each of the four bolts to conpensate for the thickness of the braking drum that was now gone,......tightened everything up, drove it,......and problem solved!!!

I had the brake drum turned at a local OReilleys for $20. At the next opportunity, I dropped the rear shaft again and replaced the brake drum,......Id say this eliminated 70% of the vibration I had been experiencing, but not all of it,....so now I am on the hunt for another brake drum to try to see what happens.

 

That brake drum is indeed heavy, and the casting is one of the worst I have seen. I guess yours would need to be turned inside AND outside on a standard metal lathe to make sure it's the same thickness all around.

 

The drum was prolly cast in India .................... during the Iron ages.

Most castings are cr@p and they invariably could do with truing up in a lathe inside and out. Problem is it needs to run concentric and flat to the central flange area which doesn't give much to grip in the lathe chuck unless you turn up an alu exact size shouldered centre boss and a clamp plate and bolt to hold it.

 

Righto, I do understand that. The problem is that it isn't even constant at the speeds I feel it at. Sometimes it will start at 60 and other times it won't even show up past 75. Other times it won't start at 60 but I'll be shaking the teeth out of my head by 75. The only real rhyme or reason is that sometimes things like a bump in the road or a hard corner will set it off. Then again, sometimes it will start on its own.

If the track bar doesn't fix my problem then I'll have the wheels balanced. It should be in the mail tomorrow and I'll try to install it and have an alignment done this weekend.

Thanks for the help!