Ok.... With no Rear Driveshaft here is what I have. A very slight vibration at 30, 45 and 70 but nothing that would John q public would notice with the radio on. Obviously the vibration is comming from the rear, the Rotoflex is new (2000 Miles) and so is the centering bushing. The u-joint is in good shape inside and has good grease in it. Most likely a ballance problem or angle problem I see nothing that looks like a weight was knocked off the driveshaft. Does anyone have information on replacing the Rotoflex with a U-Joint or a kit what would include everything I need. The truck has 119K miles on it. Im going to order a Tom Woods shaft for the front but I didnt know if anyone out there had information on the rear, or if TW did those as well.

 

www.atlanticbritish.com has the u-joint kit for the rear driveshaft, I cant find it on their site, but I have seen it there before.
My truck has that kit and I wouldnt have it any other way.
If I remember right it is right around $350 for the new driveshaft and the kit to convert the rear diff to a u-joint.
Have you tried the spare tire trick yet?

 

Mine has a rotoflex andthe truckdoes not vibrate. Put a straight edge on the shaft and see if it is bent.

Willie

 

The U-Joint kit you refer to is for the D1 not the D2. There isa list of parts for the D2 thatthey can provide but they dont have a "Kit" persay. I Ordered a new shaft this morning, should be here on wednesday or thursday. Ill let you all know what happened but I am confident that this will fix it. There are too many things that can go wrong with the shaft. Tom Woods does not do a factory style shaft and almost recomended against going with the u-joint in the rear because of the angle of the pinions. I really dont plan to lift it more than 2 or 3 inches at the most. I can go anywhere I want to go like that.

 

Well.... New rear driveshaft and the vibration is still there......... This is getting anoying. Were talking about new from end to end. U Joint to Rotoflex. Take it out and the vibration is gone put it in and the vibration is there..... What else could go wrong..... Anything, anyone...... Im about ready to punt this thing.......

 

Have you looked at the tires yet?

 

Tires have about 3200 miles on them.... They have been balanced 3 times and the machine checked twice. Ive never had a vehicle do this and Im starting to get pissed at this thing.

 

Machine checked what?
If you have a belt seperating inside the tire eventually it will blow out on you, because the tires are new I am leaning towards a bad tire, it happens more than you think.

 

Ya... Tires are fine. The tire balance machine was checked twice for calibration. The vibration is gone when the rear driveshaft is removed from the vehicle. Old shaft and new one. Hrm.... The centering nub that you take out when you convert to a U-joint...... Another thought... Would as vibration in the front shaft resonate or travle into the rear???

 

Ok.... Rear driveshaft is bent I think... I took the Rotoflex joint out and let the rear spin on the nub while I spun the front with the break drum. There is about a quarter of an inchdeflection and adding weight doesnt make any difference. Im beginning to wonder if I got a bad driveshaft.... Any input?

Im comming to these conclusions by running the truck with the rear axle on Jackstands and no front driveshaft with the center diff locked. Using a piece of chalk to mark where the driveshaft is fruther off center.