Did that. I went from my beloved black to the new one from Clay. With as intermittent as this all is, everything takes forever to confirm.

Found air in my #$%! fuel strainer again (tiny intermittent bubbles with hose movement at the strainer input). RTV and more hose clamps later, that sumbich ain't gunna leak vacuum again.

MFD is on the TP screen, in graph format - that way I can see 10 second of data every time I glance over. Cool option.

 

Crud. Rats. After conducting exhaustive experiments, it now looks like there is something going on after the engine. With all the sources of vibration I had going on simultaneously, nobody could sort it out - particularly the one left that shows up after quite a bit of driving.

The truck drives smooth - until something changes after driving anywhere from 30 miles to 60 miles. After that, the vibration is there whether the truck is in gear or coasting - but it's strongest with just the right engine torque. I strongly suspect my fancy-schmancy ladder bars are putting the driveline off-angle just enough to warm something up after a while - but that's a damn tough one to test in the driveway.

I pulled over when the vibration started, and everything was the same normal temperature they always have been - it just bugs me that the carrier bearing gets warm. Whatever is going on, I have my carrier bearing "shim kit" in the truck, left over from when too much was going on to sort out a driveline shimmy. Maybe I'll have better luck with the kit this time.

That's the bugger about all of this: Layered problems mask when you fix one of the issues. Fix a layer, repeat the tests for the other issues. Keep chiseling at the layers until a smooth run is left. I protest this Michelangelo method of troubleshooting. In "honor" of Stinky's new-found interest in Italian art, I've expressed my protestations to him in Italian sign language. I took a picture, but they don't allow that on FTE.

 

I ran into this same problem myself when shopping for brake pads at the Irish store. Kid behind the counter said they only had Wagner ceramic in stock. I wanted Raybestos in semi-metallic. I asked him "are these pads gonna squeak on me"? NO he answers. Couldn't be further from the truth. I about have to stand on the brakes to keep them from squealing! Truth be told I'm not sure they haven't warped my front rotors!!

 

I wonder if a one piece aluminum driveshaft would match the angle of your ladder bars.

LOL, next it will be Italian Sailors!

 

Harmonic balancer?

 

That's not far from my mind... but that would have to be in January.

Can this change after several miles of driving? I ask only because the problem is intermittent.

 

Rich, I have a Gear Vendors in my truck. I had the two piece driveshaft and lots of noise and vibration. I finally broke down and got a Aluminium one piece drive shaft from Driveshaft Specialists of Texas and the truck has never been so smooth even before the Gear Vendors. The guys at Driveshaft Specialists were great. I was a little hesitant because of cost but they guaranteed me the smooth ride or my money back. Was the best choice I ever made. I did try some local shops but it never worked. Also I I used to be a tire guy. You might try rotating tires from front to back one at a time to see if you have a tire that is doing something when it warms up. Seen that before.

 

I went a little more drastic there - 4 new rims and Michelin tires. It helped a little.

AS far as that goes, every fix so far has helped a little (some changes helped a lot - like springs). It's like everything on the truck was off just a bit, and it all added up to converting my Starbucks mug into a sprinkler.

I just installed my custom carrier bearing shim last night. It not only lowers the bearing, it tilts the base a little to be parallel with the shaft. Good rides so far, but I need many more miles before hanging any "Mission Accomplished" banners.

If I do move to a solid aluminum driveshaft, that long bugger would need to take 800 ft/lbs of torque without yielding.