Severe Vibration

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Nov 19, 2015 | 10:40 AM

1fotonut

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Severe Vibration

have a 2006 Forest River Lexington 255 GTS on a Ford E450 chassis. We purchased it used 2yrs ago from a private owner with only 20,000 miles. It had a slight vibration which got worse over 60 mph. All tires were replaced and when that didn't help took to a different dealer to have road balanced. We drove the home some and the vibration got worse starting about 40mph. We took it to a local truck repair shop that does driveline work. They have replaced the transmission tailhousing with a bearing it, had the drive shaft rebuilt including new u-joints and retubing the front driveshaft. The vibration now is worse than ever..so bad that it's not driveable over about 30mph. Can anyone help.

Nov 19, 2015 | 12:19 PM

NotURMailman

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From: Nortern FL

Has anyone checked the driveline for proper pinion and driveshaft angles?

Proper depends on the driveline set up. Is the driveshaft one piece or two piece?

Does it have a single u-joint at one end or a double cardan type CV joint at the transmission out put?

It is very possible that these angles could be your problem and it is something that you can very easily check yourself. I can tell you exactly how to check it and what to look for if you tell me more about your driveline set up. I'm assuming it's RWD and not 4wd?

Nov 19, 2015 | 12:29 PM

droldsmorland

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From: Land of Taxes

Safely put it on jack stands and get it up to speed and look for whats wobbling. A new tire can be bad out of the box. Did the carrier bearing get replaced between the two shafts?

Nov 19, 2015 | 12:50 PM

r2millers

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From: Southern Cal

You might check your leaf spring u bolts to ensure the rear end is secure, not wobbling if loose.
If tires, u joints, carrier bearing is new, also check you motor mounts.

Nov 19, 2015 | 01:23 PM

Desert Don

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From: Texas

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1fotonut

One thing I am not clear about. Is it a high frequency vibration, as in like a buzz, or is it a low frequency vibration, as in thump thump thump and shake the steering wheel? If it is high frequency, check drivelines, bearings, power train, etc. If it is low frequency, look for out of round tires, loose steering components, etc.

Nov 19, 2015 | 01:50 PM

1fotonut

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You feel it in the seat and floor.. Up on jack stands at the garage the owner/mechanic says you can still see the drive shaft quivering. Will be checking with mechanics about carrier bearing and angles. Since they do driveline work and said they replaced u-joints, front driveshaft was retubed, I would think/hope carrier bearing was checked. Since they gave worked on it..replaced tail housing with bearing and emergency brake, retubed front section of drive shaft, replaced u-joints...supposed to have sent driveshaft to a shop that could balance the whole assembly...result is the vibration is worse. Where at least it was driveable..now the vibration is so bad you can't drive it over about 30mph...Crazy thing is the shop working on it is a Fleetcare/Freetpride Affiliate and the Fleetpride parts store next door does the driveshaft balancing/work.

Nov 19, 2015 | 02:12 PM

NotURMailman

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From: Nortern FL

Definitely ask them if they checked the rear driveline angles. That is a common thing to overlook and can easily be off with the curb weight of the vehicle being modified. It can also wear u-joints and feel like less of a vibration compared to new joints when the u-joints are starting to wear and worsen as they become badly worn.