Hello Fam!

I have spent the last year going bananas trying to track down a vibration. I finally got the steelman wireless chassis ear as well as the NVH App.
This listening device is very awesome while i drive and have found its at the bellhousing. The App unfortunately is not picking up on this vibration... Its senses 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order vibrations......,
Without an obd2 adapter, it only ESTIMATES engine speed.
I can tell you that for the driveline it is spot on because i experimented with duct taping a 8 gram weight to the driveshaft and it picked it up.

I AM with certainty. Well, I damn sure dont know where the diagnosis ends.....am i firing the parts cannon by dropping the trans and installing a TC?

Is there any other testing i can perform on it?
I mean i could hold the brake, hold the gas, load it up, chock the wheels and have someone listen to it down below but it will not malfuntion, just make a horrible racket!!!

All (6) nuts are securely fastened from the tc to flexplate....
There is no visible cracking of the flexplate....

The vibration that happens right there under my feet is at certain speeds and certain throttle and this is because that material is achieving a resonant frequency. It actually makes a racket at ALL TIMES. Which i can pickup with my regular stethescope while idling. It sounds like nails rattling in a coffee can.

I must shout from the mountaintops, i installed this listening device at 30 locations on the vehicle. it is sensitive enough i can hear a wheel bearing. THERE IS NOTHING HAPPENING WITH THE DRIVESHAFT OR REAR END.


These ears are fragile.
Something as simple as 2 inspection cover bolts could be "goodbye irene".
Somebody dunked them in Loctite and when the bolt finally gave in to my "gorilla strength angry bloke laying on his back" a nasty CRACK developed!
My propane torch could not get it hot enough. Either a induction bolt heater should have been used, or oxy acetylene, or i should have not pointed tge flame at the head of the bolt but infact the case itself where the bulge is that contains the bolt. I am uncertain of the expansion and tolerances of casted material but 600 degrees F to the point where it starts to get red and smoking....would have perhaps been okay.

 

What year is it? What engine?

 

That could be a loose catalytic converter core. Simple test, with the vehicle cold... not started since the previous day, hit the converters one at a time from underneath with a rubber mallet, if you hear a rattle it needs to be replaced.

 

oops
5.4 liter, 2005, e350, 5R110W trans,
this is a "cutaway" / "chassis"
it is a former senior citizen bus that i use for stuntriding and contribution to the common good.
Besides the few things it needs it has 37k original miles.

 

Thanks Conanski. That sounds like erroneous inaccurate tangents folks tend to go off on such as "how are your tires", "check the differential fluid"....and i am not immune to that sort of thing which is why i spent $375 on diagnostic equipment....but it is actually one spot i did not check so i will do so.....
it is noticeable ON THE GAS. comes in at 38mph-45mph, then goes away and comes back at 58-65mph. I can listen to the bellhousing while driving. Not only does it sound god aweful, it increases and overloads the amplifier in the device at these speeds and when i step on and off the gas. But like i said, it is only bad enough to vibrate the floorpan at certain throttle positions and speeds, but is present at the bellhousing with an alligator clamp on the dustcover at all times. I thought perhaps the dustcover could be shaking or scraping but its tight and theres no score marks on the flexplate.

 

There are also heat shields right above the exhaust that are bolted to the frame (from above... obviously installed before the body is mounted at the factory) that can break lose and rattle against the floor or frame. I thought I had a broken converter one time on my '06 E250 and it turned out to one of these heat shields.

 

Never seen a new converter fix any vibration ever. (Worn front pump bushing possibly)
The common complaints are noise when the flex plate breaks or cracks or the TC starts coming apart internally
Get about 4 second opinions before replacing the TC
2 of them from Ford dealer master techs

 

That is very interesting. I couldnt imagine a bigger let-down than going through all that work and the problem still persists. I will say this.....
To have a minibus or box truck worked on by a shop here in town with a heavy duty and tall enough bay to accomodate wants $206.40 per hour for labor. The bus place that is 35 minutes away wants $160.50 per hour for labor. The (2) general car repair places right across the street from each other right down the street (which can only work on regular sized and weight cars) want $128.40 /hr

What sortof tests would they perform? How can their opinion be reliable when i hear too many horror stories?

Unfortunately it is not easy to take apart and have a look at it to know for sure and THEN order the parts....

The front pump bushing sounds interesting, or perhaps there could be a pilot bearing of sorts or input shaft bearing i dont know about, TC doesnt slip, runs good.

 

Does the vibration speed range change if you’re in 3rd, 4th or 5th? If not, it’s more likely driveline vibration. Does the sound change with vehicle speed or engine rpm?

Sixto

 

I must emphasize i have put the listening device on the tail housing of the trans right above the slip yoke, also at various places on the rear end. this way i can be sure. it is called the steelman wireless chassis ear.

 

The position of your listening devices on the engine/transmission may potentially be leading you down a rabbit hole, these mechanical things are noisy even when operating correctly. The one possibility I see with internal components is that the engine has the wrong flexplate installed causing an imbalance vibration, but that flexplate doesn't look like it's been replaced recently so I doubt that is the issue. FWIW I had the fleplate break into 2 pieces on my previous van and there was absolutely no indication it was about to happen, there was no noise or odd vibration before it let go.

The #1 driveline problem with these vans is an out of balance driveshaft and worn or dry U-joints so I suggest you have a driveline shop inspect it. I'm 2 for 2 with worn or out of balance driveshafts on these vans and according to the driveline shops that got me back on the road this is VERY common on any vehicle with an aluminum driveshaft. In both of my cases the problem resulted in noise and vibration that could be felt and heard.

 

No, it doesnt.

Im not. An out of balance condition is D1, and a bad ujoint is D2, i have neither. The NVH app works. It can pickup a 8 gram weight.

 

+ 1 for having the driveline checked for balance
It's pretty easy to R&R the driveline and send it out for a balance

 

No, its not. There is only 1 place that does that here, its in Albany NY. The man uses a Hines machine that requires the rear ujoint to be dissasembled and it only goes up to 500 rpm. I wrapped it like a burrito and sent it out to Tulsa Oklahoma who bolts on the entire assembly and does 3k rpms and they said there is nothing wrong with it. I measured the runout and it is .019" which is less than spec. The ujoints are both brand new from Ford OEM. Axial play set to .001"

For there to be driveline noise the driveshaft would have to be either resonating (which would be heard from above) or, shaking, which would be heard at the trans tail or the diff. The TC noise is not just while driving. Its while parked, It just only able to get loud enough under a certain load to shake the floorpan under my feet nearby. And although my NVH app cannot pickup this up, it CAN pickup tires and driveshaft. A listening device that you can use while driving, a stethescope, and an NVH app can all save you from ripping your entire truck apart and rebuilding things that look aged but are perfectly fine.

All i want to know is what to look into as far as the location of the fault and possible remedies. My contention is i need to find someone with a lift or pit who will allow me to drop the trans and have a look at it before i order any parts.

 

Driveline noise?
A chassis ear does not help with diagnosis of a vibration IMO
Check the rear end bearings
Make sure the pinion is tight
Sent to Tulsa from Albany? for a driveshaft balance
You said former senior citizen bus, that means you had better be checking driveline angles if you took the big honking box off of it
The driveline angle coming out of the trans should match the angle going into the rear end