I posted a couple weeks ago that I had a drive train vibrartion in my 2000 f-250 ex-cab V-10 4x4 with 16000 miles on it. The vibration was comming from the front and rear. All of the tires were balanced,this helped very little. The dealer hooked it up to that special vibration diagnostic sensor and drove it at the symptomatic speeds 65-75, vibration is most noticable. It produced an error code for the drive shaft being out of round. After waiting two weeks for the shaft to come in they put it in today and to no avail it did not fix the problem.It was an updated shaft. They mounted this shaft with the slip joint at the tranfer case end unlike the old shaft that had the slip joint at the differential end. I asked the dealer about this and he said that was the way the new shaft was supposed to go in. Why would they reverse the which end the slip joint is at, was it an update from ford? Anyways when I took it for the test drive to check it out it still was vibratind in the front end and a little in my seat and floor. I went back to the dealer and took a 2003 that was as close to mine as possible for a test drive and it was like night and day. So now I know there is a problem. The dealer is frustrated to because they want to fix it. But one thing is for sure there is no way they test drove it after fixing it because they would have noticed it was not fixed. My question is what else could it be. My thinking is the front drive shaft or the tires are just junk, this of which would not supprise me! The tires on these trucks suck! I just want to get this fixed so I can have my baby back . Help me out here I would greatly appreciate the insight of your opinions, especialy the ford mechanics that I know are reading this!HE-HE

 

Check with NoMo if he's back on the board. His first Superduty had a vibration that could not be fixed. I think he ended up getting a new truck.

 

well to start off ,all the trucks I've ever seen had have the slip joint
at the transfercase not at the rear dif.
?????? but then again I could be from another planet so !
''''
If tires are balanced and they are stock tires I would think their fine.
They can put it on a lift and run to see if they are out of round.

If they replaced the drive shaft they may need to phase it (keep trying different positions)on the flange.

next Did they chk runout on the flanges with a dial indicator?


We assume the chkd your u-joints for being okay ,if you had a drive shaft that was bad sometimes the u-joints can be worn into a pattern.

Just a couple of things I would look at if it was mine

Rich

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 12-Sep-02 AT 09:13 PM (EST)]Forty mentioned several good things that need to be checked out.A couple more items ,although unlikely,are a bad pinion angle on either axle caused by a mislocated spring pad or even an axle that is shifted to one side or the other a bit.Like I said,not very likely,but stranger things have happened.
BTW,the factory steel rims on my 02 were garbage.

 

The last time I saw a slip joint at the axle end was on my 79 Bronco. And boy oh boy did I see quite a few of them . That being said, is the vibration in the rear eliminated? Where is the slip joint in the front? Does it get worse in 4wd? This is a wierd one. Maybe you can borrow another set of rims and tires like off that new truck you test drove. If the dealership is so willing to help, then maybe they wouldn't mind taking a few minutes to mount them for you.
Once you can safely eliminate tires and rims, then you can look into something mechanical. Check the driveshafts for play, even the tiniest bit can probably be felt at such high speeds. U joints, wheel bearings, axle shafts, basic moving parts are the usual suspects.
In fact, I just had my front diveshaft replaced because of a squeaking sound when in 4wd. It sure did look nice all shiny and new.
Anywho, good luck.

 

where in the country are you located? maybe i could help?

 

My 99 V10 has a similar vibration. It is a 5 speed 4X4 with 4.30's and 61,000 miles. It feels like a roughness in the floorpan (underneath my feet)and I can hear mine (hum)between 65-80 mph. I bought it used in June. The dealer p'd me off because they told me it was the left rear tire out of balance. I told them no way, I have had enough trucks with vibrating drivetrains to know the difference. Anyway, they rebalanced the left rear tire ( they were brand new 305-70-16's put on by the dealer!)and called me up to pick it up. I asked if they test drove it at highway speeds "yep" they said. They did not know I reset the trip odometer when I dropped it off. It had less than half a mile on it when I picked it up. Anyway, it didnt fix it. I pulled the driveshaft , greased the slip yoke and replaced the rear ujoint. No change. I almost think it is my exhaust. My exhaust rattles (flutter?)really bad at 2,000 rpm's and at different rpm's between 2,000-3,000. I am going to have a Y pipe made when I get the money. For now, I am living with the vibration.

 

Dave,

The problem you described on your 99 V10 sounds a lot like flutter. I should know, my truck has it pretty bad too. The way I am curing it is that I have a set of Banks headers and Y-pipe on order. This should take care of the flutter quite nicely


Best regards,

Jeff

 

I wouldn't imagine that it is the front driveshaft since it is not suppose to move when in 2WD. HOWEVER! At a recent Super Duty rally I went around and tried to hand rotate the inner axles to see if the were unlocked. I found a number of them had one axle shaft that had not unlocked (it was stuck somehow).

I would verify this since it is very easy to do.

When in 2WD you should be able to freely rotate the front driveshaft and both inner axle shafts.

 

Thanks for the replys so far guys! I live just outside syracuse NY for the gentelman who was inquiring. Keep the info comming! I really appreciate it.
Brian

 

Did you happen to buy this truck as a "used" model? I ask because it sounds just like the 2000 F250 extended cab 4x4 w/v10 that I used to have. Ford, after deciding to not even locate the source of the problem, told me it was "OK" to drive it with the vibration and offered me either an extended warranty or some $$ towards purchasing a new truck. I took the $$ and bought my current '01 F350.

The few things they did to try and solve the problem:
Balanced tires
Re-indexed rear driveshaft
Reversed (end-to-end) rear driveshaft
Remove rear driveshaft... ran truck in 4WD using only the front to pull truck down highway.

 

Yes it was used, but it only had 500miles on it and it was a dealer to dealer sale. I am the first owner.

 

 

Sorry to hear of your problem! I get sick when something happens to my baby. I work in a field that uses turbine engines with speeds up to 57000RPM and there is a term used on any rotating/vibrating area called "sympathetic vibration". It is a term that describes vibrations occuring from more than one location at the same speed (sympathetic) at the same time. It is a manufacturing thing that happens by chance when many items revolving have the same vibration level at differant speeds. In other words when the drive shaft vibs at 2000RPM coupled with the engine speed of 2500 and the whatever at 3000 rpm and they are sympathetic YOU NEVER WILL FIND IT! It is a law of any rotational devise. Its a thing that can't be fixed except by replacing one or more of the devices. If one vibrated at an acceptable level it would be OK but when they all vibrate at a level that magnifies the other it is nightmare. Soemtimes this happens.

 

Has it always had the vibration? Is it a stick or automatic? Perhaps the pressure plate is defective? Have the dealer put on different wheels and tires and take another test drive just to make sure it's not that problem. Can you feel the vibration when it is in neutral and engine running at the "vibration" rpm?:-(