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Strange Pulse

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Old Jan 25, 2005 | 09:15 AM
  #1  
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DJones71
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From: Bartlett, TN
Strange Pulse

I can't figure this one out. A few days ago I started noticing a strange pulse vibration while I'm going down the highway. The engine runs out smooth at speed and I had the brakes checked out a week or so ago. Could worn U-joints cause this? The tires are in good shape so I don't think thats a problem. At 65 mph its a slow pulsing that I can not detect at speeds slower then 40 mph. any ideas would be great.

p.s. before I noticed this I was sitting in traffic and as the truck was rolling it had a very load sound like a brake squeak that would speed up with the truck. the next day it was gone and the vibration took its place.

Thanks
Dave
 
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Old Jan 25, 2005 | 09:18 AM
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From: Westminster, Colorado
I have a rythmic vibration at around 60 MPH....cycles about once a second...can't really be heard but you can feel it through the seat....I've been told to check my U-joints as well...even though my Rear driveshaft is less that a year old....Any futher input or ideas wuold be great.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2005 | 09:25 AM
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Here's my 2 cents. I had a similar problem that started with a warped brake rotor. A brake pad wore out and gouged into the rotor. I didn't turn it which caused it to warp. Anyway, all was fine for a while but once the rotor went bad I started feeling a pulsing with the brakes. I lazily let it go for a while until it got worse so I replaced the rotor. The problem didn't go away completely and what had happened is that pulsing rotor caused a tie rod-end to wear out. I replaced it and the problem still didn't go away. It turned out that I there was damage to the brake calipers and until I replaced everything all over again I kept having some type of bouncing around. So the lesson of the day is to keep your rotors straight. Don't know if this helps but it's all I've got.

It could also be out of balance tires, out of round tires, a bent rim, a bent axle. jack up the car and spin the tires. You can see out of round and bent if you can spin them fast enough.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2005 | 10:06 AM
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Mine has drums all around.....and that has all been serviced recently, so I son't think that's my problem......I'm worried it could be the t-fer case or Transmission.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2005 | 12:12 PM
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Make sure there's no play in your front end bearings.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2005 | 12:24 PM
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u joints will squeek when they are going and you can get a vibration at speed. sounds like you already know what the problem is. good luck.
 
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Old Jan 25, 2005 | 06:01 PM
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> could be the t-fer case or Transmission.

Go under the truck and tighten the engine/transmission/transfer case bolts.

It would not hurt to remove the shocks and test those too.
 
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Old Jan 26, 2005 | 06:56 PM
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From: Bartlett, TN
Update: I think its the U-Joint I crawled under and gave it a close inspection and it appears the rear joint is giving up the fight. I will change this out this weekend and post if it fixes the problem. The front joint seems ok but I don't like the little bit of play the yoke has at the tail of the transmission. It seems very small but could be a problem also. The C-4 that is in the truck is not original to the truck so now I have to wonder if the drive shaft is correct. Is there any way to tell if the shaft is original?

Thanks
Dave
 
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Old Jan 31, 2005 | 09:22 AM
  #9  
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Pulse problem gone. The rear U-joint was shot. Changed it and the pulse and the *clunk* sound stopped also. Easy fix and money saved.

Thanks
Dave
 
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Old Feb 28, 2005 | 04:25 PM
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New Carburetor = Vibration gone......?

Well, my vibration story has a different ending......I finally decided to replace my old carburetor, of questionable reliability, with a new Edelbrock 1406.....and the "once a second" vibration at 60 MPH is gone.

Was my fuel cycling through the float or something?
 
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