Bad shake at highway speed

[Uncle Gump]

Driveshaft would be high frequency.

Perhaps a halfshaft...

What kind of tires? Mud terrains? Highway tread? And what brand?

 

[55trucker]

Vibration gets worse if go faster. Have rotated tires and doesn't change. Have had tires rotated and balanced with old wheels and tires, old wheels and new tires, and new wheels and new tires and doesn't change.

With the truck up off the ground pull the front driveshaft to eliminate all of the front drive components, if the vibation goes away you've narrowed down which end of the truck the issue is at. Reinstall the shaft, pull the front wheels off, test again, what do you get? No change?....not the wheels but something else in the front end rotating mass, there's not much left except the half shafts. rotors (machined out of balance), front drive shaft or on the far outside chance the front diff.

 

[L321]

Driveshaft would be high frequency.

Perhaps a halfshaft...

What kind of tires? Mud terrains? Highway tread? And what brand?

I have slightly oversize tires, Trailfinder All Terrain 265/75. It had factory size tires on it when I got it and did the same thing. I have had 3 sets of tires on 2 sets of wheels and symptom hasn't changed any regardless of balancing, including road force balance, rotation of tires, etc.

I put the rear up on jack stands and run it up to 70 mph and didn't seem too bad, just what I would expect with large tires spinning that fast. I will have to get another set of stands to get all 4 wheels of the ground.

The driveshaft I picked up from the ranger will bolt to the rear end but not the transfer case, mine has a larger bolt pattern. Looks like can change the yokes and should work. I am thinking about doing this as the driveshaft looks to be in a lot better shape than mine.

I did notice that the bushings in the lower control arms and on the front differential don't look to be in very good condition, but I wouldn't think this would cause a very consistent shake, would it? I would also think this would cause abnormal tire wire if this was the issue and tire wire is fine.

 

[rumblecloud]

Do you have manual locking front hubs or do you drive with them locked but not engaged?
I doubt that you do, but if you do, look up u joint phasing.

A long shot, but maybe...

 

[L321]

Do you have manual locking front hubs or do you drive with them locked but not engaged?
I doubt that you do, but if you do, look up u joint phasing.

A long shot, but maybe...

I don't have manual hubs, still the way it came from the factory. The axles do spin all the time though. I know the history of the truck from around 50k miles and the cv axles haven't been out of it since then. Could have had something done before then.

 

[96zjlaredo]

I've been chasing the same issue in my 97 for years. New wheels/tires, all new U-joints and carrier bearing for the 2 piece driveline, new rotors/calipers/pads/drims/shoes, front wheel bearings, trans/x-fer case mount and new shocks. U-joints and carrier bearing have been done 2x. I don't feel mine that much in the steering wheel but the shifter shakes like crazy at 43mph then goes away until 56-61 mph then it goes away again. used a GPS speedo since my dash speedo is off a bit. I'm about to put an exploder LSD/disc rear in it and want to convert to a 1 piece driveshaft. Plan on doing the axle first to see if the shakes go away after that due to a possible bent shaft because the shake feels like it's coming from the rear of the truck. If that doesn't solve the problem, I'll try to find a 1 piece shaft and pray that gets rid of it.

Good luck with your shakes!

 

[scotts90ranger]

One thing I didn't see in the original list is tie rod ends, have they been changed/looked at? I was honestly scared on my '00 Explorer when the tie rod end decided one day it was going to be a jerk... (I think it was the first day driving with the Jeep wheels/tires with scalloped tires...), was fine up til 50mph...

96zjlaredo, I'm just south of you in Dayton... I don't have any bright ideas on your issue right now but we could look things over sometime if you wanted... as dumb as it sounds my cobbled together '90 doesn't have any vibrations even through 75mph, it's a regular cab so shorter driveline though... when my driveline was bent and twisted it did do similar though so I wonder if one of the previous replies on driveline phase might be onto something...

 

[96zjlaredo]

One thing I didn't see in the original list is tie rod ends, have they been changed/looked at? I was honestly scared on my '00 Explorer when the tie rod end decided one day it was going to be a jerk... (I think it was the first day driving with the Jeep wheels/tires with scalloped tires...), was fine up til 50mph...

96zjlaredo, I'm just south of you in Dayton... I don't have any bright ideas on your issue right now but we could look things over sometime if you wanted... as dumb as it sounds my cobbled together '90 doesn't have any vibrations even through 75mph, it's a regular cab so shorter driveline though... when my driveline was bent and twisted it did do similar though so I wonder if one of the previous replies on driveline phase might be onto something...

hey neighbor!

I thought about the phasing as well and tried it a few different ways. It actually didn't change a thing. I think it's just trying to keep me awake on my drive home in the mornings. lol

 

[dvdswan]

So did this shake just start or have you had it while? Seeing the bushings, yes they are worn, could they cause the shake? Meh, anything is possible. Have you hit any curbs or potholes hard lately? You said it was in the steering wheel which points to the front suspension and not the drivetrain components.

Reason, you could be experiencing the death wobble. Yes, this is generally a solid axle issue. But, hitting a curb, pothole, or even playing "dukes of hazard" and jumping the truck can affect the caster angle and create a death wobble with worn rear a-arm bushings.

 

[Innocent Fool]

Is this a 4WD?

If yes then remove the rear drive shaft and take it for a run in 4wd.
Did the shake disappear?

If it's still there then install the rear shaft and remove the front one.
If the shake is still there then save your cash, it's not a driveshaft.