Rear End Shake

[Joe400]

I've been dealing with the rear end of my 93 ranger shaking for a few months now and i'm devoting this weekend to fixing it.

At around 40 - 50 mph the bed of my ranger starts shaking side to side.

I am running a 1 piece driveshaft, due to a 4" suspension lift and the tires are balanced so thats not the problem.

The only thing i can think of is the rear axle is bent.
I noticed the shaking after going mudding one day and got pulled sideways out of a hole. I figured I just had mud caked on the inside of the rim but thats not it.

I'm also running 63" chevy leafs. I'm checking the runout on the axles tomorrow

The shake turns into a mild vibration after about 60 mph

Anyone else have any ideas what it could be?

 

[AgPete139]

"...rear axle is bent."

You sure, and not the bent axle shaft instead? Lugs torqued? Are you sure they balanced your 32/33's correctly?

Put the axle up, and put in drive. You sure the driveshaft is not the problem? You will also be able to tell which side of your axle the shakes are coming from. The wobbling is usually pretty evident...

 

[Joe400]

I'm not sure if its the axle shaft, but i'm putting a dial indicator on it tomorrow to check.

- Its not the driveshaft, i had a vibration before with the 2 piece that has since gone away with the 1 piece
- Lugs are Torqued
- Tires are balanced, i tried rotating them and also a buddies set

I have also noticed that i can move the rear wheels up and down slightly probably due to worn rear axle bearings but it has always been like this and it's not bad

Just out of curiosity, if it does turn out to be bent, whats a 8.8 28 spline rear end usually go for at a junkyard?

 

[MAKG]

Check the driveline angles. If you have a standard two-U-joint (single cardan) driveshaft, both joints should be bent at the same angle.

Also, feel the rear end flange for floppiness. Sometimes an old driveline shake can work the pinion nut loose (BTDT).