What's that sound?

[KELLY88]

I'm putting this in the General Discussions category cause I don't know exactly where the problem is coming from. Started on the highway yesterday. Whenever I get up to about 50 mph the truck gets a loud buzzing noise and vibration. I can feel it in my feet on the floorboard/pedals and in my hands on the steering wheel. The noise and vibration gets worse as the speed goes up. The truck also has a strange time when I let off the gas after going above 50. The sound persists for a bit and it feels like the truck doesn't want to slow very easily but the brakes work fine. I have no idea if this is engine, transmission, transfer case, rear end, bearings, tires or what. If someone can pinpoint where this problem is and what it is please let me know.

 

[AngryLepercon]

The cheapest check would prob be balance the tires.

 

[skippy]

Yeah,tires and u-joints.

 

[KELLY88]

Here's another weird issue, though I'm not sure if it's related. The drivers side front manual hub has an extra click to it when it gets engaged. I turn it the quarter turn clockwise to engage it and I get an extra noise like a spring releasing. The passenger side hub doesn't make that sound. Could this be related to the first issue or is my truck all the sudden falling apart?

 

[AngryLepercon]

I can't help ya there, sorry.

 

[lil red]

id say get the tires balanced all the way to 0.00, most places leave it at .25 and under.
and mabe u joints.
is there a side to side, or can you feel a shake in the steering wheel(kind of in and out.like pushing wheel down on its shaft and back up)? it could be tie rod ends, or ball joints, or it could just be your slightly out of allingnment

idk, but its most likeley the tires, of TREs

 

[KELLY88]

id say get the tires balanced all the way to 0.00, most places leave it at .25 and under.
and mabe u joints.
is there a side to side, or can you feel a shake in the steering wheel(kind of in and out.like pushing wheel down on its shaft and back up)? it could be tie rod ends, or ball joints, or it could just be your slightly out of allingnment

idk, but its most likeley the tires, of TREs

No there's no shake in the steering wheel or side to side. I'm pretty sure the alignment is ok. I can let go of the wheel on a straight road and can go about 100 yards or more before having to grab the wheel again. Given the multiple suggestions of the tires I think I'm gonna go have them done. If anything it can't hurt. Also if I'm inspecting the u-joints what do I look for? I don't know much about these so how can I tell if I'm looking at a worn out u-joint?

 

[metalmacguyver]

Try rotating the tires and see if the sound/vibration changes. If it does, THEN get them balanced.

Check your drive shaft/carrier bearing.

The extra click in your hub is probably the mechanism sticking a little bit.

Is it only happening when you are leaving the hubs engaged?

Check your drive shaft for any dents/imperfections that could throw off the balance.

 

[KELLY88]

Well that was weird, hub doesn't make the click noise anymore. I'll rotate the tires tonight and if the problem doesn't go away then I'll get a balance done in the morning. I checked out the driveshaft and it looks good. No reason I don't think for it to be dented, I haven't gone offroad in a long time and this just started. My knowledge is pretty limited here in some parts. Where is the carrier bearing and what am I looking for? I tried looking for slop in the driveshaft while it was parked and it's solid as a rock.

 

[metalmacguyver]

The carrier bearing supports the stock 2 piece drive shaft.

 

[97ranger4x4]

Have you done brakes recently? When I replaced mine i forgot to put locktite on the caliper bolts. I had a similar problem and the caliper was loose. Created a horrible vibration. Since you will probably pull the tires off anyways, check to make sure everything on your brakes are tight while your in there!

 

[KELLY88]

The carrier bearing supports the stock 2 piece drive shaft.

Oh. I've got a 1-piece driveshaft put on after the lift.

Have you done brakes recently? When I replaced mine i forgot to put locktite on the caliper bolts. I had a similar problem and the caliper was loose. Created a horrible vibration. Since you will probably pull the tires off anyways, check to make sure everything on your brakes are tight while your in there!

No I haven't done any brake work recently though I did have to pull the calipers off to get the rotors off when I did the bearings a while back. I'll give that a check. Thanks for the tip.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Is the driveshaft tight? I have seen driveshafts with a tiny bit of slop in the slip yoke vibrate like no other at highway speeds.

 

[Shran]

My '86 was making godawful noise for a while...turned out to be a heat shield on the passenger side that is normally riveted to the cab was loose and rubbed against the tranny.

Is it an automatic? I also had a buzzing/rattling noise in my '88 that ended up being a transmission vent tube rubbing against the side of the trans. Just some things to check...noises like this can be hard to track down.

 

[swamprat]

how long ago did you put the lift on? What is your pinion angle?