What's that sound?

[KELLY88]

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.

Pretty sure it's tight. It has a tiny bit of play but not more than a couple degrees. From what I understand a tiny bit of play is normal.

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.

Ya it's an automatic. I went through the bottom of the truck front to back looking for anything obvious but didn't see anything.

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

Not sure exactly, the lift was on the truck when I bought it a year ago. No idea on the pinion angle.

 

[swamprat]

Get it going to highway speed and shift it to neutral. IF the vibration stops or lessons then I would think that it is in the drive train. Drive shaft could be out of balance. If a lift is put on and the pinion angle is not right then you can blow a u-joint.

 

[KELLY88]

Get it going to highway speed and shift it to neutral. IF the vibration stops or lessons then I would think that it is in the drive train. Drive shaft could be out of balance. If a lift is put on and the pinion angle is not right then you can blow a u-joint.

Alright I'll give that a try. I hope the pinion angle is fine cause it's been lifted for at least a couple years and never had an issue.

 

[KELLY88]

Well this is strange. As soon as the problem appeared it disappeared. Haven't had any buzzing noises or vibrations for the last few days. Didn't do anything except an inspection. A couple of lug nuts on the passenger side came off easier than I expected but that was it. I tried to get the tires balanced 3 times but the shops kept backing up even when they assured me the day before they would be fine. So would a couple of slightly loose lug nuts cause this kind of problem?

 

[gotmudd]

Pretty sure it's tight. It has a tiny bit of play but not more than a couple degrees. From what I understand a tiny bit of play is normal.



Ya it's an automatic. I went through the bottom of the truck front to back looking for anything obvious but didn't see anything.



Not sure exactly, the lift was on the truck when I bought it a year ago. No idea on the pinion angle.

Well this is strange. As soon as the problem appeared it disappeared. Haven't had any buzzing noises or vibrations for the last few days. Didn't do anything except an inspection. A couple of lug nuts on the passenger side came off easier than I expected but that was it. I tried to get the tires balanced 3 times but the shops kept backing up even when they assured me the day before they would be fine. So would a couple of slightly loose lug nuts cause this kind of problem?

your slip yoke should have NO play, slide in/out, yes, but if you grab both sides and can get any movement at all in opposing directions THAT IS NOT NORMAL,those splines are machined to be close fit zero tolerance. as for the lugnuts, if they are loose that would create vibration. good thing you caught that in time.

 

[KELLY88]

your slip yoke should have NO play, slide in/out, yes, but if you grab both sides and can get any movement at all in opposing directions THAT IS NOT NORMAL,those splines are machined to be close fit zero tolerance. as for the lugnuts, if they are loose that would create vibration. good thing you caught that in time.

Ok the definition of play may not have been exactly clear. I wasn't referring to a side to side motion, I was referring to being able to rotate the driveshaft a couple degrees clockwise and counterclockwise. I've been told that was normal, that it was just a small spacing between the gears and the teeth in the rear differential.

 

[skippy]

Ok the definition of play may not have been exactly clear. I wasn't referring to a side to side motion, I was referring to being able to rotate the driveshaft a couple degrees clockwise and counterclockwise. I've been told that was normal, that it was just a small spacing between the gears and the teeth in the rear differential.

Mine does that too.

 

[gotmudd]

gotcha, i thought you were talking about play in the slip yoke, you definitely don't want play there, but yes you're right a little play is normal at the differential

 

[MUDDING B-3000]

ok well i had this problem some what where it had that vibration an loud noise an i could feel it in the floor board. i wast sure about it an i left it for a bit an then it got worse to the point of where my truck sounded like an airplane goin to the road. it was my wheel bearings so when you last went off roading did you submerge ur bearings in water for awhile cuz i did that an it took like a month to get bad.

my wheel bearings had mud little pebbles an water in them an the rolers where barely moving so i changed them an i the problem was solved. also does it sound like its coming from the front of the truck or back? also put the front end of your truck up an grab the top an bottom of your tires an try to move them front to back an you should have no play if there is place your wheel bearings might be bad an then grab the sides and move its side to side an if your have play there you tie rod ends are loose

 

[KELLY88]

ok well i had this problem some what where it had that vibration an loud noise an i could feel it in the floor board. i wast sure about it an i left it for a bit an then it got worse to the point of where my truck sounded like an airplane goin to the road. it was my wheel bearings so when you last went off roading did you submerge ur bearings in water for awhile cuz i did that an it took like a month to get bad.

my wheel bearings had mud little pebbles an water in them an the rolers where barely moving so i changed them an i the problem was solved. also does it sound like its coming from the front of the truck or back? also put the front end of your truck up an grab the top an bottom of your tires an try to move them front to back an you should have no play if there is place your wheel bearings might be bad an then grab the sides and move its side to side an if your have play there you tie rod ends are loose

I do like to go mudding and the bearings were the first thing I checked. I repacked them a couple months ago after the last time I went offroad. I also inspected them when I checked out the brakes and they were fine. I didn't check for wheel play to see how the tie-rods are though. Maybe a moot point by now but I'll check anyway, can't hurt. Thanks for the tip.

 

[88rangr]

Ranger vibration

I have a 88 Ranger Super, I had a vibration start last week, put it up in the air, started the truck, put it in gear, and vibration began, turned engine off, that made sure it was the wheels or the driveline.

Balanced the rear wheels, put back on, ran again, still there, took a peak under the truck, saw drive line vibrating, the middle U Joint and support bearing had failed.

Also, the original cross member that holds the bearing had a recall that the original owner had not taken in to have FORD replace.

I did that 100,000 miles ago, that fix did help in getting rid of a vibration when I first got it. now it's just basic maint on the drive line, I got good mileage out of the bearing and U joint.

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.