dropped driveshaft and now vibrations

[Jc12]

If a driveshaft is not put back in how it came out (ie. splines etc) could it cause vibration in the steering wheel (only at highway speeds)? I dont have much body vibration but i have so far replaced - tires, ITR's, OTR's, LBJ's and steering rack bushings as well as sway bar links. Now all i can think of is one time when i had the driveshaft out and i did not line up the splines.. is there anyway to check by means of factory markings for where it should be?

sorry this is going to get long but it will help explain how the d/s came out.. very VERY stupid on my behalf.

I was working with Blcktpgsr and i had my rear LCA's disconnected, i had to move the truck back about 4 inches to close the garage door annnnnnd after a very long day of work forgot to reconnect the LCA's so my axle swung back as i shifted into reverse and the driveshaft popped out. We took the u joint off and knocked it back onto the shaft then bolted it all back together. Could this cause the issues i have.. i also have this bouncy feeling when slowly accelerating but i think that could be linked to my well used FJ shocks (to match the 7.5 wraps)

 

[Jc12]

forgot to mention.. i recently purchased new pro comp A/Ts and the shop installed them and i went back for a second rebalancing and they continuously tried to blame the steering wheel shake (back and forth) on the items i have since replaced. They actually admitted to finding two wheels out of balance on the second inspection. After that it still wasnt fixed so they told me i needed wider rims otherwise it would be impossible to smoothen the ride..the steering wheel vibration is new and started since i did the lift/tire swap 2 months ago, any thoughts? thanks!

 

[BrianSD_42]

damm if you had only seen my post on TBSTs thread yes****ay....


If you drop a driveshaft you must permanently notch it or mark it and it must be put back exactly.

The notch is somehing you would create, not the factory (unless they premarked it)

I'm not sure how many bolts the 4Runners DS has but you have X number of possibilities.

Just keep trying until there are no vibes.

 

[Jc12]

damm if you had only seen my post on TBSTs thread yes****ay....


If you drop a driveshaft you must permanently notch it or mark it and it must be put back exactly.

Im not sure how many bolts the 4Runners DS has but you have X number of possibilities.

Just keep trying until there are no vibes.

lol i knowwww, it was..well an accident - otherwise it would have been marked. this could make for a fun month...ohhh goooddddd.. what about just having it balanced?? Would that give the same effect?

 

[BrianSD_42]

Someone else will have to chime in here with 4Runner knowledge since my experience on this one is limited.


I only know this:


If you don't mark the driveshaft pieces ... you're gonna have a bad time.

:moping:

 

[Jc12]

im getting depressed now!! i mean the shaking is not terrible.. and i have always been more of a car (sigh) guy.. until now, is some shaking to be expected with a lifted rig on 33's when on highway, or should it be perfectly smooth.. considering ive put in nearly an entirely new front end.

Also yes if anyone knows if i can have it balanced opposed to moving it one notch at a time.. i dont even know how to go about that - there must be 15 choices, and i remember atleast how we did it was jack the rear end up and disconnect the LCA's then swing the axle back while you aligned the u joint and bolted it back on.. so liiiike atleast an hour a notch..times 15 (ish??).. haha who has a gun

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Brian is correct. Lucky for you, there's only 4 bolts. Take it out again, rotate it a 1/4 turn and try again. You didn't separate the two halves, right?

 

[02SE]

The driveshaft is balanced as a complete assembly, when it is made. It sounds like yours came apart at the slip-joint in the driveshaft.

It also sounds like you didn't get it put back together, with the splines in the same position they were in when the driveshaft was balanced.

Any competent driveline shop should be able to take it apart and reassemble it with the double-cardon joint and the u-joint in phase, and rebalance it if necessary.

If the driveshaft is out of phase, it won't matter how it's bolted to the output flange at the transefer case, or at pinion flange of the 3rd member.

 

[PitbullRescuer]

You're over thinking. You have a 1 in 4 chance to fix it. You could also have a bad u joint that is now worse due to the lift.

 

[Jc12]

You're over thinking. You have a 1 in 4 chance to fix it. You could also have a bad u joint that is now worse due to the lift.

the splines came out.. so i unbolted at slip joint and slid the ujoint back onto the splines so it was all one unit then bolted it back on..

so looking at the photo it disconnected at #1, so i unbolted #2 and knocked it back into place over the splines, then bolted #2 back together (sorry the photo seems a little pathetic but it helped me explain it) - also this isnt my d/s, this is a shortened one i just happened to find a photo of for reference sake

 

[cj80cruiser]

You need it to look like the bottom one as per my rear driveshaft.

***I made a mistake in my statement but it has been edited now to be correct.

 

[Jc12]

thanks cj!

 

[cj80cruiser]

I hope you saw my edited post above. It should be like the bottom pic.

 

[Jc12]

just did now thanks alot, i will take a look tomorrow and let you guys know.

 

[02SE]

You need it to look like the bottom one as per my rear driveshaft.

***I made a mistake in my statement but it has been edited now to be correct.

I had typed up a long-winded post about driveshaft phasing, to explain that out-of-phase is not what you want.

But you went and edited. So now that post is unnecessary. :

OP, just a word about the output flange on the transfer case, and the pinion flange on the 3rd member. They are very accurately machined, and as such their tolerance is so precise, that they are considered to be 'balanced' when made.

The marking of a driveshaft that becomes critical to maintaining balance, when say replacing a u-joint, is just marking the various parts of the driveshaft itself, in relation to each other. You want those parts to go back together in the same relation to each other, to maintain the original phasing and balance.

 

[opie74]

the splines came out.. so i unbolted at slip joint and slid the ujoint back onto the splines so it was all one unit then bolted it back on..

so looking at the photo it disconnected at #1, so i unbolted #2 and knocked it back into place over the splines, then bolted #2 back together (sorry the photo seems a little pathetic but it helped me explain it) - also this isnt my d/s, this is a shortened one i just happened to find a photo of for reference sake

As stated above, its probably just out of phase. The marking on the shaft is just so it goes back together properly. The shaft is not balanced on the vehicle so it matters not what orientation it goes back in as long as its in phase.

In the picture, you can see the pinion angle is off. With a double cardan on one end of a shaft, the other end needs to be as close to 0 degrees between the slope of the shaft and the angle of the pinion flange. Since the double cardan eliminates the elliptical rotation of the ujoint at the tcase end, the other end needs to have as close to a circular rotation as possible. That 0 degrees is under cruising conditions. So up to 2 degrees of angle is acceptable to compensate for axle wrap during load on the rear axle.

However, not much of this will make its way to a shimmying steering wheel. If you lifted it, you need to make sure the alignment shop can get some caster back into the front end.

 

[Jc12]

so this is not mine.. but what mine looks like, this too if from a 4runner but i do not know the year.

When comparing to cj's photos in his earlier post it looks like this one would be wrong too? my front and rear u joints are 90 degrees opposite.. like this guys, now could this just have spun like this since it was removed and would be "in phase" when re installed? Sorry for the dumb question but assuming mine is wrong if i remove the 4 bolts at the slipjoint when i spin the rear u joint 90 degrees with the entire drive shaft spin making it only possible to re align "in phase" by pulling it into two halves, spin it 90 degrees then put back together? thanks guys

 

[cj80cruiser]

The one I have in my backyard isn't set up like that one you have pictured.

Are you saying that you never pulled the driveshaft apart??? not sure if I follow the post above.

 

[Jc12]

The one I have in my backyard isn't set up like that one you have pictured.

Are you saying that you never pulled the driveshaft apart??? not sure if I follow the post above.

the drive shaft split into the two pieces exposing the splines, i then removed the u joint at the rear diff and slid it back onto the splines then bolted it back on.. so if i have to rotate the rear u joint 90 degrees to get it back in phase will i be able to just unbolt it again at the rear u joint and spin it or will i need to un bolt it then pull the driveshaft apart and rotate it 90 degrees and put it back together.. if that makes any more sense for you haha sorry im trying my best.

 

[cj80cruiser]

Ok, got you now. I've never tried to do it with the Tcase side of the driveshaft still attached but I suppose it's possible if you jack the truck up high enough to create room.