Noticeable vibration when stopped in gear

[4x3Lander]

Yesterday, I replace a support arm that was in rough shape with a junkyard steal. That is literally all I did to my vehicle yesterday. Today, as soon as I started it and put it in D, there was a very noticeable vibration throughout the vehicle. Not bad, but very noticeable. Drove it around for about 50 miles and although it became better, it was still present.

ONLY vibrates while in gear while stopped. Doesn’t vibrate any other time or at any speed on the road. NEVER had this in the 3 years I have owned the truck.

Question is, how could swapping this support cause this much vibration when it is nothing more than 8 simple bolts holding it in place?

 

[RandyBobandy]

Did you replace that transmission mount too? I’d check your motor mounts, it’s possible that if you didn’t support the transmission well enough it could have put enough stress on old worn out motor mounts that it caused some sort of damage to them

 

[4x3Lander]

Did you replace that transmission mount too? I’d check your motor mounts, it’s possible that if you didn’t support the transmission well enough it could have put enough stress on old worn out motor mounts that it caused some sort of damage to them

I moved it over to the replacement support arm.

I had a jackstand underneath and when I removed the support arm, there was about 1/2” or a slight bit more drop when the support arm was removed.

I will check the engine mounts to see if I can see anything noticeable. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[spartacus]

Check that damper on the differential is secure also.

 

[4x3Lander]

Check that damper on the differential is secure also.

I had read a bit about that and although I didn’t touch that part at all, definitely worth checking it too. I will first check to see if it is loose, but then maybe I will remove it as a test to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Endlessblockades]

I've had my damper off for a few months while I look for one that the rubber isn't torn on. No change in vibrations, but I suppose it's there for a reason.

 

[4x3Lander]

I've had my damper off for a few months while I look for one that the rubber isn't torn on. No change in vibrations, but I suppose it's there for a reason.

I read that in a few other threads as well. Some people it made a difference, some it didn’t. I’ll try it to see what happens.

 

[Devbot]

From about where does it sound like it's coming from? I had a very similar vibration start out of complete nowhere and was never able to track it down - only happens when at a dead stop in gear, but stops the second it's in park or neutral or the instant you give it throttle. Sounds like it's coming from the front passenger tire area, or at least that's where it rattles strongest... only thing I could think of was an exhaust leak but came up empty handed

 

[jlaho]

The exhaust hanger mount on the new one looks to be in a different location. In the second picture it looks like your exhaust hanger mount on the exhaust pipe has rusted off. Your exhaust may be sagging and vibrating against the frame or rear axle somewhere?

Normally the loss of that support wouldn't cause the exhaust to contact anywhere (I don't think), but judging from the exhaust clamp in the second pic, looks like there was some previous work done and maybe a bit of extra sag.

Edit: Though I suppose that would be more of an audible vibration.

 

[Bad Luck]

Most of the rattles that I encounter at work that occur in the conditions that you’ve described usually are exhaust components

 

[BorotHex]

The hanger has been flipped around on the new part. Not sure which is correct, but I’d start with what’s not like-for-like on your install and see if the exhaust is rubbing or binding, with binding being also important. If you push an exhaust to one side and force it there, even if not rubbing it’ll transmit the vibrations you normally wouldn’t feel to the point where it’s connected.

 

[Bad Luck]

The hanger has been flipped around on the new part. Not sure which is correct, but I’d start with what’s not like-for-like on your install and see if the exhaust is rubbing or binding, with binding being also important. If you push an exhaust to one side and force it there, even if not rubbing it’ll transmit the vibrations you normally wouldn’t feel to the point where it’s connected.

I don’t think the hanger orientation matters in this case. The OP doesn’t have the corresponding hanger on the exhaust in that section of exhaust which might be the problem or at least contributing to it.

 

[4x3Lander]

From about where does it sound like it's coming from? I had a very similar vibration start out of complete nowhere and was never able to track it down - only happens when at a dead stop in gear, but stops the second it's in park or neutral or the instant you give it throttle. Sounds like it's coming from the front passenger tire area, or at least that's where it rattles strongest... only thing I could think of was an exhaust leak but came up empty handed

Yep, that’s exactly what mine does - dead stop in gear (D or R), but stops when put into park.

I will search around to see exactly where it is strongest. Just seems equal vibration throughout.

 

[4x3Lander]

With regards to the exhaust hanger, I cut the tip off the old one to make it easy to remove the rubber hanger and put on the replacement. As everyone can see, I discovered a 2002 model hanger sits differently than an earlier model. I didn’t want to transfer over the old one because it was badly pitted and rusted. So, I left the replacement that way because for myself only, it doesn’t matter. Why? I am not hanging anything off of it. For the 3 years I have owned the truck, the exhaust ends at the muffler. There was no piping coming off the muffler So for myself, this hanger’s orientation makes no difference and for this problem, it’s not the exhaust causing the vibration.

Probably today I will try to resolve the issue by messing with the damper. If that doesn’t work, I will need to look at the engine mounts and also try to pinpoint exactly what area the strongest vibration comes from.

 

[Romeo1]

For what it’s worth, mine does the same thing. I have a feeling it’s something in the torque converter, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue, and it seems to be very common.

 

[4x3Lander]

For what it’s worth, mine does the same thing. I have a feeling it’s something in the torque converter, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue, and it seems to be very common.

Thanks Romeo1. It is more about me being annoyed that I caused this vibration than anything. Thankfully it is not a massaging chair type vibration Also thankfully, it is not a daily driver at all. Just an annoyance I caused and wanted to fix.

That said, I have decided to punt fixing it. Today I removed the dampener everyone mentioned, made no difference, so I put it back on. I also tightened all the bolts a bit more, which seemed to just barely help.

What I was hoping was the bolt in the picture was going to be the magic. I first loosened it to the point I could turn it with my fingers. Then I tightened in varying degrees, but didn’t seem to help.

I did check the engine mounts. Without pulling them out, all of them looked just fine, but of course, I couldn’t see every spot on them.

Anyway, just going to accept it is the way it is!

 

[moshrider3]

I have the exact same issue after swapping out a borla high flow muffler for an oem style, only does it in D or R. I chocked it put it in D and put the E brake on and crawled under it, the whole exhaust is vibrating like crazy. Still haven’t pinpointed the exact issue yet.


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[Bad Luck]

I have the exact same issue after swapping out a bolts high flow muffler for an oem style, only does it in D or R. I chocked it put it in D and put the E brake on and crawled under it, the whole exhaust is vibrating like crazy. Still haven’t pinpointed the exact issue yet.


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This is what I suggest the OP do. You would be surprised how minimal of a change will cause an exhaust component to vibrate. Set the parking brake, chock the wheels, get a helper to sit in the driver seat and stand on the brake with the vehicle in drive, then crawl underneath and listen/feel for the vibration. Use a folded up rag to ground different components to see if anything changes.