I come here seeking a little advice or "what do you guys think..." about a vibration I am picking up on my 99 SWB 1500. Right around 50 MPH until I get to 58-60 MPH. It's not really all that violent, but its more like a small shudder. My first thought is U-joints.... I don't get a thunk or clunk when I put in tin gear, but when I put it in reverse, I geel a tiny bit of "slack" in the line. If I'm driving along at 50ish MPH at steady throttle, I can hear what sounds like tire road noise at the same time as feeling the vibrations. If I let off the gas, it goes away even before dropping below 50 MPH.....


Comments? Ideas? Thoughts?


Thanks.

 

Try this: Find a nice stretch of road that is fairly long, and straight. (with a speed limit above 50...) Run the truck up to 50 or so, and hold that speed. When you can feel the vibration/shudder, turn off Overdrive.....

if the vibration stays the same, its somewhere in your driveline. Could be as simple as a slightly out of balance tire.....

if the vibration goes away..... it is highly likely to be an engine miss, and you need to read the Plenum sticky at the top of this forum. (which you should probably take a look at either way. )

Go for a ride, see what happens.

Welcome to DF!

 

Thanks for that input. I can do exactly that on the way home from work today.


As a side note, that's probably the only sticky I haven't read lately... shame on me!

 

SACRILEGE!!! You WILL read the Plenum thread!!!

LOLOL. Kidding.

 

Tried what was mentioned above... vibration stayed for the most part but something I noticed now is a squeaking type noise when I first start driving. It sounds like something rubbing and only happens when under a load (accelerating). I crawled under the truck and the u-joints look pretty dry and while I couldn't quite pinpoint it, something didn't look right. I'm going to pick up a new set today after work. *When the hell did the price of u-joints jump to $30 a piece? $60 bucks for Spicers from O'Reillys .....


Update to come later.....

 

You pay for quality. Don't scrimp there, unless you like changing them.

 

I firmly believe that. I was just taking a moment to gripe about the cost. I actually found an autozone near me so I'm getting the Moog u-joints from them. A little better on the price but still steep.

 

Being nerdy as hell, I found this video series interesting:

 

Finally got the u-joints replaced this weekend. What a difference! Not just with the 50-60 MPH vibration, but everything feels smoother. When I dropped drive shaft and the first caps fell off... dust everywhere!


Alls well now.

 

Certainly explains a lot, don't it.