W22 Driveline vibration - pics

[cairnclub]

Hey folks

03 or 04 not sure chassis year W22 Bounder 36S - long rear overhang with relatively short wheelbase

VIN: 5B4MP67G843379701

I am getting a floor/driveline vibration in the 57 - 62 MPH range and kinda goes away above and below that - not completely but its most noticeable in that range. More violent when off gas - less violent when on gas but never not there completely. Feels more driveline speed than wheel speed but I can't be sure.

Won't do it in neutral at any RPM - pretty sure it is not engine/trans except maybe parking brake drum?

New front tires (2020) Sumitomos balanced with normal weights. Front end alignment also done. Back tires are in great shape and are 2014 year. Although they are RoadX brand (China?)

It has the 19.5" wheels if that matters.

There are 2 driveshaft carrier bearings.

Here's some pics of my driveshaft - which I grease often. Anything looks suspect here? Carrier bearing rubber things have a little dry rot I think. I think the shaft has to shift towards the passenger side a little to line up with the axle yoke. Also replaced rear axle fluid if that matters.

Looking for best/cheapest thing to try first before getting new rear tires or a new driveshaft.

Thanks!

[cairnclub]

couple more pics

[twinboat]

Do you know what drive line phasing is ?

You can check that. Each shafts yoke must match end for end.

Support bearing melt the rubber when they fail.

U joints should have no movement.

Slip joints with any up and down movement can cause vibration.

[cairnclub]

Interesting!

I think my driveshaft is in phase - all the yoke ears appear to be in the same clock position. Kinda can see it in these pics

U joints are solid - so is there a ball bearing in the carrier things or is it just the rubber part?

How do I check the slip joint?

Thank you!

[donr103]

sure sound like ujoint.. just going out.. use a big pry bar and see if you can test each one.. and the center driveshaft bearing rubber should not be deformed like that.. sooo could be that.. i would check that very carefully and replace too.. i found ujoints for about 50.00 ea at big box store and keep one spare.. i have never checked dr shaft bearing.. good luck i know better members than me will help too.. let us know what you fine and some picts too.. i have found that a chevy c2500 of same yr repair book to be of good help.. and if you do repair yourself mark all the dr shafts and put back same way or you will get them out of phase.. but if you ever seen how they are put together at factory.. you know they most likly never were in phase..

[donr103]

opps.. just saw dates on rear tires.. they are surely out of date and they make close to the same vib and just before they are ready to blow.. only way i know to check them is to pull each tire and check.. at a tire store.. it will be as much as new tires or close.. or money you could put towards new tires.. and if they are from china.. you are lucky you got this far.. do some research on china rv tires.. sorry .. good luck..

[cairnclub]

I forgot to mention it has been doing this consistently for like 5000 miles with no change.

Out of date? I thought the almighty cutoff was 10 years and i'm at 7. I also run a tpms and always have the tires at the max cold pressure.

I think you're right about the deformed part of the 2nd carrier barrier. After looking at it for a while it looks suspect.

Wouldn't a tire vibration be there through any speed? Like less harmonic and more consistent.

I'll report on the u joint/prying later today.

I think I am going to start with the carrier bearings and I will report back. Still have to travel 1000 miles home before ordering parts/doing the work.

[F4Gary]

Does it keep doing that if you pop it into neutral at that speed?
What about if you down shift to a different gear (so different RPM) at that speed?

[donr103]

Look up china bombs.. you need to make sure those tires were not made in china.. any tire shop can tell you where made if you can't find info. On net.. chassis manufacturer puts tires on them just enough to get out door.. but I would look closely at center Dr. Shaft bearing when rubber deforms. It means hot or bad.. big box store should be able to get you one.. I would tell them it's for Chevy c2500 same yr. And eng.. or c3500.. They freak out sometimes if you tell them for rv. GM used many same parts across brands.. you should be able to tell right away if going to work.. They might be able to get you one that is geasable. If you ask..

[cairnclub]

That's a good idea. I will check tomorrow if shifting to neutral changes it.

Here's what I found after prying/twisting on all the joints with the rv in neutral and park brake off (wheels blocked).

All u joints were solid - 0 play in any of the 4.

I could move the driveshaft up and down in the carrier bearing rubber part by applying a good amount of force - see this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjnkQUddBjA

Not sure if that is normal.

There was a teeny tiny but of slop in the slip yoke joint - see this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PId...=BenjaminIshak

Not sure if that is normal either.

Still about 1000 miles from home - just been driving at 55 mph so there's hardly any vibration. Thinking carrier bearings and new rear tires - and maybe centramatic wheel balancers.

Thanks for all the input guys.

[Flyer15015]

Think about balance beads for ALL your tires.
I did that on mine and she rides like glass..........at any speed.

Mike in Colorado

[David 70]

After reading all the posts I still think it is most likely a u-joint. I've had them look fine from the outside but one cup being bad. If you grease them and grease comes out of all four cups with no trace of rust then they are most likely good. I didn't see anything in your videos that was bad. The play in the slip jpoint sounded more like normal clearance in the differential.

[cairnclub]

Ok I greased them about 1200 miles ago and did not note any rusty grease coming out - although I wasn't looking for that particularly.

I will grease them again and look carefully.

[cairnclub]

Just greased all the u joints again. No rust colored or contaminated grease came out.


Does anyone have experience with centramatic wheel balancers on the w22 ?