DRIVELINE VIBRATION

[RDoverland]

Hello, I’ve got a bit of a head-scratcher. I’m experiencing driveline vibrations above 67 MPH. A few months ago, I had my JL re-geared. After completing the break-in period, I resumed normal and highway driving and noticed the vibrations.

To rule out the driveshaft, I installed a brand-new Adams double cardan driveshaft (this is the second one), had the tires balanced, and corrected the driveshaft angles. I even experimented with different angles, but the vibration occurs at the exact same speed every time.

During the re-gear, my differential carrier was scuffed but reinstalled. Could that be causing the vibration? Do differential carriers need to be perfectly balanced? I attached some photos for reference.
ANY IDEAS?

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[roaniecowpony]

Scuffed? LOL.

That previous pinion nut got loose, IMO. Sucked the pinion into the differential.

 

[RDoverland]

Scuffed? LOL.

That previous pinion nut got loose, IMO. Sucked the pinion into the differential.

That’s what happened originally, so I had it regeared but the carrier was not replaced. Then when I replaced a driveshaft to a new one the vibration improved but now it starts at 67MPH. Should I replace the carrier?

 

[jadmt]

I am no expert but I would have 100% replaced that carrier.... @chevymitchell what are your thoughts?

 

[RDoverland]

I am no expert but I would have 100% replaced that carrier.... @chevymitchell what are your thoughts?

I pretty much eliminated everything else and was hoping that was not the case.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Hard to say if the diff is your problem without inspecting the ring gear pattern closely for runout (wobble). You can put a dial indicator on the back edge of the ring gear where it mates to the diff flange and check the runout. It should be very close to zero runout, certainly nothing over a thou or two. I'd also check the O.D. of the flange for the ring gear for runout. Should also be very close.

 

[RDoverland]

Hard to say if the diff is your problem without inspecting the ring gear pattern closely for runout (wobble). You can put a dial indicator on the back edge of the ring gear where it mates to the diff flange and check the runout. It should be very close to zero runout, certainly nothing over a thou or two. I'd also check the O.D. of the flange for the ring gear for runout. Should also be very close.

I didn’t regear it myself, that’s way too complicated for me. lol. I had a shop do it. They do tons of these so I’m assuming they did it right. But you never know. I’ll be taking it back to see if they can find the problem and mention what you said. I attached a photo of the pattern. Thanks.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I didn’t regear it myself, that’s way too complicated for me. lol. I had a shop do it. They do tons of these so I’m assuming they did it right. But you never know. I’ll be taking it back to see if they can find the problem and mention what you said. I attached a photo of the pattern. Thanks.

If you're capable of pulling the cover to change the fluid, you can check the runout with less than $100 in tools and gain some capability and tools along the way. If, you have the tools in hand, and the cover off, with the wheels off the ground, it literally would take a few minutes to check the runout.

 

[chevymitchell]

I am no expert but I would have 100% replaced that carrier.... @chevymitchell what are your thoughts?

The carrier clearly needs replaced. lol.

There are several things that need inspected here. I would have refused to re-gear it in my shop unless the carrier was replaced along with every bearing.

The spiders need to come out and their landing shims inspected. You have a case here where an incredible amount of metal went everywhere. Anything other than a full inspection wouldn’t be enough.

Vibration is likely coming from the coast side of that pattern. The pattern could be better. Hard to tell you where a vibe is coming from but I can tell you from experience… if you see a problem, it’s likely the problem. Carrier needs replaced regardless of what you do or find. There’s no way I would have just re-geared it like this.

 

[RDoverland]

If you're capable of pulling the cover to change the fluid, you can check the runout with less than $100 in tools and gain some capability and tools along the way. If, you have the tools in hand, and the cover off, with the wheels off the ground, it literally would take a few minutes to check the runout.

Hmmm…im sure it’s not that hard, I’ll look at some YouTube videos.

 

[RDoverland]

The carrier clearly needs replaced. lol.

There are several things that need inspected here. I would have refused to re-gear it in my shop unless the carrier was replaced along with every bearing.

The spiders need to come out and their landing shims inspected. You have a case here where an incredible amount of metal went everywhere. Anything other than a full inspection wouldn’t be enough.

Vibration is likely coming from the coast side of that pattern. The pattern could be better. Hard to tell you where a vibe is coming from but I can tell you from experience… if you see a problem, it’s likely the problem. Carrier needs replaced regardless of what you do or find. There’s no way I would have just re-geared it like this.

I guess I’ll be taking it back to the shop and replacing the carrier. Thanks for the reply.

 

[roaniecowpony]

If you read between the lines of what ChevyMitchell stated, there's a 100% chance of the entire axle housing and everything in it, being heavily contaminated with the debris from the crash of the pinion into the differential. So, "doing it right" would mean cleaning 100% of everything, replacing all the bearings etc. If you have a magnetic drain/fill plug, check it for debris. If it has chunks of metal, it likely wasn't cleaned well enough, which means it will be a problem down the road.

 

[RDoverland]

If you read between the lines of what ChevyMitchell stated, there's a 100% chance of the entire axle housing and everything in it, being heavily contaminated with the debris from the crash of the pinion into the differential. So, "doing it right" would mean cleaning 100% of everything, replacing all the bearings etc. If you have a magnetic drain/fill plug, check it for debris. If it has chunks of metal, it likely wasn't cleaned well enough, which means it will be a problem down the road.

I didn’t have any metal shavings when I replaced the oil. The shop cleaned everything as much as they could. I’ll pull the plug again just to double check for any shavings. Thanks

 

[roaniecowpony]

I didn’t have any metal shavings when I replaced the oil. The shop cleaned everything as much as they could. I’ll pull the plug again just to double check for any shavings. Thanks

That picture looks clean as a whistle. So, that's encouraging.

 

[RDoverland]

That picture looks clean as a whistle. So, that's encouraging.

It looks like I have two things to check. The pattern and replace the carrier. sucks

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