i have a strange vibration in my front end. its a 96 4x4. running in 2wd at 30 and above the vibrations are bad enough to rattle my mirrors. its not a death wobble. the wheel bearing are brand new and still seem to be tight. the tires are balanced. any input as to what it may be?
thanks

 

U jonts, possible carrier bearing if a long bed.....

 

verify that your front drive shaft is unlocked while in 2wd, mirrors shaking is alot of vibration and normally I would go straight to the heavy rotating mass and check tire balence, but I had a 99 come in about a month ago had a 4wd actuator that had locked and stuck, taking out the u joints and causing a horrible noise/vibration
you say its in the front end, what makes you say this, is there shake in the steering wheel or floorboard, does it change in the corners

to eliminate the rear drive shaft, jack the vehicle up and run it in two wheel drive, no noise isolates it to the front end
lemme know what you find
good luck
scott

 

im almost positive its in the front end. i can feel it on my floor boards. and it makes my steering wheel vibrate. i plan on putting up on the lift later. i have been having trouble with the 4x4 vacuum actuator it does stick in the locked position if i dont unplug the 2 pronged vacuum line. so the first thing i should be checking is the front axle joints?
thanks

 

i've been haveing the same issue on my 95 dump at around 55 the front end starts to shake pretty horribly then after 65 it goes away.. iver repalce everything and it still seems to do it... an old timer told me that if the t-case starts going bad it could cause a vibration.. i have yet to look into it.. i also have been having issues with my 4x4 might be the cause of the vibration also... this post prob didnt help but.. your not alone!!.. if i come to a conclusion or have any helpfull in fo ill post back!! g00d luck

 

I'd definitly be checking U joints in front driveline and axles.

 

A vibration that acts like that is almost 100% in the wheels, im betting the vibration is in the 14-20 Mhz wich would put it in the wheel speed zone, including anything that rotates at the same speed as the wheel, if you dont feel anything in the steering wheel but the vibration is strong check your rear tire balence, i worked on a jeep that ended up being a rear brake drum with bad balence, first order vibration is what your most likely dealing with and fairly easy to diagnose , google NVH and it will help you narrow things down
Its highly unlikey that a vibration like you described is in the t-case but worth taking a look, check output shaft lateral play and u-joints but you would most likely feel this far before 55mph, there is a chance but slim, driveline vibrations are a much higher Mhz freq vibration and will be responsive to engine load and unload most of the time, It is easy enough to just take a look most of the time things jump out easy enough
if you can purchase a sirometer, its a cheap and easy tool to use to isolate a vibration

good luck with your diag

scott

 

you called it! my vacuum stuck with my coller connecting my axle shafts. luckily i caught it before it smoked my front axle joints! my transfer has some bad noises now thow i think the chain is slipping. thanks again for the info!

 

you sure its your t-case?.. i found my problem also it was the 4x4 actuator wasnt working right i kept hearing a crazy grinding noise when trying to enuage the 4x4 i ended up taking it apart and found that from the vacumm not sliding the fork all the way over the coller was jumpin in and out with in return destroyed the ends of my axels the slines are torn to pieces same with the coller.. now it will enguage fine but when i turn tight it will jump in and out makes a crazy crunching grinding noise i think im just goin to order the pull cable set up or rig up a tapped bolt in that i can enguage and disenguage manuelly!!

 

i just ordered the 4x4 posi lock setup. im sick of the vacuum issues. i had a bolt on my 97 gasser to engage the coller but what a pain in the *** in mud or snow.