Driveline vibrations

[kleake]

Haven't checked ring and pinion, but I don't think that is it. Axle is smooth and quiet and no vibration above about 20mph, all the way to 100.

Sent from my SM-G935R4 using Tapatalk

 

[gorace]

This is a weird one normally driveline issues get worse with mph. And as far as the traction bars I'm sure they help with axle wrap a ton but I tow 14k on a regular and have never experienced what your talking about, and I have a zf6.

 

[gorace]

Go pro good idea lol

 

[kleake]

I definitely agree. I will put a gopro on the carrier bearing when I hook on to the camper again. I think the rubber mount is allowing the driveline to move too much and once up to speed all is good. I need to crawl under it again and take another look.

Sent from my SM-G935R4 using Tapatalk

 

[kleake]

Update, It's definitely the carrier that I am feeling, but it's the axle wrap that is causing it. Basically my driveline is right, or at least really close since I don't feel any vibrations while going down the highway. Get on the throttle and there is enough axle wrap that the angle is no longer correct and at slower speeds it's causing a heavy load and shake at the carrier. Removing the spacer helped, and the shims on the axle also helped, but not enough like I suspected.

To test, I removed the axle shims and it didn't seem to change much while loaded, but now while empty, if I stomp on the throttle anywhere in 3rd gear or lower I can feel it where I didn't with the shims in place. This means that i'm getting enough wrap to mess up the angles even while empty. I'm thinking maybe my springs are just getting weak allowing the axle wrap, but it seems odd because they do not sag any at all and I carry some pretty good loads.

All that said, I have to agree that traction bars are likely the best fix. I still don't agree that they should be needed on a stock suspension truck, while I am not pushing more than stock power (at the time I am having issues),,,, but evidently I do. So,,,, with that said, any recommendations on the best brand? I'm not looking for high dollar, just looking for quality for the price?

 

[6.0 Tech]

Pmf or ouo

 

[Lipka101]

Yep. Love my PMF's

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[kleake]

Thanks guys, what mounts are you using? When I look at them the bars look like a good price, but by the time you add brackets and such, the cost grows quite a bit. I was trying to keep it under $500, not sure I can do that.

 

[Jomax]

You won't be under 500$ for quality bars. I love my OUO


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kleake]

That's 2 for OUO. So far i'm looking at about $700. :doh: I know i'll be happy, but it's really just some good tubing, some gussets, cad work and waterjet on the brackets. Prolly $150 in components and the rest in design work. $700 seems pretty steep. Heck, I remember putting traction bars on my old Mustang for $79.95 lol

 

[Lipka101]

I paid $700 for mine with the bolt on mounts.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[kleake]

PMF sure seems to be considerably cheaper. I think the OUO is built a tad better in the quality department as I really like their front mount better, however they are ~$400 more.

 

[Tree Trimmer]

That's 2 for OUO. So far i'm looking at about $700. :doh: I know i'll be happy, but it's really just some good tubing, some gussets, cad work and waterjet on the brackets. Prolly $150 in components and the rest in design work. $700 seems pretty steep. Heck, I remember putting traction bars on my old Mustang for $79.95 lol

i'll just throw out there, when you go buy all the tools, machines, and make all the jigs to create these, you tell me what you'll charge.

and when you create something, the materials are always the cheapest part of the project.

and all of the symptoms you have, and conclusions you have made, are the same ones i had and came up with, and bars fixed my problem.

 

[kleake]

i'll just throw out there, when you go buy all the tools, machines, and make all the jigs to create these, you tell me what you'll charge.

and when you create something, the materials are always the cheapest part of the project.

and all of the symptoms you have, and conclusions you have made, are the same ones i had and came up with, and bars fixed my problem.

I understand that, but usually things like these are made at machine shops that have spread that tool, machine, and jig cost among many projects so I would still think the cost would be less. However, if it is a small machine shop then their tooling costs aren't spread as much. This is what makes it harder for smaller machine shops to compete with large ones so I understand your point, and I don't mind helping the smaller guy, I just wasn't expecting to be quite that much. $700 is only a couple hundred more than I was thinking, the $1100 are the ones that I was really surprised at.

And it's good to hear that they solved your problem so I'm likely going to be ordering some in the next couple of weeks.

 

[TyCorr]

Kleake, everyone is going to have an opinion if you question something. Some good, some contrary. Nothing against tree trimmer he's a good member and asset to this community.

If you feel one companies bars are expensive, well, then they're expensive. Cheap isnt good but many a flagship has suffered when someone comes in more honestly priced.

Ive got ZERO interest in pmf vs ouo debates but just throwing it out there that ive seen in person both brands. Fwiw, i went with pmf fir the things i needed when i bolted an all new suspension and brakes on my truck. I never did install bars or my fifth wheel hitch but ive seen pmf bars as well and they arent lacking in quality or design either.

But lets face it, one up offroad has kibda pioneered the higher end truck market.

 

[kleake]

Kleake, everyone is going to have an opinion if you question something. Some good, some contrary. Nothing against tree trimmer he's a good member and asset to this community.

If you feel one companies bars are expensive, well, then they're expensive. Cheap isnt good but many a flagship has suffered when someone comes in more honestly priced.

Ive got ZERO interest in pmf vs ouo debates but just throwing it out there that ive seen in person both brands. Fwiw, i went with pmf fir the things i needed when i bolted an all new suspension and brakes on my truck. I never did install bars or my fifth wheel hitch but ive seen pmf bars as well and they arent lacking in quality or design either.

But lets face it, one up offroad has kibda pioneered the higher end truck market.

I completely understand that, and I don't disagree. There is definitely no lack in quality, and I agree the OUO looks to be very well built, especially when you look at the CAD drawings on their site. The price is the only thing that seem excessive to me. Definitely not knocking the product at all. I am coming in to this fairly new as I have known about bars for years, but never actually looking into them for my truck until recently. I mean, I figured I may want some at some point, but hadn't gotten serious enough to look at prices until recently. I haven't followed enough to know which brands are even out there, much less who's is better, that's why I was asking. Did you say you went with PMF or OUO on yours?

 

[TyCorr]

I completely understand that, and I don't disagree. There is definitely no lack in quality, and I agree the OUO looks to be very well built, especially when you look at the CAD drawings on their site. The price is the only thing that seem excessive to me. Definitely not knocking the product at all. I am coming in to this fairly new as I have known about bars for years, but never actually looking into them for my truck until recently. I mean, I figured I may want some at some point, but hadn't gotten serious enough to look at prices until recently. I haven't followed enough to know which brands are even out there, much less who's is better, that's why I was asking. Did you say you went with PMF or OUO on yours?

I do NOT have bars on my truck. I havent gotten around to doing them. I put some pmf bars on a 6l and they were very nice. Ive seen ouo bars on a few trucks, in person. Very nice. They look aesthetically pleasing for sure.

Why don't you call Jared (beeaking habits) and see wgat he says. Maybe call both and decide.

 

[kleake]

I do NOT have bars on my truck. I havent gotten around to doing them. I put some pmf bars on a 6l and they were very nice. Ive seen ouo bars on a few trucks, in person. Very nice. They look aesthetically pleasing for sure.

Why don't you call Jared (beeaking habits) and see wgat he says. Maybe call both and decide.

Ahhh, I apologize, I read your first message wrong and thought you said you had some on yours.

I did send Jared a message and he responded. Great info and great product, just not sure I can spend that much on them. If I was doing truck pulls or racing where i'm pushing things really hard, then maybe. I do tow a fairly heavy trailer, but i'm not just hammering on things otherwise so I'm just not sure I can justify that much money. I am waiting on a response from PMF so I'll see what they can do and go from there.

 

[kleake]

I ended up going with PMF and am very happy with the build quality and design, but i'm still having issues with driveline vibrations. They are MUCH less and almost to the point of just dealing with it, but i'm still trying to find out the full solution.

Installed the bars as the directions stated without any pre-load. All is good while empty, but I could still feel some vibration while loaded upon takeoff, although MUCH better. I tested then with my camper on a steep incline while taking off. Again, MUCH better, but still there. So I added about 3 turns to add some pre-load and the vibration got worse. I made adjustments 1 turn at a time reducing pre-load and even added some negative to try and find the sweet spot. At 1 turn of pre-load it seems best.

When I put a straight edge on my driveline to see my angles, it appears my carrier bearing needs to be raised to be as straight as possible, but i've already taken the spacer out and it can't be raised any higher. Basically if I raise the pinion any higher, it makes the carrier angle steeper, but if I turn the pinion down, the carrier is straighter, but the pinion angle is worse.

Are my springs wore out to the point that it's sagging that much? The truck sits pretty level. If that is the case, either new springs or air bags would be the rest of the fix. The traction bars did bring it to a bearable level, but it would be nice if there wasn't any vibes at all.

 

[kleake]

Ok guys, help me out. TSB 09-4-9 shows that you can change the support bracket for the carrier, and it gives part numbers but it does not give dimensions. How do I know which one I have and which one I need?

This is the only drawing I can find that shows 3 sizes, but none give the PN of each, just 4831. By looking at mine, it "appears" to be the middle one, but what PN is the top one?