Hey guys,


Okay my buddy just bought himself a GSL-SE and its in pretty good shape. the only thing wrong with it was the guy said it was the U-joint I dont really believe his backyard mechanics sence he didnt seem to make much sense. Now down to the problem when we drive the car down the road it starts to vibrate. I have checked the wheels bearings and the allignment and tires all that checks out ok. another thing to add when shifting when you take the torque of the tranny and reapply it the drive line clangs around. now I checked the rearend thinking it was fluid and that looks ok there wasnt any shavings of metal or anything. all the bushings and engine and tranny mounts look good and solid. the U-joint is solid no play in the drive line at the rearend. is it possible that its the other end of the driveline or the tranny?

 

Still sounds to me like a bad u-joint. I've seen a bad u-joint that made a loud "clunk" whenever you gave a sudden change of torque. The vibration once you're at speed means it's probably the rear one.

 

check the driveshaft itself... make sure it's uber-tight when connecting to the rearend... those bolts come loose every so often... the exact same thing was happening to me, and I tightened those bolts, no more wobble wobble.

 

Yea that was one of the first things I checked I was thinking I would have the driveline looked at by one of the local shops that specialize in drive lines.


Humm maybe it is the U-joint

 

my car will vibrate but only within 3-4k in fifth(60-80mph). what up with that. I'm thinking its just one of multplying wave things. Where the vibrations match and get multiplied. I've heard that some cars will rattle themselves apart, but I doubt it.

Thing is it that it didn't do this before. But after I got all four tires changed then it startrd doing it. I also saw them balancing them so I don't think thats the prob
any thoughts?

 

The best way to check the u-joints is to take the driveshaft out. They may appear solid in the car, but loose out of it. Just remember to drain the tranny first.

 

One other way to track this down is this;

With the car off and the shifter (I am assuming it's a manual tranny) in reverse, have a friend rock the car forward and back while you look around underneath it. This should help you find the cause of the clanking.

 

Sprung drive shaft, You dont know where it has been,you know.

 

i had a 85 GMC van a long time ago, big *** bastid... i had to stop real fast in that thing, and it busted out the u joints... but there was still enough u joint to hold the drive shaft in place still... so not knowing this happened i tried to get on the highway.... my van was vibrating like crazy, it was the most insane thing... so i get off the highway, look under the van, see what happened... had to limp it 5 miles at 5 miles an hour to a shop... and i was in the middle of no where lol... was traveling from TX to washington... luckily the shop i took it just happened to have a full size chevy van out back, with the same exact driveline, and they had access to new u joints... got the new drive shaft put in(it ruined not only the u joints but the driveshaft as well when this happened), got the new u joints put in, and was on my way

 

The front joint seems to be the first one to go. I took a 12hr road trip when mine really started to vibrate. When I got back and pulled out the drive shaft, it was a wonder how I made it, the yoke was cracked and pieces missing while the spider was barely held in there . Along as there was torque being applied to the joint while driving you did not notice the play, but once you let off the gas and took away the torque thats when it started to shake. Changing gears consisted of a big clunk in between shifts.

 

Yea it sounds like a U-Joint, had this problem with my 83 Ford Ranger, for the vibrations, check the shocks, and take the car down to get an alignment and a tire balance

 

I had a similar problem last year so I replaced the driveshaft (against the advice of a mechanic that said the joints were fine) because the U-joints aren't replaceable in the GSL-SE.

Turned out all I really needed was a bolt. DOH!

The bolt that attaches the ??transmission mount?? to the frame had come out so the transmission dropped down about an inch.

Hope this helps, but if it is the driveshaft that needs to be replaced, I have one in good condition that is taking up room in my garage.