02 path se 4wd. Vibration in wheel. 4 new tires balance/aligned. Need help before I sink too much $ into

[Happyeggfarm7]

I bought the car needing the recalls on the front strut. There was also the wrong size tire on the front driver side. Therefore the ABS was on and then I took it to get the recall done they told me the ball joint on the passenger side and need to be done. Which I did it. Then had four new tires put on balanced and aligned front side seems to still be shaking feel vibration under seat and in steering wheel but no evident wear to the U-joints. What else could it be? Any help guys will be greatly appreciated I put all the money I can into this vehicle and all I have left is time. With the front and rear of the vehicle off the ground one tire each I'm able to turn the drivetrain and it seems to turn about a quarter inch before moving the wheels. Is that normal? I've tried looking this up for hours and haven't gotten a video that confirms nor denies. Seems to me that when you turn your drivetrain by hand there is a slight delay in most Vehicles before the wheel begins to spin.

[richturn]

I had this before and it was driveshaft bent or not exactly straight and true...?????????? Maybe check them with a straight edge?? just a thought.

[onespiritbrain]

Yes its normal. @hawairish or @TowndawgR50 (cant remember which one or maybe it was both) could explain what exactly is going on during the delay before the other wheel begins turning, he (or they) is (are) the resident axle guru(s).  There is also a set of bushings suspending the brackets that the front axle mounts to that you might take a look at.

 

Can you please go into great detail about the vibration?

-When is it most present? (example: 40-45mph)

-Is it more pronounced in any certain condition? (example: 4WD, under heavy acceleration, under light acceleration, no acceleration, etc, etc)

-Does it begin abruptly or does it fade in/out?

-Do you notice it more in the mornings or after the vehicle has been sitting for a long time?

-When the vibration is most present, do you notice a change when taking curves?

 

FYI, I am actually experiencing an illusive intermittent vibration myself so I will be using you and your vibration issue to inspire new places to look for my own issues's source.

[Many_Pathys]

Have you checked the hub bearings? As onespiritbrain asked what conditions do you notice it?

[Happyeggfarm7]

So after digging I realized that the front driveshaft had been replaced by one from the scrap yard and I think the frontmost U joint is a bolt has wiggled off and I'm hoping that's the only problem is that they purchased a used drive shaft with a bad u-joint, I plan replacing the U-joint tomorrow I may be the next day actually working on my 96 Dakota as well. I'm hoping once I replace the U joint and missing bolt and tighten everything up she'll be running okay. Hit it with a level this morning everything seems to be pretty straight so I think it's just that right now. Hopefully. Thanks for the info guys and the suggestions I'll keep you updated

[Happyeggfarm7]

Btw notice it starting around 35 and gets its worst at 50 doesn't get any worse between 50 and 85

[hawairish]

On 9/11/2019 at 4:15 PM, Happyeggfarm7 said:

With the front and rear of the vehicle off the ground one tire each I'm able to turn the drivetrain and it seems to turn about a quarter inch before moving the wheels. Is that normal?

 

Normal. 

 

Is the vibration felt in the steering wheel, or the entire truck?  

[Happyeggfarm7]

 steering wheel and under drivers seat. I'm pretty certain it's the U-joint at this point but I'm just a little worried that something is causing these things to go wrong. You can tell that the front driver shaft is replaced from the scrap yard recently although I don't know how recently or for what reason and maybe it already had a bad u-joint. My only question is there something else that could be wrong with the vehicle that is causing a the first driveshaft to go out and now the U-joint

[onespiritbrain]

Well your chances of a junk yard drive shaft having fairly worn u-joints are high. If you get under there and jerk on the front drive shaft expect to see the t-case yoke move around quite a bit. I don't know why it moves so much or why its okay that it does.. Buy SKF u-joints from Rockauto if you end up needing them. They have properly sized bearing caps that are relatively easy to press in. I've had the cheap ones from the parts store require whaling with a large hammer to get them seated all the way. 

Edited September 13, 2019 by onespiritbrain

[Happyeggfarm7]

Thanks for the info guys. Ended up gettin a moog u joint from parts store so I guess I'll be going the hammer route. No time till Sunday morning so I'll update then.

[hawairish]

My experience with the drive shaft u-joints is that just swapping them with new isn't enough sometimes.  After swapping them out, I've had to put the driveshaft back on the truck, get enough wheels lifted and support, put the truck in neutral (transmission and t-case) and check for run-out with a dial indicator.  If it's out of round, I've needed to take a mallet to the joints in attempt to re-center things.  Not sure if that's just an inner-vs-outer clip issue, or what (mine uses inner clips), I've seen some unexpectedly-off numbers.  Once the run-out is acceptable, all things tend to be good, though.  Also, if they've got zerks, grease them before installing the driveshaft.