Freeway vibration

[LeutDan]

I did a quick search with no results so forgive me if this has been posted/asked before. My m1009 runs great but at 65+ mph it has a vibration. Feels like it is coming from a wheel and up through the steering causing the entire thing to rattle (even the seats). Its not real bad I just wanted to know if these things behave like this at 65mph. If not, I am gonna need to look into this a little more. Got it aligned today and even though it needed it pretty bad, the new settings did not fix the vibration.

Anybody know where I should look first or if I even need to worry?

Thanks!

 

[stampy]

Maybe! My m1009 ran great! no vibration (especially after getting the wheels balanced) then one day (on a recovery) I had heard a slight vibration. I figured the tires were flat spotted and it would go away. I was wrong...I had a ear on the driveshaft that was cracked and it finally gave up at 65mph and BANG chucked itself across the road. I ended up limping to a shop to get a civy one to replace it in 4wd Thankfully I had help as Neilhendrix met up with me and helped me out. I would check it.

 

[motormayhem]

Mine gets pretty bouncy on the highway. But I have 36" bias plys. But when I had 35" radial mud terrains I also had a vibration around 60-65.

 

[LeutDan]

Maybe! My m1009 ran great! no vibration (especially after getting the wheels balanced) then one day (on a recovery) I had heard a slight vibration. I figured the tires were flat spotted and it would go away. I was wrong...I had a ear on the driveshaft that was cracked and it finally gave up at 65mph and BANG chucked itself across the road. I ended up limping to a shop to get a civy one to replace it in 4wd Thankfully I had help as Neilhendrix met up with me and helped me out. I would check it.

Thanks, I will check it out. I have the 31" radials but since the alignment was off the fronts are worn on the inside and not on the outside. Could the vibration come from the uneven tires? I'm going to check the driveshaft now.

 

[LeutDan]

driveshaft looks fine. Any other things to check?

 

[Sgt Hulka]

Yes. The vibration could come from uneven tires. Try rotating front to back to see if that makes a difference. Also check for driveline damage, tie rod ends, bent wheels, wheel balancing. Broken radial belts (not readily visible) can also cause it... Good luck!

 

[ralbelt]

Bad U joints will give a vibration that you will feel in the seat of your pants.

 

[LeutDan]

Thanks. I am concerned about my tires anyways. Their production date was april 2001 according to the code on the sidewall. I will try rotating them. Tie rods look good. My u joints are tight but I will have them checked tomorrow.

Thanks again for the help everyone.

 

[Sgt Hulka]

Absolutely concur on the U joints. Forgot to add those to the list! And remember my rule: Always try the easy, inexpensive stuff first!

 

[LeutDan]

Thanks for the help. I roatated the tires and that fixed the vibration. The two front tires were basically ruined by the bad alignment.

 

[rfischba1]

My 1008's both had bent drive shafts from GL fork lift operators no visable damage upon inspection but they both were bent and when replaced the vibration was gone, no issues with the M1009.

 

[Sgt Hulka]

Right-on!

 

[danochamp]

Once my brother slid his axle right through the u-joints so it didn't line up right (slid sideways into a curb). It's an easy check, just check out your rear axle and look for rub marks where it used to be.

Thats probably not it but its worth a quick look.

 

[Warren Lovell]

Also, replace your shocks. That helped dampen mine a lot. It was worn shocks that caused my tires to wear along with out of balance and no rotation.