Moncheche

I'm running a 01' sport. On occasion I will get a significant steering wheel vibration (not death wobble) and noise that I can't pin down to a specific area. I don't fell like I'm losing any control, I just fell like I'm gonna shake to death.

I can't make it happen all the time.

When it does kick in, I can drop it into neutral and the noise stays the same. Accelerating or braking hasve no real impact on the noise when it's there.

I recently replaced the rear bearings (c -clip axle) along with the rear spiders and pinion. (the one that the spiders run on, not the pinion bearing itself) (pinion was worn badly and had flat spots... hmmm) That itself was odd. A chattering that came out of nowhere.

It won't start the vibes/noise when I turn or weave. It always kicks in( if at all) when I go approach 60mph. After it starts it will vibrate all the way down to 15-20 mph. The vibration will stay with me for what seems like 10 miles or so, and then drop off.

I changed the rear bearings, inner and outer, because of the chatter being thrown out by the spiders. That was a mis-identification of a problem. After the spiders, everything seemed fine for a month or so. Yes, I torqued everything back to spec and replaced the caps in their original positions.

Ring and pinion are making contact at a perfect point. Right in the middle of the heel and toe, not too high, not too low. I have never touched the pinion gear itself. Preload and depth are all original. The teeth look great.

Drive line u-joints have been replaced. 5,000 mile on them.
No play at the pinion and it's dry, u-joints don't seem to be the issue. Front u-joint have 30,000 on them. I would place them on my list of suspects but the noise isn't consistent with that. (been there, again and again)

Front drive shaft is off because of a separate issue.

Pinion angle is parallel. Springs are a bastard pack with shims, Checked to see if anything wandered and no. I don't have the double cardan on the drive shaft. Everything, including tires is stock. (Springs are a chevy jeep mix)

I've got 200,000 on the beast now.

It's got me stumped. ANY thoughts are appreciated. This is my beater and it won't be going to a shop....

Moncheche

And I want to add, tires are newer. Lugs are tight. And when the vibes really get going, I feel like pulling over to see what the heck I'm dragging.....

Moosemiester

Hi
I have the same, exact problem. Did you ever fix it?

Moncheche

No. I'm going to pull the driveshaft and take it to see if it out of balance. I'll post any results.

Moosemiester

I've been reading the Google results for "Death Wobble" they describe the problem really well.

Moncheche

My vibration is coming from the rear. It's not the wobble. Had that before.