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BOOM! Long awaited driveshaft adapters...

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,244
Location
Tardville
Gfbh3t....I don't think the issue is the u-joints. I think it's the center pin. Once that thing goes...it allows the cv to become eccentric, and that causes the vibe. Mine did the same thing and when I took it apart, the u-joints were still in brand new condition...and the center pin was smoked. I don't know why this happens to the 3R joint. Now that I'm using the 1310 cv....I don't care about finding the cause. The 1310 is superior in every way.
I'll put an adapter with the rest of your parts...let me know when you'll be in my neighborhood. If you need it sooner let me know and I will mail it to you.
 

Hunner

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,334
Location
Arkansas
Guess I should check on the forum more often!!

My email is plastered all over this site so send me an email 1secondwind@comcast.net

Glad to see you are still re-inventing the H3.

I saw you were going back to the Badlands but a little too short notice for me.
I would have driven up to offroad with you again and stay in that haunted hotel but I had just had surgery and it's a long damn way from Arkansas.
 
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4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,244
Location
Tardville
Looks good ABN! Now that you have a "serviceable" driveshaft....don't forget to service it! As Hummer owners, we sometimes get lulled into thinking we are maintenance-free but, this shaft is old-school and does require periodic attention.
In addition to the two zirks you pointed out...there are three more at the other end....one on each u-joint and one for the center pivot pin of the cardan. A squirt at every oil change will keep it happy for many years. When cardan CV's fail....95% of the time, it's due to lack of lube.
Wheel on!
 
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ABNTROOP

HIPPO
Messages
1,985
Location
Vancouver, Wa
Thank you for the good info. Ive never dealt with zerk fittings and regreasing stuff that way before. Sounds like I should go buy a grease gun. :)
 

ABNTROOP

HIPPO
Messages
1,985
Location
Vancouver, Wa
Ok, I'll poke my nose around and do some homework to try and find a good one. Do you all use marine grade grease? Or is it just regular automotive?
 

rascole

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,817
Location
Bellflower, CA
Got my drive shaft in today. With any luck I will install it this weekend.
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ABNTROOP

HIPPO
Messages
1,985
Location
Vancouver, Wa
Anybody with these installed noticing a vibration? I'm noticing a vibration around 2k rpm. Not awful, just slight. And at 70 mph on the freeway if I let off the gas I can feel a vibration and a slight grinding sound. I've crawled up under there several times over the last couple days and there's nothing loose, no scrape marks, no metal shavings. A little bit of grease spew, but minor. This shaft looked well lubed up so I didn't add any lube. CGAlpha PM'd me about the same thing but his is around 4K rpm
 

rascole

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,817
Location
Bellflower, CA
I plan on installing in this weekend. Does your shaft have counter weights from balancing? May look into having it re-balanced just because.
 

cgalpha08

"Like Nothing Else"
Messages
3,710
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Yea ill throw in some more "descripters" haha when I get to around 3500 to 4k, (above that i cant hear what it sounds like because the engine makes too much noise). But its has a heavy/shaky/grindy feel and sound coming from the front. HIGHY doubt its the diff since it was just rebuilt about 2 months ago and had maybe 1000 miles on it.
Its not necessarily shaking the H3 badly, just sounds not good.
Btw ill mention I do have upgraded front diff bushings, so more noise is emitted in general.
.
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,244
Location
Tardville
I'm not an expert on this and it is a huge topic with all sorts of opinions. Here's what I know...

Vibes on cardan CVs are not uncommon, and the internet is choked with this same discussion for all vehicles...mostly the full-time 4WD Jeep guys. I would give Tatton a call and perhaps he can shed some light on the issue. If any of you find some useful info...post it up. Cardans do not have the inherent vibe-cancelling features that the stock 6-ball CV has (which is why GM uses them). Because the cardan is a full-mechanical connection...they tend to transmit more vibrations. I have experienced vibes on previous driveshafts and when I did have them, it felt more like a low-frequency "hum" rather than a vibe. Like ABN and CGAlpha...it seemed to come & go at certain speeds and under certain loads. Mine was most noticeable in 4th gear (with the torque converter locked-up). One thing to keep in mind, is that ENGINE rpm and DRIVESHAFT rpm are two totally different things. ENGINE rpm will pass thru the same "vibe-range" in every gear. So, when you say you have vibes at certain ENGINE rpm...I think the issue might be nothing more than motor vibes getting transferred to the cabin via the driveshaft. This type of vibe would occur in every gear, at that same motor rpm. It would be very similar to exhaust drone, and how it behaves. It might also be "load induced". Conversely, DRIVESHAFT rpm will not pass thru a vibe-range in every gear. It will only occur at a specific vehicle speed...and will only be present at that speed...regardless of gear.

One quick thing to try is shimming the front diff pinion up or down with some washers to see if it has an effect. I would try a 1/4" thick washer (or washers)...that should be enough of a change to register. Not sure if this would do anything but, u-joints and drivelines are mysterious creatures, and I've heard that a pinion angle adjustment can make a difference.

Tatton says he balances these shafts to 100 mph, which makes no sense. It needs to be balanced to an RPM, and not a MPH. MPH can vary from vehicle to vehicle depending on gear ratio and tire size. EXAMPLE: A car traveling at 100 MPH with 2.73 gears will be spinning the driveshaft at a vastly different rpm than the same vehicle with 4.56 gears. So, I don't know where the 100 MPH balance comes into play, and how he arrives at that number. FWIW...my Tatton-supplied 1310 shaft is 100% vibe free. None. Zero. Nada. However I am running a solid axle, so its not really an apples-to-apples comparison.

CGAlpha concerns me when he says he has a "grinding" sound. I have never had a grinding sound on any shaft except one that is total junk. I cannot imagine what would be grinding but, whatever it is...it ain't good. I would park it until you can find out.
 

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,244
Location
Tardville
I just spoke to Curtis at Tatton, and we both agreed on the same conclusion that pretty much every Jeeper already knows: Sometimes they vibrate. Sometimes they don't. While its not the conclusion anybody wants to hear, its been the standard conclusion for the last thirty years or so and it seems to have merit. This is why everything full-time 4WD after 1985 or so...runs a high-speed (6-ball) type CV. What is troubling is that some guys have issues...and some guys don't. Here is a list of possible solutions I'm going to offer up, if you are having vibration issues...

1. Jack up the front wheels. Un-bolt the front u-joint from the diff, and rotate the yoke 180 degrees...then bolt it back up. Test drive.

2. Jack up the front wheels. Un-bolt the rear cardan from the t-case, and rotate it 90 degrees...then bolt it back up. Test drive.

3. Try inserting various thicknesses of washers under the nose on the diff (between the crossmember and the pumpkin), to change the pinion angle. Test drive.

General consensus is that ALL vibrations are rarely eliminated completely. Almost every full-time 4WD that runs a cardan joint...will have some vibrations under certain conditions. Most people seem to think this related to pinion angle, and fortunately for us...that can be adjusted with spacers under the nose of the diff, without effecting caster (like it would on a solid-axle). I'll be meeting CGAlpha08 Thursday, and if we have time...we'll experiment with angles and shims. Perhaps we can "tune" the shaft to minimize or even eliminate the vibrations. I'll post-up what we find.
 
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