- #3412 of 3455
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65 mph Vibration
by jimmyhater
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Sep 27, 2009 (4:57 pm)
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I have a 96 GMC Jimmy 4x4 that vibrates at speeds above 65 mph, most noticeable when traveling uphill. I have looked at multiple posts on the internet regarding vehicle vibration at speeds above 64-66 mph, and couldn't find a good solution. So far, I have replace the wheel hub assemblies, front half-shafts, rotors, drums, tires (even had them road forced balanced), and driveline u-joints. The only thing left to replace is the front differential and the rear differential bearings. I did notice that I have a bad mody mount on the front right of the vehicle. Could this really cause this vibration? The vehicle vibrates the most at the door hinges and mirrors. I did notice that there might be excessive play in the driver-side differential driveshaft flange. Any ideas out there before I try replacing something else? I was thinking about taking the front cv shafts apart and only placing the part that help keeps the wheel hub assemblies together...I don't need 4x4 that bad. Thanks.
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- #3413 of 3455
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Re: 65 mph Vibration [jimmyhater]
by jlflemmons
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Sep 27, 2009 (5:31 pm)
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Replying to: jimmyhater (Sep 27, 2009 4:57 pm)
Check motor and transmission mounts, too. The tranny mount is easy, but the motor mounts are a bit harder. Easiest to come in through the wheel wells and underneath.
Motor mount breakage is fairly common on these. That 4.3L can generate some pretty good torque. I have had to replace both on my two Blazers this year.
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- #3414 of 3455
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Re: 65 mph Vibration [jlflemmons]
by jimmyhater
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Sep 27, 2009 (7:26 pm)
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Replying to: jlflemmons (Sep 27, 2009 5:31 pm)
What symptoms did your vehicle experience with the bad mounts? I checked the transmission mount before and it seems fine. The engine mounts were somewhat difficult to get get a good look at. The engine doesn't excessively move when putting it in gear and reving the engine. If anyone may think it may be tie rods (inner and outter), control arm bushings, or the idler arm...it isn't...replaced those too. And, of course the front-end alignment didn't help. Actually, I had two places check the alignment. One place with a laser-alignment system said my caster setting was a little out of whack. The place that did my alignment said the caster setting was fine. The vehicle was backed into at a low speed a few years back...I'm wondering if it caused the pinion angle to change. Say, when I drive up-hill, more weight on the rear causes the pinion angle to change slightly more, thereby causing the vibration???
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- #3415 of 3455
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Re: 65 mph Vibration [jimmyhater]
by jlflemmons
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Sep 28, 2009 (5:33 am)
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Replying to: jimmyhater (Sep 27, 2009 7:26 pm)
I was thinking more along the line of the increase in torque needed when going up hill. It would take more than a little bump to knock the rear end out of alignment, and a good alignment shop would see this. You would also be getting some unusual tire wear. Any chance the drive shaft has thrown a weight, or been damaged?
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- #3416 of 3455
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Re: 65 mph Vibration [jlflemmons]
by jimmyhater
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Sep 28, 2009 (6:58 am)
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Replying to: jlflemmons (Sep 28, 2009 5:33 am)
When I changed the u-joints, I didn't notice any dents or lost weights. The shaft was a little rusty, so I probably wouldn't know if it lost any weights. Does your Blazer have 4x4? If so, have you noticed play on the short shaft that comes out of the driver's side of the differential? It's normal for the shaft to move in/out of the differential a little bit, but I'm not certain about how much play is normal moving it up and down.
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- #3417 of 3455
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Re: 65 mph Vibration [jimmyhater]
by jlflemmons
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Sep 28, 2009 (7:27 am)
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Replying to: jimmyhater (Sep 28, 2009 6:58 am)
Sorry, both of mine are 2WD. Lot's of folks on here with 4WD though. I don't know why you would have lateral movement in the drivers side halfshaft unless the CV joint was worn. In and out, yes, got to have that because of the movement up and down, but side to side would indicate a CV joint issue. Can you isolate if the movement is in the inside or outside joint?
Have you checked for worn lower ball joints? You might do a search on "ball joints' in the Jimmy/Blazer topic and see what comes up. I have seen a lot of comments about these in the 4WD. The 2WD uses a different joint and doesn't have the same issue.
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- #3418 of 3455
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Re: 65 mph Vibration [jlflemmons]
by jimmyhater
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Sep 28, 2009 (8:15 am)
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Replying to: jlflemmons (Sep 28, 2009 7:27 am)
The lower ball joints were replaced in 2003 as a result of a GM service bullentin. I recently replaced the upper ball joints when replacing the control arm bushings. How often do the ball joints go bad? They don't have more than 30,000 miles on them. The CV half-shaft has been replaced. The front differential does not have an axle tub on the driver's side. It has a short-stubby shalf with a flange on the end. The flange connects to the CV half-shaft flange.
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- #3419 of 3455
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Re: Wheel Bearing, etc. update #2 [waynea]
by jimmyhater
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Sep 28, 2009 (8:23 am)
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Replying to: waynea (May 14, 2003 6:03 am)
Were you ever able to resolve your vibration issue? I have a 96 GMC Jimmy with the same problems. ...Also had the same problem with the oil cooler lines. ...The vibration may be the cause.
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- #3420 of 3455
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Re: 65 mph Vibration [jimmyhater]
by johnss10
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Sep 28, 2009 (3:22 pm)
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Replying to: jimmyhater (Sep 28, 2009 8:15 am)
Can you tell if the vibration is felt in the steering wheel in addition to seeing it in the mirrors? If so, it would seem likely that it is tire/ bent wheel/hub related.
Also, is the vehicle in 2WD or 4WD at the time?If it's in 2WD, then the extra torque needed to go up hill is not being passed to the front drivetrain, so it's pretty unlikely that the front is the problem in that case.
Any further info?
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- #3421 of 3455
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Re: 65 mph Vibration [johnss10]
by jimmyhater
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Sep 28, 2009 (3:49 pm)
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Replying to: johnss10 (Sep 28, 2009 3:22 pm)
There is a slight vibration in the steering wheel. The vehicle vibrates whether it is in 2WD or 4WD, in gear or not in gear, over-drive or drive. I've had the tires replaced, both sets of tires were road-forced balanced. Technicians at both places said the balancer would pick up a bad rim; all rims are fine. To double-check it, I've replaced all four tires with my spare. It seems that the whole vehicle vibrates, but mostly at the doors and mirrors. The vehicle is so small, it's hard to detect a vibration in any one area.
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