So background, I replaced the u-joint on the rear driveshaft a week ago. Since then I've had a vibration around 40-45 mph...not horrible, but definitely noticeable. I've verified all bolts are tight, had wheels balanced/rotated (they needed to be done anyhow, but did it just to verify it wasn't tires), and I've rotated the driveshaft 180 degrees per the FSM to no avail. I have some thoughts, but wanted to run it through here to get any other ideas.
A) Something is wrong with the replacement universal joint..binding somewhere, out of alignment between yoke and driveshaft, etc.
B) When taking it apart, the yoke took a beating. I'm not proud of this. The clamp wasn't getting anywhere due to a lot of corrosion so I had to resort to a hammer/punch. Could be that something bent in the yoke?
C) The CV on the rear of the driveshaft is bad? I'm not hearing any grinding/roar typical of a bad CV, but I'm not ruling that out either.
My plan is to get it on the lift next week at some point, pull the DS off and re-check everything. Nothing appeared out-of-line during re-install and everything flexed properly. I've verified the c-clips are still in place, driveshaft weights are still attached, etc. The one thing I didn't verify were the 'dead-spline' alignment on the yoke/TC splines...I used the paint-pen and matched lines up but could they still be off by a tooth? If so, would that cause a vibration?
I'm also just debating replacing the yoke while I'm in there, since the seized u-joint was beaten with a hammer. I found this linked in another thread:
1330 SERIES - 2005-2007+ NISSAN FRONTIER XTERRA REAR DRIVESHAFT 34 SPLINE TRANSFER CASE SLIP YOKE - SKU#(s) 2-3-15891X, C3-3-979-1, C3-3-979-3 - Fort Wayne Clutch & Driveline
Its listed as a 2005-2007+ Xterra part, can anyone attest/verify that it will fit a 2012? I'm pretty sure they're the same, but not positive.
Anyone have any other thoughts on this?
A) Something is wrong with the replacement universal joint..binding somewhere, out of alignment between yoke and driveshaft, etc.
B) When taking it apart, the yoke took a beating. I'm not proud of this. The clamp wasn't getting anywhere due to a lot of corrosion so I had to resort to a hammer/punch. Could be that something bent in the yoke?
C) The CV on the rear of the driveshaft is bad? I'm not hearing any grinding/roar typical of a bad CV, but I'm not ruling that out either.
My plan is to get it on the lift next week at some point, pull the DS off and re-check everything. Nothing appeared out-of-line during re-install and everything flexed properly. I've verified the c-clips are still in place, driveshaft weights are still attached, etc. The one thing I didn't verify were the 'dead-spline' alignment on the yoke/TC splines...I used the paint-pen and matched lines up but could they still be off by a tooth? If so, would that cause a vibration?
I'm also just debating replacing the yoke while I'm in there, since the seized u-joint was beaten with a hammer. I found this linked in another thread:
1330 SERIES - 2005-2007+ NISSAN FRONTIER XTERRA REAR DRIVESHAFT 34 SPLINE TRANSFER CASE SLIP YOKE - SKU#(s) 2-3-15891X, C3-3-979-1, C3-3-979-3 - Fort Wayne Clutch & Driveline
Its listed as a 2005-2007+ Xterra part, can anyone attest/verify that it will fit a 2012? I'm pretty sure they're the same, but not positive.
Anyone have any other thoughts on this?
