Vibration From 100km/hr

[waanimal]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum but have searched my query and haven't found an answer.

My D40 Navara has a vibration from 100km/hr onwards. I have taken it to Nissan, suspension, diff and gearbox specialists and no one has managed to fix it all though they have charged me a lot of money trying to fix it.

So far I have replaced all suspension, lower ball joints, tires, rear drive shaft, front prop shaft and drivers side front driveshaft. None of these have made much difference.

The Navara is in auto but i have ruled out the torque convertor issue other members have had on here as the vibration doesn't occur when I've had the front prop shaft out plus it still vibrates in 4WD at 100km/hr. I have tried to check the output shaft on the transfer case and input shaft on the front diff and I can't feel any looseness.

Does anyone have any theories or methods of checking what this vibration might be as I am about ready to give up and sell the Navara which I would rather not do as it has been good to me otherwise.

 

[shaunv8]

Wheel balance.

 

[waanimal]

Hi

Thanks for the reply, I had the wheels balanced and aligned with the new tires and the vibration doesn't happen with the new prop shaft in so it cant be the wheel balance

 

[abouttogobush]

hi mate did this happen with the old tyres

 

[abouttogobush]

also how long do you drive at 100kph in 4wd not a good thing on the tar and have you checked wheel bearings

 

[waanimal]

I Only drove on tarmac in 4wd for a second just to prove the vibration wasn't from the torque convertor. The vibration has stayed the same through all of "the fixes" various mechanics have suggested including new tires. The only thing that gets rid of it is to remove the prop shaft which isn't much good to me as i brought the ute to go 4x4ing

 

[abouttogobush]

ok matey I had a new tyre that was out of round with the same drama as yours it must be in the driveline if it goes with the shaft removed

 

[waanimal]

Thanks mate, I have a strong feeling it is either torque convertor or front diff. Does anyone have any idea how i could prove or disprove either of these options? As i mentioned the variety of mechanics i have been to haven't helped as yet.

 

[camo.b]

What year is it also?

 

[waanimal]

its a 2007 auto, diesel

 

[camo.b]

So with a few years under its belt anything is possible i suppose.are you the original owner? Has it done much work? And how many kms she got?

 

[abouttogobush]

and the diff is always spinning man

 

[waanimal]

I'm not the original owner, shes done 220kms

 

[camo.b]

So even with a new front prop shaft..all that frontend work done the only way to 'fix' the vibration is to remove the already new front prop.

 

[camo.b]

When its in 2wd the front diff is still spinning..and so is the prop shaft its just disconnected in the transfer case..driving like this (no front prop) has everything working including the front diff..it just doesnt have a large spinning pipe in the mix too..im thinking misaligned front diff or rear gearbox mount broken

 

[waanimal]

Thanks mate, ill look into that as it sounds feasible, how can i check front diff alignment?

 

[camo.b]

I dunno.just spent the last 5mins under mine..just check the mounting rubbers.think there are 3 on the diff housing to the chassis.easy too see.they should look smooth and no cracking.rear gearbox mount might be tricky to see.might need a jack and lift the gearbox too see if the rubber has separated.or drop the crossmember.

 

[camo.b]

Ive actually got a heap of play in my trans case output shaft to shaft yolk/flange.been like that forever tho.same as the inner CVs...they wobble like they have a problem.always been like that tho

 

[Old.Tony]

Simple test for the torque converter. The problem is in the lockup - so the easy way to test it is to prevent it from locking up.

That's easy: turn overdrive off. If you still get the vibration at 100km/h it's not your TC or your TCC.

If it doesn't happen when the front prop shaft is removed, then it's a problem with the prop shaft (or either end of it).

One end is in the front diff. That also translates to front axle. There could be some problems here that you may not experience when there's no load (the wheels are driving the shafts) but may experience under load (the engine is driving the shafts). A broken spider gear, for example, may be silent when the joint is being turned over without any power being transmitted through it, but under power it will behave differently.

Have you had the axles/CVs inspected?

 

[waanimal]

Simple test for the torque converter. The problem is in the lockup - so the easy way to test it is to prevent it from locking up.

That's easy: turn overdrive off. If you still get the vibration at 100km/h it's not your TC or your TCC.

If it doesn't happen when the front prop shaft is removed, then it's a problem with the prop shaft (or either end of it).

One end is in the front diff. That also translates to front axle. There could be some problems here that you may not experience when there's no load (the wheels are driving the shafts) but may experience under load (the engine is driving the shafts). A broken spider gear, for example, may be silent when the joint is being turned over without any power being transmitted through it, but under power it will behave differently.

Have you had the axles/CVs inspected?

Hi Tony

I have replaced the drivers side CV (entire driveshaft actually) on the advice of Nissan as they said it was worn and could be causing the vibration however this made no difference. At the time (a month ago) they said the left hand side CV was fine. I have just checked the gearbox and front diff mounts and they are all intact and look good. I marked the propshaft position with white paint pen before i took it out but the guy who rebuilt the shaft has resprayed it black so I lost my markings. Will this have any effect on vibration?