UPDATE...Vibration at 40 to 60mph UPDATE!!!

[cpta2020]

I have a vibration that I can't seem to figure out, I have replaced all 4 tires and balanced the wheels and got an alignment done. I have also replaced the rear U-Joint on the front drive shaft (there was some play in it, all others felt solid), but I still have the vibration, my mechanic suggested i balance the rear drive shaft.

Heres my best shot at explaining the Vibration:

The Truck drives very smooth up to 60 km/h (40MPH) then starts to vibrate in the seat and the floor,

The Vibration seems to be at its worst at 100 km/h (60MPH) and the steering wheel starts to shake,

The Vibration changes Frequency at around 120 km/h (80MPH) and becomes less noticeable.

Also the Truck will vibrate while drive if i put the gear in Neutral, however it feels worst under acceleration especially between 60 km/h (40MPH) and 100 km/h (60MPH).

Any pointers will be appreciated.

[Towncivilian]

Drain & fill the transmission fluid (assuming auto trans here) - 3.5qt is approximate drain & fill capacity. EDIT: Oh wait, I saw you did that already in your other thread. Uh, try greasing the driveshaft? How are the front wheel bearings?

[cpta2020]

I haven't Checked the Front Wheel Bearings? any thoughts on how I can do that?

Thanks for the Quick reply!!

[Towncivilian]

Unfortunately, I don't. Sorry. The FSM doesn't seem to be much help either - see AX-4. Hopefully somebody else does and replies soon!

[Pathfound49]

Your vibration symptoms are very similar to mine. I've done u-joints, had both driveshafts balanced, fresh fluids in the diffs and transfer case, etc. The wheel bearings have not been touched. Townie may be on to something. Let us know if you stumble on to a cure.

[cpta2020]

Your vibration symptoms are very similar to mine. I've done u-joints, had both driveshafts balanced, fresh fluids in the diffs and transfer case, etc. The wheel bearings have not been touched. Townie may be on to something. Let us know if you stumble on to a cure.

Accordion to 401/Dixie Nissan the U joints are unserviceable and I would need to buy a new drive shaft. I find that really hard to believe.

I'm still at the dealer will update

[sicwitit]

How to test a wheel bearing. This is on a ford focus, but you get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVW_W7X2LFo

[cpta2020]

here is where i am at so far:

New tires balanced;
Alignment done;
Fresh Fluids in Transfer Case, Diff, Transmission;
Rear drive shaft balance + 2 rear drive shaft U-joints;
Front drive shaft u-joint; and
Check and adjusted front wheel bearings, they were a bit lose and needed to be tightened.

I still have that Vibration, its getting fainter however now its more obvious when i'm costing and the truck is decelerating i.e from 100km's (60mph).

Anything else I can check... This is driving me crazy.

[accurate]

Rear drive shaft balance + 2 rear drive shaft U-joints; Front drive shaft u-joint.

How much does it runs you to got all these done? I think I may need to do it soon because my is started to make clunking sound in the real when I give gas. Sorry to hear you still have that Vibration.

[cpta2020]

Rear drive shaft balance + 2 rear drive shaft U-joints; Front drive shaft u-joint.

How much does it runs you to got all these done? I think I may need to do it soon because my is started to make clunking sound in the real when I give gas. Sorry to hear you still have that Vibration.

Balance = $50
Alignment = $75
Front Bearings Adjust and re-lube = $50
Drive Shaft Balance = $175
U-Joint Nissan Part = $112 ea (I replaced 3 of them)

Fluids I'm not sure how much all cost because I replaced all the fluids Breaks/Oil/Trans/Diff/Transfer case/Coolant that bill was about $500...

I don't really know what else to do... i'm puzzled, i'm starting to think there is something in the transfer case thats causing the vibration.

[04Chinook]

Have you tried driving with the front driveshaft removed? A lot of times the front driveshaft causes vibrations.

[cpta2020]

Have you tried driving with the front driveshaft removed? A lot of times the front driveshaft causes vibrations.

I haven't tried that yet. that will be my next step.

[tigwelder]

Just wanted to share my recent experience with you concerning a driveline vibration in my 2003 LE that was present between 80 km and 100 km in auto mode.It was a long drawn out process that started with removal of the transfer case(there was excessive play in one output shaft)whereas my mechanic found damage to the housing inside.A used transfer case was sourced but there was still vibration present even with the front driveshaft removed.Both driveshafts were sent out to be balanced then new ujoints installed,still there was vibration although at a lower speed 70 km.A used rear driveshaft was found and this cured all vibration untill the newly balanced front shaft was installed then voila vibration returned worse then ever.Finally yesterday I found a used front driveshaft at a wrecking yard for 85 dollars and now the vehicle drives smooth as silk in 2wd or 4wd at all speeds.Sorry for the long explanation but I just wanted to show that it was not a simple process.Also on a side note the dealer here in Cambridge,Ont wanted $1100 for a new front driveshaft!

[cpta2020]

Just wanted to share my recent experience with you concerning a driveline vibration in my 2003 LE that was present between 80 km and 100 km in auto mode.It was a long drawn out process that started with removal of the transfer case(there was excessive play in one output shaft)whereas my mechanic found damage to the housing inside.A used transfer case was sourced but there was still vibration present even with the front driveshaft removed.Both driveshafts were sent out to be balanced then new ujoints installed,still there was vibration although at a lower speed 70 km.A used rear driveshaft was found and this cured all vibration untill the newly balanced front shaft was installed then voila vibration returned worse then ever.Finally yesterday I found a used front driveshaft at a wrecking yard for 85 dollars and now the vehicle drives smooth as silk in 2wd or 4wd at all speeds.Sorry for the long explanation but I just wanted to show that it was not a simple process.Also on a side note the dealer here in Cambridge,Ont wanted $1100 for a new front driveshaft!

Thanks a lot for your input.... I'm about $1500 in to this vibration so far... i'm going to start looking for a front drive shaft at a wreck yard... see if that helps... I don't do much hwy driving but i'll be going down to NY in Oct and I don't want to be vibrating all the way there....

I live in Mississuaga, are you close to the GTA? maybe I can drive up to meet you and have you test drive my Path see if its the same vibration you were experiencing..

Cheers!!

[tigwelder]

I live in Mississuaga, are you close to the GTA? maybe I can drive up to meet you and have you test drive my Path see if its the same vibration you were experiencing

If you find your self heading to Cambridge sometime,drop me a line and we can meet up.If you can take your front driveshaft off like some others here have suggested this might go a long way to determining the problem.Good luck!

[PathPro2002]

I have a vibration that I can't seem to figure out, I have replaced all 4 tires and balanced the wheels and got an alignment done. I have also replaced the rear U-Joint on the front drive shaft (there was some play in it, all others felt solid), but I still have the vibration, my mechanic suggested i balance the rear drive shaft.

Heres my best shot at explaining the Vibration:

The Truck drives very smooth up to 60 km/h (40MPH) then starts to vibrate in the seat and the floor,

The Vibration seems to be at its worst at 100 km/h (60MPH) and the steering wheel starts to shake,

The Vibration changes Frequency at around 120 km/h (80MPH) and becomes less noticeable.

Also the Truck will vibrate while drive if i put the gear in Neutral, however it feels worst under acceleration especially between 60 km/h (40MPH) and 100 km/h (60MPH).

Any pointers will be appreciated.

I had this very similar problem. For me, the solutions where the wheels. I had old ones and they were misaligned or something like that and when I changed them it went away, so I do not know how to help.

Next time you drive, when it starts shaking press the overdrive button and accelerate it a little to see if it stops or reduces (the shaking) so at least you feel safer. That helped me when my Path started shaking. Hope it gets fixed soon.

[cpta2020]

Heres an update,

I got around to take off the front drive shaft, The Pathy was driving smooth without the front drive shaft.

So I figured I'd send the drive shaft in to get it balanced. the U-joints felt fine. I got the drive shaft back and installed it only to get the VIBRATION back and it feels worst then it was before.

so i'm not sure if I have a bad driveshaft, bad balancing, bad joint or bad transfer case.... I don't know what to do with this Vibration... i have spent so much money trying to chase it down.

any ideas...

[04Chinook]

I went through exactly the same thing, replaced u joints, got the driveshaft balanced. Vibration was still there so I ended up putting in some manual hubs.
I'll only lock the hubs during the winter or when going on long trips as the 4wd light comes on when driving for hours straight.

[fueler]

You could install Warn locking hubs up front... $160. When unlocked, they allow your front wheels to spin freely (independently from the axles and driveshaft). So if the problem is somewhere between your hubs and the transfer case, which sounds like the case, hubs should mask this problem.

Of course, anytime you lock the hubs to use 4x4, the vibration will come back... you shouldnt be going 60mph in 4x4 mode anyways though.

Not to mention the hubs will earn you 1-2 mpg & pay for themselves.

[fueler]

Dang it i didn't read chinooks post.... sorry it sounds like an echo in here ha ha.

[cpta2020]

You could install Warn locking hubs up front... $160. When unlocked, they allow your front wheels to spin freely (independently from the axles and driveshaft). So if the problem is somewhere between your hubs and the transfer case, which sounds like the case, hubs should mask this problem.

Of course, anytime you lock the hubs to use 4x4, the vibration will come back... you shouldnt be going 60mph in 4x4 mode anyways though.

Not to mention the hubs will earn you 1-2 mpg & pay for themselves.

Thanks Chinook

it sounds like this might be the solution, I checked the website http://www.gowarn.com/ i'm not sure what axel i have, i need to do more research, and how do these hubs work? is it a pain to lock them/free them? or just pop under the car and spin the knob as it seems, any disadvantage? thanks

[04Chinook]

You would be looking for hubs for a 28 spline axle. They only list them to '01 but they fit until '04. If you want to go the cheaper route you could get MileMarkers. Locking/unlocking hubs is more of an inconvenience than anything (it literally only takes 30 seconds).

http://npora.ipbhost.com/index.php?show ... ntry586995

[cpta2020]

You would be looking for hubs for a 28 spline axle. They only list them to '01 but they fit until '04. If you want to go the cheaper route you could get MileMarkers. Locking/unlocking hubs is more of an inconvenience than anything (it literally only takes 30 seconds).

http://npora.ipbhost.com/index.php?show ... ntry586995

Thanks for your reply, i'm not going to cheap out on them, i'll buy the warn hubs. Did you install them your self? is it complicated?

[04Chinook]

I installed them myself. Took maybe 1.5 hours. Here's a "how to" for installing them.

http://npora.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=25855

[fueler]

^^ Nice, the same thread that helped me out!

Chinook went the extra step, but you don't even have to jack the truck up, or take the wheels off! I did mine with the QX4 just sitting in a condo parking lot using only hand tools.

Also, my stock studs were perfect length for the warn hubs (look like yours when all is installed - just one or two threads sticking out of the nut). I can see you definitely needed the longer studs, i wonder what's different about our setups?

[04Chinook]

^^ Nice, the same thread that helped me out!

Chinook went the extra step, but you don't even have to jack the truck up, or take the wheels off! I did mine with the QX4 just sitting in a condo parking lot using only hand tools.

Also, my stock studs were perfect length for the warn hubs (look like yours when all is installed - just one or two threads sticking out of the nut). I can see you definitely needed the longer studs, i wonder what's different about our setups?

This is actually not my pathfinder, but I used the stock studs like you did. I don't do any offroading with mine so I went the cheaper route and got Milemarkers. The only thing I don't like about them is that they don't use a rubber gasket to keep out water

[cpta2020]

Chinook did this get rid of the vibration for you? how does it work? isn't the front drive shaft still spinning? isn't why the truck is vibrating?

[04Chinook]

Chinook did this get rid of the vibration for you? how does it work? isn't the front drive shaft still spinning? isn't why the truck is vibrating?

The driveshaft won't spin when the hubs are unlocked, which is why the vibration disappears. And yes, it did get rid of the vibration for me, but only when unlocked.

[cpta2020]

okay interesting... how long have you had this installed? any regrets? i'm getting ready to order these next week...

[04Chinook]

I've had my hubs installed for about 2 months now.

The only things I didn't like about the manual hubs was that they stuck out pretty far but that also depends on what kind of rims you have and backspacing, and that my 4wd light goes on when taking long trips so I keep them locked for that.