i have had a huge headache with a drivetrain vibration problem for almost a year now. so many things can effect and cause vibration, which i have found out. 50 - 75% of my problems were due to a Energy Suspension transmission mount. a few of you had suggested in previous posts that this could be a problem and i also thought it could be as well but it is UNBELIEVEABLE how bad a poly mount will transfer noise and vibration.
here a some of my eariler posts, all related to this problem:
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=730971
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=730862
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=730212
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=693691
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=692009
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=691160
not only did the poly mount cause extreme vibration, the mount is taller than a factory rubber trans mount ( and of course, has no give ) CAUSING THE DRIVESHAFT TO SET HIGHER UP THUS CHANGING THE ANGLE AND THE BOTTOM OF MY CAR WAS BEING SCRAPED IN MORE THAN ONE AREA BY THE DRIVESHAFT. it also rubbed away 1/2 of the rubber sleeves covering my e-brake cables and also contacted the metal piece holding those cables. it also had been hitting the body right behind the shifter hole. there are scoring marks all around my DS. my pinion seal was leaking (seal has less than 8,000 miles) and my tailshaft seal was leaking . since the mount caused the trans to set higher, which caused the DS to set higher , it makes me wonder if those angle changes caused my leaks or contributed to them.
i kept my factory trans mount and swapped the energy suspension one back out for the factory rubber. before i took a test drive, i painted all the contact points that the DS were hitting with black paint. drove the car around a while, came back and put it back on the lift. there were NO marks on any of the places i painted black.
the car not only drives smoother, it just feels better. the vibration that i have had very recently when letting off the throttle at 60mph+ speeds have dramatically improved. The feeling of loose slack has also improved. i still feel there is a rearend issue as i can still feel some vibs when letting off at those speeds but other vibrations i had have went away ( which were prob caused by the DS rubbing the body ).
other thoughts and findings: before, with the DS bolted up car in neutral and e brake off and the car sitting on a 2 post lift.....the DS could be twisted either way with about a full inch of play. with the DS disconnected from the rearend and twisting the DS, i still feel alot of play which makes me think the trans is part of the problem. if that be the case, any vibration or slack in the trans im sure could be tranferred thru the DS to the rearend while driving making the driver think its the rear? with the DS still disconnected from the rearend, i can twist the rearend with VERY little play. does not take much movement at all before the wheels start to turn. considerably less play than when the DS is connected to the rear and the trans. however, i can still hear clunking in the rear when doing so. this still concerns me, should it?
when replacing a trans mount, i strongly suggest using a factory replacement. im under the impression the poly mount will work better hand in hand with poly motor mounts but i still would not trust it.
here a some of my eariler posts, all related to this problem:
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=730971
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=730862
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=730212
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=693691
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=692009
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=691160
not only did the poly mount cause extreme vibration, the mount is taller than a factory rubber trans mount ( and of course, has no give ) CAUSING THE DRIVESHAFT TO SET HIGHER UP THUS CHANGING THE ANGLE AND THE BOTTOM OF MY CAR WAS BEING SCRAPED IN MORE THAN ONE AREA BY THE DRIVESHAFT. it also rubbed away 1/2 of the rubber sleeves covering my e-brake cables and also contacted the metal piece holding those cables. it also had been hitting the body right behind the shifter hole. there are scoring marks all around my DS. my pinion seal was leaking (seal has less than 8,000 miles) and my tailshaft seal was leaking . since the mount caused the trans to set higher, which caused the DS to set higher , it makes me wonder if those angle changes caused my leaks or contributed to them.
i kept my factory trans mount and swapped the energy suspension one back out for the factory rubber. before i took a test drive, i painted all the contact points that the DS were hitting with black paint. drove the car around a while, came back and put it back on the lift. there were NO marks on any of the places i painted black.
the car not only drives smoother, it just feels better. the vibration that i have had very recently when letting off the throttle at 60mph+ speeds have dramatically improved. The feeling of loose slack has also improved. i still feel there is a rearend issue as i can still feel some vibs when letting off at those speeds but other vibrations i had have went away ( which were prob caused by the DS rubbing the body ).
other thoughts and findings: before, with the DS bolted up car in neutral and e brake off and the car sitting on a 2 post lift.....the DS could be twisted either way with about a full inch of play. with the DS disconnected from the rearend and twisting the DS, i still feel alot of play which makes me think the trans is part of the problem. if that be the case, any vibration or slack in the trans im sure could be tranferred thru the DS to the rearend while driving making the driver think its the rear? with the DS still disconnected from the rearend, i can twist the rearend with VERY little play. does not take much movement at all before the wheels start to turn. considerably less play than when the DS is connected to the rear and the trans. however, i can still hear clunking in the rear when doing so. this still concerns me, should it?
when replacing a trans mount, i strongly suggest using a factory replacement. im under the impression the poly mount will work better hand in hand with poly motor mounts but i still would not trust it.