Vibration coming up thru top loader shifter

Sharps-Nut

New Member
Sep 6, 2006
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Hi all. I was driving my 65 fb to work yesterday and ran the speed up to 80 or so and got a bad vibration up thru the shifter. I slowed and it followed me down to 50 or so and went away. I eased the speed back to 70 and it started to come back. I crippled in to work and home but am not sure what I am facing. U Joint setting up drive line vibration? Trans trouble? It was 10:30 when I got home so was looking for thoughts for the diagnosis game tonight. The trans is a toploader 4 speed, the vibration was very rapid making a groanish noise. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks for the help. Steve
 
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tires

You will laugh but The wheel tire combo has no wheel weights. The wheels are vintage troque thrusts and required adhesive weights. I work at a vocational school they mounted the tires up went for a drive there was so very little vibration I just ran them. The combo has been in use about 10 years and 20 thousand miles. :shrug:
 
Could have lost a draveshaft weight. I'd check that if it's something that came on all of a sudden. If you did, I'd change the u-joints as well once you get it rebalanced, as well as a new rear seal in the tranny tailshaft.
 
This weekend

This weekend might allow the time to get the thing up on stands and give it a real looing over. I twisted up shifted to nuetral and killed the motor the other night but that did not make it go away, not that I thought it would but was hoping to gain a hearing perspective. Hope its not in the trans.
 
If the vibration is only coming through the shifter rather than the steering wheel or whole car, then there's a good chance it's a U-joint or at least driveline related. It would be a good idea to get under the car and check out the driveshaft/differential slop(if any).

The Mopar steel wheels on the car now have center holes larger than the stock Ford hubs. The tires were mounted and balanced by a local shop with a good rep. I thought the taper-seat lug nuts might center them alright, but they did not. I had to make some "hub-centric" rings on a lathe to properly center the wheels. Works great now, but when it vibrated, the whole car would shake.