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emmotto
09-10-2013, 12:29 PM
Last weekend I performed a gearbox transplant on my '69 Series IIa 88 - taking out my ailing gbox/tcase and swapping it for a rebuilt gbox/tcase and replacing my clutch pressure and driven plate at the same time.

Prior to the operation my box was noisy, notchy, rattly and jumping out of 3rd. Much metal had been found in the oil and the 3rd gear synchro had ceased synch'ing - I had to double clutch going into 3rd as well as 1st and 2nd. Several weeks ago a rumbly, rattly sound appeared, even at rest in neutral - which made me suspect a worn main shaft front bearing.

Preparing for the swap we discovered that the 4wd lever mechanism was stuck in the freewheel case so we tried (I tried) to free it and in undoing the pivot pin I snapped it off (it was frozen too). After messing with a drill and easy-out to no avail, we swapped transfer cases and installed the rebuilt gearbox but the original transfer case.

The rest of the deal went reasonably well except for an hour lost messing with a defective new slave cylinder (gave up and reinstalled the original).

So - rebuilt gearbox (nice and quiet, smooth, not rattly, stays in gear etc), new clutch (both plates and pilot bush), new gearbox mounts and it's like a brand new truck! Except for one thing...

There's a definite rumbly vibration that was never there before with the old, crappy tranny. Hard to tell with 100% certainty but it appears to be driveline related somehow. Driving under load or coasting there's this kind of vibration that seems independent of what gear you are in or what speed the engine is turning - it's felt in neutral as well. I tried coasting down hill with the engine off and not certain if I felt it or not - need to try that again. Also thinking of turning freewheeling hubs to freewheel (they're in drive now) and possibly removing front driveshaft to further isolate where it's coming from.

Any ideas?

I'm thinking of putting t-case in neutral and running the clutch in and out to see if that will reveal anything - ie; if rumble exists while not rolling but clutch let out than maybe the gearbox not rebuilt so good (bad bearing). If no rumble with clutch pressed or not then definitely running gear...

The vibe is very reminiscent of what it felt like when I had a bad u-joint.

stomper
09-10-2013, 01:25 PM
Your last sentence is where I would start first. U-joints need to be checked and lubed. The symptom should not be there when you are stationary though if it is a U-joint

I Leak Oil
09-10-2013, 04:09 PM
Ya, you replaced the mounts? Sometimes that is enough of a change in operating angle so the rollers in the U-joint ride in a sligthly different place. If the U-joints had any mileage to begin with then you could start there.

emmotto
09-10-2013, 04:15 PM
Ya, you replaced the mounts? Sometimes that is enough of a change in operating angle so the rollers in the U-joint ride in a sligthly different place. If the U-joints had any mileage to begin with then you could start there.

Ahah! That sounds like a reasonable hypothesis! The front are relatively new - replaced the shaft complete last year - but the rear is of indeterminate age...

More sleuthing to come..

I Leak Oil
09-10-2013, 07:21 PM
Take the rear shaft out and drive around. See if it makes a difference.

emmotto
09-13-2013, 08:34 AM
update -

haven't had time to do extensive sleuthing - that will happen tomorrow - but turning the front wheel hubs to free-wheel has cut about 80-90% of the rumble vibration. So I'm thinking it's the driveshafts/u-joints and somehow just disconnecting and re-connecting them in combination with new gearbox mounts has caused this.

No real vibration I can detect with t-case lever in neutral but also no real vibe with engine turned off and coasting.

more to come

emmotto
09-22-2013, 07:35 AM
update -

haven't had time to do extensive sleuthing - that will happen tomorrow - but turning the front wheel hubs to free-wheel has cut about 80-90% of the rumble vibration. So I'm thinking it's the driveshafts/u-joints and somehow just disconnecting and re-connecting them in combination with new gearbox mounts has caused this.

No real vibration I can detect with t-case lever in neutral but also no real vibe with engine turned off and coasting.

more to come

well, finally got the chance to do some more sleuthing/fixing and despite all the evidence pointing to the FRONT drivetrain, replacement of the REAR driveshaft and u-joints seems to have fixed the problem (or at least it appears so with a quick test drive - this week will yield a full determination). Strange methinks! Rear shaft didn't seem particularly worn or sloppy, but replacing it made a difference. That and filling the nearly empty rear diff.... gotta fix the pinion seal...

I Leak Oil
09-22-2013, 07:47 AM
...that whole oil thing is over rated....:cool:
Sounds like you made progress. Doesn't take much slop in the slip yoke to create havoc in the drive line so don't underestimate that.