Building My Overland Tacoma: Plans, Progress, Perplexions

[Overland Hadley]

One thing that I should add is that I did not have any vibrations when stock and empty. But when I had a heavy load in the back I got a vibration. And then when it was lifted with the OME it vibrated, but differently. So there seems to be a sweet spot with no vibration at stock empty, but not below that and not above that.

 

[heeltoe989]

One thing that I should add is that I did not have any vibrations when stock and empty. But when I had a heavy load in the back I got a vibration. And then when it was lifted with the OME it vibrated, but differently. So there seems to be a sweet spot with no vibration at stock empty, but not below that and not above that.

Kinda sounds like the DS is out of Balance?

 

[Overland Hadley]

Kinda sounds like the DS is out of Balance?

If the DS was out of balance wouldn't it vibrate no matter what the lift was in the back?

The vibration even now changes with the load that I have in the back.

 

[Photog]

Yes. Out of balance would vibrate all the time, and typically be worse at different RPM's.

 

[slooowr6]

If it is the section after the carrier bearing then the carrier bearing drop kit would mess up that angle, right?

This is where I'm not sure. I'm assuming the shaft in front of the carrier is just extending the drive shaft from engine without angle change. I did not do any measurement so this is just my guess.

 

[slooowr6]

One thing that I should add is that I did not have any vibrations when stock and empty. But when I had a heavy load in the back I got a vibration. And then when it was lifted with the OME it vibrated, but differently. So there seems to be a sweet spot with no vibration at stock empty, but not below that and not above that.

Base on these info, it seems the culprit is the angle of the drive shaft. Do you know how much lift you currently have?
I think I'm at 1" above stock height and I don't have vibration. I can measure it tonight if you want to know.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Base on these info, it seems the culprit is the angle of the drive shaft. Do you know how much lift you currently have?
I think I'm at 1" above stock height and I don't have vibration. I can measure it tonight if you want to know.

I think with the weight I have my lift should be about 2", but that is just a guess.

You have a 06 Tacoma right, I think this problem started getting worse with the 07+ models.

 

[slooowr6]

I think with the weight I have my lift should be about 2", but that is just a guess.

You have a 06 Tacoma right, I think this problem started getting worse with the 07+ models.

Yes, 06 crew cab long bed. Keep us update on the progress. I don't think there is any post/thread/info on a definite solution/cause of this vibration.

 

[Overland Hadley]

Keep us update on the progress. I don't think there is any post/thread/info on a definite solution/cause of this vibration.

I just talked to Troy at Tom Woods. He said the vibration was most likely caused by poor rubber at the carrier bearing.

 

[ntsqd]

I've no knowledge of Tacoma driveshafts, do they have a double Cardan type CV joint in the rear? If so, then everything changes.

If not, and you've got a 2 piece rear drive shaft the front part needs to be as perfectly inline with the crank centerline as you can get. Something as simple as a settled motor mount can change the alignment enough to cause vibration. The OME shim is most likely a best fit shim and may not be exactly correct for any particular truck. Then the U-J angles in the rear section want to be the same. If there is any difference you want it to be at the pinion flange and you want that angle to be slightly (maybe 2* max) steeper. This will compensate for pinion angle change under load.

Note that if there is any angle in the second section as viewed from the top or bottom that they too need to be equal, and that there should be none in the first section.

As I've been composing while actually doing some work (!!!) I see the note about the rubber surround of the carrier bearing. I've wiped out several of those on my ''84 toyota 4wd. The best solution that I've found, short of building an entirely different sort of 'suspension' for the bearing, is to pump the void inside the rubber of a new assembly full of RTV silicone.

 

[slooowr6]

I just talked to Troy at Tom Woods. He said the vibration was most likely caused by poor rubber at the carrier bearing.

If this is the case then you should have vibration even in stock form. I would guess the rubber is the symptom of the vibration not the cause. As ntsqd mentioned above, make sure the shaft in front of the carrier is inline with the crank centerline as much as you can.

 

[slooowr6]

I've no knowledge of Tacoma driveshafts, do they have a double Cardan type CV joint in the rear? If so, then everything changes.

It has the single cardan type, just like the one in the picture above. The only difference is that there is a shaft connects to the engine instead direct mount like the pic.

 

[Overland Hadley]

If this is the case then you should have vibration even in stock form. I would guess the rubber is the symptom of the vibration not the cause. As ntsqd mentioned above, make sure the shaft in front of the carrier is inline with the crank centerline as much as you can.

I was thinking I might try and drop the carrier bearing down a bit more to try and line things up, but it sounds like maybe I should take out the drop kit to line things up more like stock?

 

[Overland Hadley]

I am going to try and find an angle finder tomorrow, then I can go dig around in the snow under the truck.

 

[Photog]

From the replies above, it sounds like you may want to check the motor & transmission mounts, and make sure they are in good shape. If they have settled or become soft, the alignment may be changing.

What you want, is for the #1 shaft to be in-line with the output shaft of the transfer case. If that means the carrier bearing needs to be in the stock position, OK. It might be between stock & the lowering block positions.

Check all the mounts and replace as necessary.

Measure the angle of output flange of the transfer case.

Measure the angle at the aft end of shaft #1.

Adjust carrier bearing mounts, until the angle at the aft end of shaft #1 matches the output flange angle of the transfer case.

Then you can move on to the pinion angle of the axle.