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Guys...I need help, BAD!

7

77K5Blazer

1/2 ton status
Joined
Mar 11, 2001
Posts
255
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Location
Hood River, Oregon
Good God, I just wanna run my blazer off a cliff! I swear this damn thing is a lemon or something. Alright, so I guess I'll give the full story on the first try. I've had the blazer for over a year. After I had owned it for about 6 months, I blew out the TO bearing, so I tore the whole thing apart and installed a Centerforce Stage II w/ new PP, new disc and new TO bearing. So I got that all back together, and all was well for another 6 months. Recently however, my starter tweaked and blew the end cone off, sending pieces into my bellhousing. To make a long story short, I pulled the whole drivetrain out again to find very large chunks of stuff inside there. It had damaged the starter side of the flywheel, so I heated up the flywheel, beat the tooth ring off, and reinstalled it backwards (very neat trick!!). So everything worked great again. As of about two weeks ago, my clutch got a little weird on me. It would jerk or grab real hard, and just didn't seem normal. Last sunday, I went on a little wheelin excursion, but didn't do anything serious, I've never been overly hard on my blazer, cause I'm always afrraid I'm gonna mess up one more thing. After that wheelin trip, I now have a badass vibration that rears it's uglyass head when I'm not on the gas (does not occur when tranny's in neutral and truck is idling or being revved). So basically, I feel the vibe if I'm downshifting and keep off the gas and use back pressure. I also noticed a clunking sound occuring when in Granny-low and letting the truck idle forward with the clutch out. I am positive it's not my driveshaft, my U-joints are tight, and if the shaft were bent it would vibe all the time. I need to get this fixed cause the vibration is so bad that I'm afraid it's gonna mess something else up, and it's also unbearable! I guess the only thing left to tell you is basic info. 77 K5 with a 45,000 mile targetmaster. Centerforce II clutch with less than 2500 miles on it. SM465 with about 165,000, same for the NP205. All new driveshafts, 4" all spring lift and 35" MT/Rs. Thanks a million for any help you guys can give me!
Later...Allan /forums/images/icons/confused.gif
 
Did you go through any mud? Maybe there's some mud caked on somewhere causing the vibes. I had an identical problem after some muddin' once I got on the highway. Washed everything off and the problem was gone. I didn't have a dust cover on either... I know I know, but she was fine!


I did some sand once and got a little too much in the bellhousing. That caused enough slippage that I thought I blew the head gasket until it wore off... I feel bad for the guy that got that truck after me...
 
You have just described every symptom of a bad pilot bearing. What is happening is that the pilot bearing is stuck to the input shaft and is causing your problems. Go to a good tranny shop and they will confirm this for you. At my job our delivery trucks have had this problem before so that's why I know about this. You will need to remove the transmission and transfer case a last time and replace the pilot bearing with a new one. They have bearings or bushings that can be used, the bearing is a much better deal but make sure you lube it good with some good quality grease before you install it.
 
If you still have the half ton diff's I'd pull the rear cover off and do an inspection. You're running large enough tires to put stock 1/2 ton diff's at the edge of what they can take. My buddy recently had a similar vibe as well as clunking with his 89. Everything looked good until he pulled the cover and found the carrier bearings were about to frag in his 10 bolt. His truck was stock and running 31's...

Check your U-bolts too in the rear, it kinda sounds like a bad pinion angle type vibe. Broken shims and loose U-bolts will do this as well.

Rene
 
Rene, My pinion angle is not good at all, but I've been running it for over 3 months now and this vibe just started a week ago. As for the mud deal that another guy asked, yes I had just been in mud, But I'm confused because I was under the impression that caked on mud would cause a constant vibration. I'm gonna have to run with the pilot bearing Idea, and it'll go to a tranny shop tomorrow, thanks for the help, and I'll keep you guys updated!
Later...Allan
 
If the pinion angle isn't good and it's been 3 months I'd put serious money on a failing U-joint. Pull the rear shaft out and have a good look, I think you'll find the needle bearings are pulverized and the joint is near failure. It can be very hard to tell with the shaft in the truck if there's any load on the shaft at all. You could put the truck in nuetral, apply the E-brake and then try and rotate the shaft to see if there is any play...

I'd rather pull a driveshaft then a Tranny T-case combo anyday /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

Rene
 
Not if it were just starting to get worn, sounds like a u-joint to me, I've had mine start to vibrate after about 3 months at between 50 and 60 and still last another couple months before letting go. They just get progressively worse over time.
 
I pulled the shaft rene; the neddle bearings, for all I can tell, are perfect. I also put er in neutral with the e-brake on, and the only play that shaft has is the pinion play in the rear axle (circular movement, not side-to-side).
It has very little, and I mean very little side-to-side play. I guess it's going to a tranny shop, cause I don't have the time right now to mess with this. I'm not feeling to up on my blazer right now! Thanks for your help tho...how's tRusty doin?
Later...Allan /forums/images/icons/confused.gif
 
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