ep85-ep95 users. propshaft problem

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Enzo

Member +
ive developed a vibration in the ep95 im pretty sure its propshaft related and cant find the problem. when the car is on the move labouring or in a high gear at low speed the whole car vibrates,once i get up to speed pas 80ks it goes away, but the vibration bellow that is getting worse, its only on throttle.
ive had it on the ramp 6 times in the past few days and changed the gearbox oil. rear diff and transfer case fluid and i cant see what the problem is, the propshaft seams solid enough?

could anyone shed some light on wha the problem might be its driving me crazy?:confused:
 
Ted

Ted

Member +
Enzo said:
ive developed a vibration in the ep95 im pretty sure its propshaft related and cant find the problem. when the car is on the move labouring or in a high gear at low speed the whole car vibrates,once i get up to speed pas 80ks it goes away, but the vibration bellow that is getting worse, its only on throttle.
ive had it on the ramp 6 times in the past few days and changed the gearbox oil. rear diff and transfer case fluid and i cant see what the problem is, the propshaft seams solid enough?

could anyone shed some light on wha the problem might be its driving me crazy?:confused:
Click to expand...

never heard of that before, engine mount? you havent put different profile tyres on the front/rear?
 
E

Enzo

Member +
no ive checked all mounts, and all the tyres on it are pretty new. i cant understand what the problem is its driving me nuts man.

see when you rotate your propshaft is there any slack in it i have about half an inch in mine. im sure thats normal though

ive checked all the mounts and im stumped.

im beggining it think it might be the transfer case?
 
Ted

Ted

Member +
no play in my propshaft at all, could it be the bushes that the propshaft turns on?
 
E

Enzo

Member +
ah no play?

its similar in feeling on a fwd car to turning a front driveshaft with the gearbox in gear except the prop only rotates a cm at most
might be the source of my problem maybe?

should the round bushes that the propshaft turn in be fully solid also?

if it is the transfer case what options do i have? scary ones id imagine

thanx for you help Ted
 
Ted

Ted

Member +
ah you mean turning slack, yes there is a bit. is there any slack in the actual propshaft mounts as it goes back towards the viscous coupling? had a look on toyota owners club and rav 4 owners talk about 'prop shaft slap'
 
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Enzo

Member +
there is none at all, no play. but when its vibrating its obivus its the prop someway. on the move something does definatly sound loose, i just cant pinpoint the source of the sound.
can propshafts go out of balance?

il do a search on propshaft slap to see what that is.

im just gona put it on the ramp again the now. il go over all mounts again,
and take pictures. hopefully the pictures might help with the diagnosis
 
Ted

Ted

Member +
if you have a decent camera phone or video camera you could put it under the car to see if anyting shows up when driving. secure it well obviously!
 
Ted

Ted

Member +
i would be optimistic about it being something simple, these things are very tough. unless youve been launching with 400bhp anyway:)
 
ninja1270

ninja1270

Member +
Take the propshaft off and see if it's still there.
That way you know its related to that.
Worked on a Landrover for me the other day :)
 
Texx

Texx

Super Moderator
My 85/95 knowledge is rather none existent, but could you run the car with the propshaft removed? It would rule out or confirm the source of the vibration from that area.

There could be some wear in either or both of the center support bearings that is only apparent under load hence you only feel the vibration when on the loud pedal. Or maybe the shaft needs to be rebalanced.

Looking at the EPC, the intermediate shaft flanges are only held on with a nut at each end, so could be worth pulling the bearings off and checking their condition. You could also try clamping the shaft in a vice and then somehow apply some lateral load against the bearings (maybe bolt some form of bar to the bearing mount holes to lever with) while turning them to feel for any roughness.
 
ninja1270

ninja1270

Member +
I know nothing about the 85/95s.
Think you could still drive it, never seen one lol
Was a suggestion for someone who knows if you can:)
 
weeJohn

weeJohn

Lifer
Enzo there are 2 big carrier bearings on the main prop shaft that keeps the shaft from flexing in the middle, it could be one of them.

Hard to test if its gone without splitting the shaft front and rear, even then it would need to be well fucked to feel movement in it. There should be no play in the bearing if you hold the shaft and try to lift it upwards through the floor.

Its a hard one to trace as the sound and vibration will travel down the shafts from either end, it could be in the rear diff or the transfer box. There is a grease nipple on the front part of the prop where the shaft has a provision to slide back and forth on splines along its length, worth a go firing some grease in there. The only other things I could guess at is the 2 flexible joints at each end, before the plates.

I dont think it would do any harm to remove the whole shaft and drive it as a fwd for a short time to test it.
 
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E

Enzo

Member +
thanx for the replys guys, after getting it on the ramp, figured where the actual noise was coming from and thats the splines that the prop slides onto.
took that part of the shaft off and it was bone dry

noticed the greese nipple so packed it with the stuff.
that took the noise away but the vibration is still there, im not sure if its getting worse, (done about 100ish miles and will need to do more) it doesent seam so but ive already done the damage in terms of the actual vibration being there.


Hard to test if its gone without splitting the shaft front and rear, even then it would need to be well fucked to feel movement in it. There should be no play in the bearing if you hold the shaft and try to lift it upwards through the floor.
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il get it back on the ramp and see if there is any play to dismiss that,

if not would anyone agree that since the front part of the prop was bone dry that it would have worn the splines creating that play/vibration which would have got worse?

if thats the case would it make sense for me to buy a new front prop and the bit that connects too it?
 
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steve_322

Fresh Recruit
Enzo said:
see when you rotate your propshaft is there any slack in it i have about half an inch in mine. im sure thats normal though
QUOTE]
You shouldn't really have half an inch of slack, and there isn't much actual movement in the splined section, unless the engine mounts are in bad shape. Any vibration would be coming from carrier bearings, check if any balance weights are missing from the prop, but thats very unlikely, any movement in the viscous coupling?
Click to expand...
 
weeJohn

weeJohn

Lifer
Enzo said:
thanx for the replys guys, after getting it on the ramp, figured where the actual noise was coming from and thats the splines that the prop slides onto.
took that part of the shaft off and it was bone dry

noticed the greese nipple so packed it with the stuff.
that took the noise away but the vibration is still there, im not sure if its getting worse, (done about 100ish miles and will need to do more) it doesent seam so but ive already done the damage in terms of the actual vibration being there.




il get it back on the ramp and see if there is any play to dismiss that,

if not would anyone agree that since the front part of the prop was bone dry that it would have worn the splines creating that play/vibration which would have got worse?

if thats the case would it make sense for me to buy a new front prop and the bit that connects too it?
Click to expand...

Thats easy to test, grab both sides of the joint and twist in opposite direction, there should be no movement in the joint, it should be a neat fit.

Possible it has worn and is now slack and causing vibration, but I would still check the bearings as stated. unfortunately if it is worn you should renew both parts, the front prop part and the splined bit that bolts to the transfer output shaft.
 
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