so I'm thinking about getting a 92 ranger that's been lifted, but there were some pretty good driveline vibrations when I test drove it. The dude said when he had the shaft lengthened, he didn't have it balanced. how much might this cost? could any of you guys do it?

1/24/2006 7:01:02 PM

None of us can do it, but Fleetpride can. They can custom build you a shaft too if it comes down to that.

Now as far as driveline vibrations go, have you scrutinized the lift carefully? One thing that is often overlooked is the pinion angle in relation to the tranny/t-case output shaft. The two should be as close to parallel as possible. If the rear axle has been rotated to lessen the pinion/driveshaft angle, then the front and rear u-joint operating angles are different. This can be a source of vibration, as each joint undergoes a cyclic acceleration/deceleration when operated at an angle. The differences in the cyclic rates produce a net driveline pulsation, which you feel in the seat of your pants. It ain't good for your axle, either.

Shitty lift jobs often totally ignore this phenomenon. You could solve it by running a driveshaft with a double cardan cv joint...or Birfield or Rzeppa style joints.

1/24/2006 7:09:55 PM

what about wedges under the lift blocks to line it up right?

1/24/2006 7:32:39 PM

depending on how high the blocks are, you might be better off swapping to some new leafs. blocks are notorious for causing vibrations.

1/24/2006 8:10:36 PM

if he had just put coil spacers on, I'd just as soon take em off, but before I buy, I just want to make sure it's fixable for relatively little, since it would be more or less a toy.

1/24/2006 9:21:44 PM

wedges will ruin proper pinion angle if a shaft has single joint on either end. if it has a cv style joint at the t-case/trans side, then shims/wedges are okay.

1/24/2006 9:38:21 PM

any good driveshaft shop should be able to balance it for you. you might also want to check pinion angle as zxappeal said.

a few other things that can cause vibes would be tires out of balance/out of round, and if the alignment is off. just a few other things to check for!

1/24/2006 10:35:17 PM

thanks guys... The driveshaft is a two piece design with a cv at the t-case and I noticed that the rear axle was a bit off of alignment (drivers side was closer then the passenger side by a bit) He's going to try to fix it tomorrow. I don't know if I'm going to get it, but I'd like to go wheeling again, I miss my CJ.

do you guys have any opinions on rangers? It's got the 4.0 and a standard trans. Also, if I get it anybody want to go wheeling sometime?

1/24/2006 10:47:43 PM

the 8.8 it has should be offset a little bit, that's fine, and if i can run w/ no vibes on mine and like a 2 inch driveshaft, you'll be able to make it work with your longer one.

1/24/2006 10:53:26 PM

no, I mean if you looked at it from the front, you could just see the back of the driver's side rear tire, but you could see the front of the passenger’s side rear tire on the other side. just slightly off.

as a side note though, that fucker was hard to get going cause it has 33s on it and stock gearing. It took a couple tries to get used to the clutch. I'm not sure if I like the electronic 4X4 selector, but he did convert it to manual hubs and installed a posi in the rear.

1/24/2006 11:13:22 PM

^ the track is off. gotcha. you could always regear. that'd def. help a whole lot

1/24/2006 11:28:42 PM

depending on how many miles it has seen since the driveshaft was lengthened, you may be looking at pinion bearings, gears, transfer case output bearings, etc.

does anyone build driveshafts with birfs or rzeppas? never heard of it...

nothin wrong with wedges to fix the pinion angle. ive got contact info for a guy that's machined custom ones for me in the past. better to cut/reweld the perches at the proper angle, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

1/24/2006 11:30:12 PM

^ i've never heard of the birfs or rzeppas being used to driveshafts, only axle shafts and x2 on the cutting and rewelding the perches, that'd be the best way to fix the pinion angle

1/24/2006 11:35:10 PM

I can't cut and weld due to not having access to such things, infact I have a parking lot outside of my apartment, so I can't do a whole lot as of now. I wish there was some kind of club you could pay club fees for and have access to a lift and welder and stuff, that would be awsome. I think he put somewhere like 15-20k on it the way it is, so it might be all shot to hell

This is the listing: http://raleigh.craigslist.org/car/127515931.html

[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 11:51 PM. Reason : listing]

1/24/2006 11:48:35 PM

there are a few people on there BigBlueRam and others that can do that for you.

1/24/2006 11:50:56 PM

well, shit, I'd just love to have somewhere and some people to wrench with every now and then, cause I hate doing shit in the parking lot

1/24/2006 11:53:36 PM

join the army. they have a place like that.

Quote :

"Mechanic owned."

double-edged sword. (should) knows how to fix every damn thing wrong with that truck but never had the time to do it...

1/25/2006 8:21:00 AM

Quote :

"Mechanic owned."

wtf? mechanics drive peices of shit, that run only well enough to get around in

1/25/2006 8:24:32 AM

damn straight, when i get off work, i sure as hell dont feel like fixing my own truck

1/25/2006 12:20:28 PM

When you get used to doing it for a living (gets to be a drag), you sure as hell don't want to do it for free (a real fucking pain in the ass).

Hence reason mechanics drive hunks of shit.

1/25/2006 4:42:01 PM

plus they frequently get handmedown basketcase vehicles from customers

1/25/2006 5:07:24 PM

the truck's not in bad condition, just a few thing here and there...definitly seemed like he just didn't bother to fix some things until they broke, but it might be worth offering him 2500 if he changes all the fluids and does a front end alignment (since he has access to them for cheap) I think the tires could use a good balancing, but other then that... dunno

1/25/2006 7:03:08 PM

run away

1/25/2006 8:00:57 PM

ouch i missed the price before

i wouldnt pay 2500 for that truck in showroom condition. even if ivan lifted it, dan painted it, gronke put a cupholder in it, and daryl made sideskirts for it i wouldnt pay that much.

1/25/2006 8:11:50 PM