I hate squeaks. There's nothing worse than that little something vibrating away, mile after mile, grating on my nerves. Silicone, tape, shims or whatever -- I'll tear a car apart to fix a squeak. Ironically, I like older cars, and my Land Cruiser is especially prone to shakes, rattles, clunks, and groans. So to save my sanity, I turn the radio up, smile, and remind myself that for all it's worth, I really do love this thing and I should get over it.
The problem is that by turning the radio up and having blind faith in my ultra-reliable tank, it becomes difficult to differentiate between something annoying (but normal) or a signal of something problematic or potentially dangerous.
Recently my Land Cruiser started to get a vibration at around 55 mph that got much worse at higher speeds. It travelled through the whole body as if I was on a washboard road. Over bumps and up hills, it would slightly go away, but it was worse downhill and off-throttle. No big deal -- I've had death wobbles before. Once, at around 35 mph, the truck started to sway uncontrollably to the point it was hard to stay in a lane. The only way to control it was to stay under 35 mph. I finally fixed that issue with an alignment, and replacing a bent wheel.
This new issue seemed different but I naturally assumed it was something up front and not worthy of a call to 9-1-1. With a lifted truck on 33's, something is always out of whack. Then I remembered that I had an Old Man Emu steering stabilizer that I never installed. A stabilizer should help with with vague steering and wander, which I didn't have a problem with. But maybe a big shock might tighten something up right?
The stock unit was pretty much lifeless when I pulled it off. While I was underneath, I checked all the joints, bars, and rods -- there was nothing bent or leaky. So I bolted it the new stabilizer, crossed my fingers, and hit the road. It made a slight difference in the steering feel, but no dice on the vibration. Next up was to spin the tires up front to see if anything was obviously bent or out of round. The passenger front seemed a tad wonky, so I pulled it and swapped the spare. Still no difference.
In the Edmunds office, all hands on deck figured a wheel bearing was shot. I hoped not because I spent a precious Saturday and a few tubs of GoJo rebuilding the front axles about 15,000 miles ago. I checked with my Cruiser guru and his opinion was that a wheel bearing would be much more obvious, and would start howling at around 15 mph. He suggested getting my tires balanced as a logical first step, and an alignment wouldn't hurt -- so it was back to the old standby.
I made the appointment, dropped it off, and within a day we had the answer. The rear drive-shaft was loose. Not just a little, a lot. All four bolts were so loose at the transfer case that the tech assumed somebody was trying to steal parts. The loose shaft was spinning out of balance, thereby causing the vibrations and shaking. Presumably, the shaft had additional load on it during the times I was driving uphill or on bumps, and was thereby not as loose. It was at its worst when unstressed.
How could I not check that? How could I be so careless? What would have happened if I dropped and spun that giant chunk of steel? I dunno, but I'll be the first to admit that ignorance is bliss -- especially with the radio on and turned up to 12.
John Adolph, Senior Video Specialist
By estreka
on May 5, 2010
12:29 PM
Once you get an idea in your head about a problem centering around a specific location, it's hard to imagine anything else.
“When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” - Sherlock Holmes
By cruiserhead1
on May 5, 2010
03:59 PM
I was going to suggest the wheel bearing locknut was loose- kind of common since the preload is so tricky to get right.
Glad you caught the driveshaft! That is scary but also very unusual for the bolts to come loose. Maybe they were removed at some point and never tightened.
On another note, how do you stand having the spare tire inside? The smell seems like it would be really annoying and the off-gassing rubber can't be good for the gonads...
By subytrojan
on May 5, 2010
06:50 PM
Great story, John! Glad nothing bad happened!
By stwok
on May 10, 2010
01:42 PM
Nice article, glad you got it fixed.
By jadolph
on May 11, 2010
10:11 AM
Cruiser -
Don't mind the rear tire since the truck smells like spilled coffee and dog most of the time. Also I don't mind the loss in visibility - it tucks in there nicely in the blind spot.
It was much worse when the back window was tinted - at night on the trail I would have to get out, check and double check I wasn't on the edge of something.
By cruiserhead1
on May 13, 2010
09:47 AM
haha,
coffee, dog and rubber... it's a man-cave on wheels!
agree on backing up at night on the trails, I installed a big backup auxillary light!