1997 Front End Vibration

[kevinj77]

Greetings all...

I have searched through the threads, and did not find my exact problem.

First, please note that I just had the CV joint replaced in the front, and for the 2 days that the 4 wheel drive was disengaged, (it has SmartTrak) the Bravada ran very smooth, with no wierd vibrations, etc.

So we get the CV reinstalled, 4-wheel drive back, and now a new problem has surfaced. When I accelerate, I begin to feel a vibration eminating from the front end. Right now, it is subtle, but when I reach speeds of approximately 50-60 mph and let my foot off the gas, you can hear and feel a disturbing vibration coming from the front end. The best way I can describe it is that it feels and sounds like we are driving over the ribbed pavement off the side of a highway. It seems to go away when I give it gas again.

Any ideas?

Thanks in Advance!

[Chris Stewart]

You might take the front driveshaft loose and see if the vibration goes away.
While you're under there, you might check the front differential & transfer case lube levels.

[kevinj77]

Well tomorrow she's going to the mechanic.

He had mentioned the front differential possibly needing looked at.

Prior to getting the new CV joint, it was vibrating terribly (which is when we discovered the bad CV joint). My thought was that possibly something got shaken loose? It seems odd that the CV joint and the differential would both go bad within a week of one another, but perhaps that's not too odd?

[ericn1300]

could be a dry differntial, did you check the fluid level? could be an easy fix.

[kevinj77]

Well the date with the mechanic has been pushed till Monday, and I drove around a bit to be more specific.

It's definitely a bit "rough" on acceleration. I can feel a vibration on the accelerator and the steering wheel. When I let off the gas at 50mph and up, the noise (sounds like your driving on the ribbed side of a highway) chimes in for a few seconds, then dies down as the engine slows down.

My mechanic says he wants to look at the pinion bearings in the differential.

Does this sound right? Any idea of what cost I may be looking at? He'll be checking the lube as well.

[MXicon]

I'm getting the same type of vibrations from my 98' Bravada too. I just replaced a CV joint, as well as an idler arm, both lower control arms, and a few other things. That was about 2 months ago.

Just last week it started vibrating, but it isn't related to engine speed at all. I can shift to nuetral and as long as I'm going over 35 it vibrates. I took the fuse out for the center diff and it still vibrates.