Outer Limits 4x4 Board

G'day,

I've lifted my vitara by about 2" and have noticed a slight vibrating noise at about 80 - 90 clicks. I"ve already checked and regreased all the universal joints. Is it possible that hte drive shaft may need a small spacer ? And if not, any other suggestions to fix the noise

cheers

done a wheel alignment and ballance?

Someone my mum used to workl with, had a LWB Vitara estate wagon, with some form of suspension lift. Anyway it used to vibrate and hum, so bad that their son refused to sit in the back seat, becasue it made him throw up.

I believe it has something to do with the angle of the front axle shafts. From what I understand does happen to Vitaras, though not all of them for some reason?

I know I havn't helped you, but your not alone; someone out there with a Vitara must have some good advice...

Highway-Star wrote:Someone my mum used to workl with, had a LWB Vitara estate wagon, with some form of suspension lift. Anyway it used to vibrate and hum, so bad that their son refused to sit in the back seat, becasue it made him throw up.

I believe it has something to do with the angle of the front axle shafts. From what I understand does happen to Vitaras, though not all of them for some reason?

I know I havn't helped you, but your not alone; someone out there with a Vitara must have some good advice...

Ive heard of this however It doesn't make sense if the car is not in four wheel drive and the hubs are unlocked. It could be a uni that was on the way out and the extra angle has highlighted the problem.

Thanks for the tips guys,

I had the guys at suzisport repack all the uni's about 6 months but the problem didn't seem to go away. Is there an easy way to check to c if they are cactus ?

The tyres are all balanced and rotated regularly, but do i need to get the rear axle aligned ? I thought because it was a solid axle it wouldn't need to be ?

can i ask which suzisport you went to??

The one at springwood, there a good bunch of blokes, they did my rear air locker

muppet_man67 wrote:Ive heard of this however It doesn't make sense if the car is not in four wheel drive and the hubs are unlocked. It could be a uni that was on the way out and the extra angle has highlighted the problem.

True! I don't know these people very well, for all I know they were running around with the hubs in? I think they may have had the lift for cosmetic reasons, not practical function if you get my drift.

bugden23 wrote:The one at springwood, there a good bunch of blokes, they did my rear air locker

Agreed, top blokes, will bend over backwards to help. Possibly made a mistake, but they are generally quite good. Only ever made one mistake with me, sold me the wrong part, and gave a full refund when it didn't fit. Have you spoken to one of the guys at suzisport about your problem? They're a collective enzuklopedia .[/quote]

I had a bit of a squiz underneath today and noticed that there is a tiny amount of play in the shaft that exits from the back of the transfer case to the tail shaft.

Is it possible that the transfer bearing are cactus ?

I've lifted a few Vitaras, and as somebody mentioned, SOME of them do get rear tailshaft bind.

I would strongly suggest that you look in the Vitara Bible and dowload teh diagram for the rear diff A-Arm spacer and have one made up.

This part fits between the diff and the upper A-Arm ball joint. It re-angles your differential upwards toward the gearbox and assists greatly with the tailshaft bind.

You can also put a tailshaft spacer in as well. These are readily available from 4wd shops. This will help to poke the spline at the front end of your rear tailshaft back int the gearbox, thereby reducing the sloppiness that you may be experiencing (which is causing the vibration).

Alternatively, I know a few girls that would happily drive around in the back of your car while it vibrates...

Regards,

Adam

Thanks for the advice,

i had a look at the diagram, is there anyone who could make it up for me as it looks as if precision is the key, especially with a tailshaft spacer

I would try snake racing for a tailshaft spacer. I believe the flange pattern is the same as hilux. This shoudl fix the problem as I don't believe the angle is the problem, rather the amount of slip.

Steve.

I've looked on their website and their 13mm, is this sufficient for a 50mm lift ? Also is this to little? just want to know if its going to effect the car if the measurement is not exact

I'd give it a go. My guess is it will fix the problem.

PS conventionally, spacers won't go over about that thickness. beyond that point, it is wise to go to a lengthened driveshaft.

Steve.

My current suspension lift is 60mm, and all I've done is the diff A-Arm spacer. I made it up out of polyurethane.

I had a local aluminium mob quote me and it was $120. Eeeek!

When I did the lift, I didn't have any funny noises without the spacer in, but on my early Vitara (carby model) the hum from the driveshaft was pretty bad.