Bad vibrations (Part 2!)

I'm not entirely sure what's back there honestly. It kind of looks like a bushing from the outside, but I'm not sure because I haven't really studied it too much.

You have me totally baffled. You said the transmission is biased toward the drivers side by 1-1.5"?? Seems to me it should be the other direction since these cars were all built with the drive train off to the right (passenger side) due to the steering sector. Maybe you need to take a string line from the center of the crankshaft pulley to the center of your pinion to see if things are out of whack from front to back. I can't understand how that could happen. Your transmission should be centered in the tunnel and if it was off by that much, it should be obvious.

Dave145 said:

I took some measurements today before the show started in regards to the motor/trans/rear end positioning as well. The trans is biased toward the drivers side of the car by what I'd guess to be between 1-1.5". The rear end is biased towards the passenger side by 1/2". The trans measurement I kinda just eyeballed, and the rear end measurement I took between the outer sidewall edge of the tire and the fender lip. I don't know if the pumpkin would be shifted to the passenger side (indicating both axle shafts are the same length and the rear end is just slid over), or if the pumpkin is actually centered and the axle shafts are indeed 2 different lengths. Both the rear end pinion and the trans tailshaft weep fluid as well.

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Paul_G said:

I went back and did a reread of this 5 page thread looking for your engine and trans mounts answer. They are original? I would not stop now doing as much as you have already. Spend a few more bucks and change them out.

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I would change out the engine and trans mounts. This is your next step. Until you get the engine and trans back in correct alignment you may never solve the problem.

This is really turning into a pretty expensive joke. Throw money at this, throw money at that, etc. I've done a good deal of stupid **** in my life and this is pretty high up there.

I'm not replacing parts for the hell of it anymore. If they look broke, act broke, or are broke, then they'll be replaced. Replacing parts on a whim and a hunch like this is just leaving my wallet empty and my patience pretty thin.

I have no idea about the stupid retard angle Dodge used to throw the motor in this turd. Yes, the trans points at the driver's side. Staring at it right now. The flange off the tailshaft is a half inch off the trans tunnel on the driver's side, and damn near an inch off on the passenger side. Its looked like that ever since I bought the car. The original radiator reflected this as well. The passenger side bracket was about a half inch longer than the driver's side, turning the radiator to the driver's side. I don't know why everyone else's car is supposedly different. Maybe it's because this thing is retarded or was built at the factory by folks that should have been on the special ed short bus.

Regardless, this stupid vibration has gotten worse over the weekends driving. First it vibrated only above 70. Now it vibrates above 62. It also now vibrates while coasting between 40-30. I don't believe for 10 seconds this is pinion angle. If it is, then how the hell do rednecks lift their trucks 12" into the sky and not vibrate? Have you ever seen those pinion angles? Yet my car is stock with stock replacement parts on it sourced from reputable shops and sources and my angle is supposedly bad? Again I ask, how? It cant be. I wasted the money on these shims for nothing, if anything just to prove to myself and everyone else that that's not the problem.

Should I replace the original mounts? Well sure, except that the trans mount alone is $135 and made by one company on Earth. That's a lot of cash to drop on a hunch.

Pissing money into the wind is easy, so long as you have deep pockets.

Rant over. I'm not blaming anyone and I do appreciate the help, but this POS car really should have just been left to rot in the field it was found.

Aggravating for sure. Any pics of the engine? If the transmission is crooked so must be the engine. If this is true...why& how?
There are likely multiple things at play here but I would think everything should be brought back to factory spec regarding mounts before looking at the internals. If the pinion angle has been corrected, the transmission may have suffered from the misalignment and needs investigating.
I think I have a set of good 318 poly engine mounts from my 64 before the bb swap. You're welcome to them for the cost of shipping if you like. These won't help if the Kframe has been replaced or altered though. Need to determine that first imo.

Here's a picture of the engine. It doesnt appear overly crooked at first look...

Here's an overhead of the engine

Hard to tell but it looks a bit crooked to me.
How about a downward shot of the fan and rad. Try measuring fan tips to left and right of the rad.

Here is the tailshaft to trans tunnel clearance

Photo didn't post. The radiator has been swapped out for one out of a '65 383 car. Both brakcets are the same size. I'll grab a shot of the now.

Here's the fan and radiator

a couple of pics for reference.

look at the alt belt...looks crooked to me.

The way the engine, and trans, looks absolutely correct.

Understand your frustration. But, remembering what you said about where you feel the vibration coming from, still wonder about the driveshaft balancing. You should be able to see some type of 'weights' welded to the tube.

I see they welded on some washers as weights at either end of the shaft.

Good to know the angles look correct!

Believe me, the engine and trans sits in there crooked and off centered. That's the way it is. The tailshaft does look a little off center in the tunnel.

Here's my '62...


I'm not sure, but with the trunnion replacement with the u-joint type, sliding yoke, if that would throw the angle of that joint off a little. But you had this vibration before the trunnion replacement, right?

Have you ever jacked up the tailshaft to see if the trans mount is broke? Or even cracked? Even a real soft mount will let the tailshaft move around.

Dave, do you understand that you are playing with a very old very tired worn out car? Not just one thing is worn out, everything is a little worn and tired. It has already been stated, the cause is a culmination of lots of little things. It usually is. If this is too much for you maybe it is time to let this one go and shop for one that some one else has all sorted out. It costs a lot of money to restore an old tired car.

You can not tell if the driveline is in correct alignment by looking at it. Take some measurements from side to side, find center, then see where the tail shaft is sitting in relation to the center. I suspect the mounts are all squashed out. The engine is sitting too low and so is the trans. You are feeling the engine vibration through the worn out mounts. Just my opinion.

I bow to the experts like Miller & KK, but while the driveline is supposed to be off center in these early Bs, I don't recall my poly sitting crooked, nor does the bb I put in with the stock original trans mount. Measuring and comparing to another is the only way to see how close/far off they are unless you have some factory reference information. If the driveshaft is crooked from the trans tail being crooked, wouldn't that contribute to the problem?
I also just had a similar driveshaft made, so hopefully it will be balanced correctly.

I have had all the above except the drive shaft shot to hell and no vibrarion. Search for that weird noise, it needs to be corrected. Just maybe in the process the vibration disappears.
You have a pinion seal that needs replacement. Why?

I do think it's odd how the tailshaft sits in the trans tunnel. Looking at the motor from the top down it doesn't appear to be overly cocked to me.

I'm aware of the age and wear on the car. I don't dispute that. All I'm disputing is this idea of flinging money at a problem hoping it goes away. When I bought my truck it had two shot motor mounts in it. The motor would literally lift right up out of the bay and come at you if you tried to rev it. It never vibrated at all, except for at idle. So I don't believe it's motor mounts causing this. The trans mount in the same truck shot itself a few weeks back. Started clanking real bad going into gear. Crawled under there and the layers had separated! Still it never vibrated.

The noise sounds like front u joint failure. The shudder while coasting/decelerating between 40&30 sounds like front u joint. The violent shaking is a mystery to me.

Here is a shot of the underside of the car as it sits in front of me. The driveshaft looks quite angled to me.