Charger vibrating at highway speed.

[Propwash]

Bad ball joints and/or bad control arm bushings will definitely make your car vibrate at higher speeds. How are those? Missing any wheel weights off your wheels?.

 

[AMX364]

Funny thing to check is u-joint size being correct and fitting rear pinion correctly. Mine had about 1 1/16 instead of 1 1/8, hard to see the difference by eye.

 

[Street fighter]

I took the wheels off and had the tires off my truck put on the dodge wheels and put the dodge tires on the truck. No difference. I don't believe that it is wheel related because out of three tire and wheel stores someone would have tried to sale some tires or wheels.I have come to believe that I am having two different problems going on.the oil leak didn't start until I had the tail housing bushing replaced, the drone like sound was there but it never leaked any trans fluid.I have said vibration but may be I should have said drone noise it's hard to explan but it's like a low pitch hum.

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The charger takes the big u-joints made for the 7290 yoke front and rear.I wish that was the problem.What I can't understand is why I still have up and down play in the tail housing, not a lot but more than I have in my truck yoke, but about the same in my Camaro.I wish I knew a place that I could just take it in and let them deal with it.This is causing me a lot of sleepless nights, having one of my cars down is almost like having a child sick.I have been on this none stop just about all day every day for two weeks now.Pulling this changing that replacing everything that could be related to my problems.I am going to park it and work on some other things I wanted to do to it and give my mine a rest.may be I am too close to the project and need to step back for a while, but I'm not about to give up.We have two trans shop here in town and both of them are run by peple that will rip you off if they can.One took me for a overhaul job on my wife's work truck.an we had to take them to court and get our money back. I don't trust them to do any thing to my cars.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I replaced the drive shaft and u-joints but the problem is still there

Just for curiosity, was the problem there before you changed the driveshaft?

 

[Street fighter]

Just for curiosity, was the problem there before you changed the driveshaft?

The drone feeling was there before I replaced the shaft and so was the fluid coming out around the rubber of the seal.

 

[AMX364]

I had a axle bearing go out on a cross country highway trip and it started at higher speeds until more miles were driven. It started as a drone type noise.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I have also heard that the tranny mount could compress with age which would create a funky driveshaft angle.

 

[khryslerkid]

I had a axle bearing go out on a cross country highway trip and it started at higher speeds until more miles were driven. It started as a drone type noise.

It's one thing you might check out.

Also do you have the correct amount of drive shaft, in your tail shaft?

I feel your pain. Taking a break from it couldn't hurt. It's worked for me before...

 

[Street fighter]

I said in a earlier post that I felt that I was working on more than one problem,I got in touch with the TCI tech dept. and I was right the tail housing bushing oiling hole goes to the bottom where there is a groove cut in the bottom where the oil returns back to the trans and not down the yoke and beyond the seal.So now I have to pull the trans again and install the bushing again.If this works I'll be working on the drone noise or vibration that I calls it. I want to thank all of you that was there helping me work through these issues,with all the infro I now have I can use it to solve the other problem. THANKS.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I said in a earlier post that I felt that I was working on more than one problem,I got in touch with the TCI tech dept. and I was right the tail housing bushing oiling hole goes to the bottom where there is a groove cut in the bottom where the oil returns back to the trans and not down the yoke and beyond the seal.So now I have to pull the trans again and install the bushing again.If this works I'll be working on the drone noise or vibration that I calls it. I want to thank all of you that was there helping me work through these issues,with all the infro I now have I can use it to solve the other problem. THANKS.

You do know that you can pull the tailshaft off of the transmission in place, don't you?

 

[Street fighter]

If you can tell me how.I removed the trans mount brace but the torsion bar brace was still in the way. I started to unbolt the brace but was worried about what might happed with me being under the car and parts goes to falling off on kicking back once I remove the two rear bolts holding the bars up.What do I need to do to get it out?

 

[khryslerkid]

Doesn't your tail shaft go under this frame and the tail shaft mount bolts to it?

 

[Street fighter]

Doesn't your tail shaft go under this frame and the tail shaft mount bolts to it?

That looks like it, but there is a frame section behind it that supports the torsion bars that is held up by one bolt on each side that will not let the housing come down far enough to let the tail come out, The torsion bars goes through the two big holes in the frame and into the section behind it that is held up with two 5/16 bolts, with pressure on the bars I didn't know how it would react if I unbolted it.I started to let off on the torsion bars and than unbolt the rear torsion support bolts.I can't remember if that frame section is bolted in or welded in. I will look and see.I hope I can get it off without pulling the trans again.

 

[khryslerkid]

Wish I was closer, id stop by to see what you're saying. Normally the trans mount just bolts to a short frame that attaches to the cross frame. The frame that your torsion bars are mounted to. The tail shaft mounting frame is only about, maybe ten inches long, has two bolts to take out. Then you can let the trans down enough to remove the tail shaft...

Got any pics?

 

[Richard Cranium]

I just searched for an image of a 73 Charger & the one below is what came up. Is this what your crossmember looks like....

or is it this.......

The bottom crossmemberis held in place with 4 1/2" bolts. The top one is not familiar to me at all.

 

[sleepar]

Combination of soft trans mount and missing drive shaft weights less than ideal pinion angle and hi mile diff or a bent axle or rim or old tires with flat spots.... it's never one thing with a drive line vibrations
My car has a drone from 60-70 and I suspect my weak springs have changed the pinion angle along wit a factory rear u joint that's got to be dry its a very common mopar issue

 

[Dennis H]

Update? How does it feel at 80? Push in the clutch at speed. Shut it off and coast at speed. I would continue the diagnose aspect. Good advice here, but you have to pull the whole gd car apart if you take it all. Turn slightly left, then right at speed with engine off. Touch the brake lightly. Have someone sit in the back to listen. Or in the trunk if they dare.

 

[sleepar]

I just searched for an image of a 73 Charger & the one below is what came up. Is this what your crossmember looks like....

or is it this.......

The bottom crossmemberis held in place with 4 1/2" bolts. The top one is not familiar to me at all.

The top picture looks like the one on a buddy's '73 charger.... when he pulled the trans out it took a while and he backed off the bars... before he did the job he asked how hard it was to drop the trans and on the early ones it's not that bad couple of bolts and you're done.... but not on those...

 

[RECHRGD]

Have you tried getting rear up on jack stands and running it up to speed to see if you get the drone while not on the road. Just sit in the seat and you should feel the same vib at the same speed in the seat of your pants. If it's still there, take off the wheels and repeat. If it's still there, take off the brake drums and repeat. Just one way to eliminate a wheel or brake drum issue....

 

[Dennis H]

Have you tried getting rear up on jack stands and running it up to speed to see if you get the drone while not on the road. Just sit in the seat and you should feel the same vib at the same speed in the seat of your pants. If it's still there, take off the wheels and repeat. If it's still there, take off the brake drums and repeat. Just one way to eliminate a wheel or brake drum issue....

. Worth a try, but unloaded suspension has not helped me solve similar in the past.