New Raxles and Vibration
 

I just put in new Raxles on both the drivers side and passenger side of my 1999 Maxima. I also added Amsoil 75W-90, GL-4 gear oil to finish up the job. Everything was tightened to spec, but now I have a very light vibration (almost like thumping) coming from the drivers side. I've been digging through these threads for awhile and can't seem to find any answers. I bought the Raxles to avoid this type of thing. I had GSP axles on previously that I was replacing due to torn boots. They DID NOT vibrate like this. So here are the symptoms and what I have checked:

- Very light vibration when accelerating from complete stop. This smooths out in 2nd, 3rd, etc. I have a manual tranny. Feels like thumping.
- Vibration at highway speed from the driver side area that feels similar to wheel imbalance.

- Checked all torques - ok.
- Lifted car up and manually spun wheel in neutral. It spins freely with no noise.
- There is no play in the differential bearings, nor any leaks.
- There is no play in the wheel bearings.

Could I have damaged something to cause this (tie rod, ball joint?), or does this sound like a bad inner joint on my Raxle?

Suspension components? I have similar issues at only lower speeds. I'm replacing LCA's with fresh bushings, balljoints, swaybar bushings

Not to go off topic but how much did a pair of raxles cost you??

Where are you getting these and what brand? Think i might be due for the same stuff as well.

Did you get an alignment afterwards?

Sounds obvious, but have you checked to ensure that the axle is fully seated all the way into the transmission? Did you hear it click when you installed it? I just did both of my axles with Raxles and it takes quite a bit of force to slam the driver-side into place to fully engage it, but I have no noise/play in either axle.

Maybe take a picture of underneath the transmission so we can see if it looks seated properly?

Cost me $350 shipped for a pair and Marty provides a return shipping label to send back the core. You will only be charged for the core if you don't send them back; but no upfront core was nice.

400.00 shipped, but if you have OEM cores to return, they cost $300.00. I had GSP axles in there that Marty wasn't interested in.

I did not. I've replaced struts, axles, and the clutch without doing an alignment before. I'm due for one, but if I need LCA's or anything else, I'd like to wait until then.

I've been having this same exact problem (weird)
manual trans
"- Very light vibration when accelerating from complete stop. This smooths out in 2nd, 3rd, etc. I have a manual tranny. Feels like thumping.
- Vibration at highway speed from the driver side area that feels similar to wheel imbalance."
Exactly what I'm having except one more added issue when i stop it feels and sounds like "wooooo"
took it to get my brakes inspected and there fine
i had the lower ball joint replaced + axles replaced and still the sound remains and I'm still like what could this sound be
I'm ultimately confused on this one :goofy: :confused:

I just took the wheel off again tonight to inspect everything. I did notice the pads hanging up a bit on the rotor, so I took the caliper off and pressed the piston in to free it up. Everything spins freely without noise. The axle does seem to be all the way in the tranny. The dust shield that is on the axle shaft has less than a mm until it touches the transmission case, so I believe it is all the way in. I'll get a picture from under the car tomorrow. I also checked the axle nut tightness again and that is good - 200 Ft/Lbs. No play in the tie rod or ball joint.

Every time I work on the front wheels, I seem to bend the dust shield too. I heard it rubbing when I test drove it afterwards. Not sure if the brake was the issue, but it seemed OK. I'll have to drive it more because it seemed OK when I first did the axles too.

you dont need an alignment after replacing the clutch. it wouldn't be a bad idea to get an alignment..

You should get an alignment done, very likely that's your issue.

To rule it out for sure, put the old axle back on on the side you think is vibrating, see how it feels.

I think I'm going to do an alignment and wheel balance. If that's not it, I'll swap in the old axle as that is the only sure way to determine if I got a bad axle.

if you do that you'll hve to get another alignment.. lol

an off the wall possibility... I had a vibration in the front appear after an oil change, turns out that the rotted lower radiator support was broken, it happened when I raised the car, and I didn't notice it... the engine was vibrating at certain RPMs, shaking things in the front..

I just checked this when I replaced the radiator. It is starting to rust but is still structurally ok.

A new issue popped up yesterday: I had trouble starting my car when it was warm. Also, when on a hill letting off the clutch (without moving), I can feel the vibration and it is at engine speed, not moving speed. So either the engine is exciting a bad mount or part, or the engine is vibrating (misfiring?). I don't have a CEL, so it can't be misfiring too bad yet.

UPDATE: I drove it for awhile yesterday, and figured out the problem is much worse after driven for a bit (warmed up). When leaving from a stop, the vibration feels like going over a rumble strip on the highway. I do know that axle joints will exhibit vibration at 6X rotation speed, so it still could be possible my axle is binding. It is just weird because this just started when the new axle went in.

So it only happens when you leaving from a stop? Clutch chatter?

Yep, and I can minimize it by going easy. Why would clutch chatter start the second after I swap axles. I put an OEM clutch in over 5,000 miles ago and haven't had any problems. It shifts perfect otherwise. I'm having some consistent hard starting issues when it's warm now too. It takes 2-3 tries to get it sometimes.

I still have to bend my dust shield back too. The rotor is rubbing on right turns. I'm going to dig in a bit more this weekend. I'm going to check the transmission mount too.

Alignment corrects orientation, not vibration.

Hate to say it, bro, but something is up with the axles installation. Maybe one of them is bad, or you may need to re-install them.

Your symptoms sound much like what would happen if the axles were installed slightly off-angle.

By the way, I've had 3 pairs of Raxles, 1 pair in my Honda Civic, another in my previous Sentra, A piar in my friends I30. All of them wonderful.

DW

I'm going to call Marty from Raxles and see what he says. They are beautiful axles though. I was really impressed with the quality. Another question: on a non-LSD tranny, which side takes the torque? I assume the drivers side does.

I have no idea:gotme:

DW

Sounds like you may need to pull the axles and check to make sure the differential bearings inside the tranny did not get damaged during the install, one may have become dislodged or otherwise damaged somehow. And make sure that the circlip that holds the driver's side axle in place is ok (that axle 'pops' in and out). I too have used RAxles on both sides of my 99 SE 5-speed, and the driver's side is still fine after 110K miles, the passenger side after 50K miles.

UPDATE: I used some of my vibration analysis tools to collect vibration data from the strut tower while traveling at two fixed speeds: 61 and 67 mph. The graph below shows the amplitude of vibration and the oscillations per minute. As you can see, the frequency shifts with speed and rpm as expected, and gets worse for the 61 mph case. Looking at the numbers, the first vibration is due to out of balance tires or an out of balance driveline component. The second peaks occur at 1/2 the engine speed and are indicative of a misfire in 1 cylinder. The largest peak has vibration occurring at twice the tire rotation speed, and is usually caused by an out of round rotor or tire. The 3rd order vibration, which occurs at three times the tire speed, is indicative of a bad tripod joint in a CV axle. This is the inner joint on our axles. I'm going in for a tire balance and I'm going to do this road test again with the same setup.

Attachment 45013

replacing the cv shafts doesn't call for an alignment unless you disturb the thing that (sorry a little intoxicated. ) that thing. the screwy stick thing that adjusts toe or was it caster.idk.

the vibration could also be caused by any bushings or rubber you could have tore while removing the thing from the knuckle and control arm. (sorry a little drunk().

but also, Raxle isn't perfect, they do often make do often. sometimes you might just get a bad product. they should have a warranty though.

Wow that's some intense analysis. You have to step back a bit, though. Those symptoms suggested by the vibration analysis tool could have been there before the axle installation. So why are these symptoms all showing up now?

The thing with tools is that they always start with the assumption that everything else is working perfectly.

Food for thought.

DW

I've had vibration on the highway before the axle swap, but it has gotten worse. The tool is just measuring accelerations too. I am making the assumptions based on research. With this established, I can now switch parts, balance tires, etc to see what fixes the vibration.

So I was ready to dig into this problem today and my car wouldn't start. Turn the key - NOTHING. I diagnosed it and ended up replacing the starter. So the hard start issues were due to a bad starter. The one I pulled was a reman too. I thought that was interesting, because that means it was replaced with less than 89,000 miles on the car. I thought ours typically last longer. Anyway, I'll keep updating the thread as I diagnose this. Has anyone else with a bad axle had a clutch chatter type vibration at low speed?

I have a similar issue with my car as well.

I have a shake in the steering wheel that starts on the low side around 65mph and gets worse from that point forward.

I have replaced alot of parts, because they were due anyway, starting with the struts and springs, urethane stabilizer bar bushings, brand new wheels and tires, then this weekend I did lower control arms (OEM), ball joints, wheel bearings with seals and clips (had them pressed in and out by a machine shop that specializes in this), and yet the shake in the wheel remains as it always has.

Like I said, these parts all needed to be replaced anyway so their is no hard feelings over replacing them and at least they are out of the equation.

I also have an annoying sound when I drive that occurs at different speeds but is prominent at highway speed making a Whirr...Whirr...Whirr...Whirr type of sound, it's freakin' driving me nuts.

The axles "look" fine and the boots are fine, no cracks or splits. I have a suspicion that the left axle was replaced at some point previously because the axle nut was totally different than the passenger side, it was solid where the other has about eight notches cut into it for the cotter pin to sit through (although when fully tightened they were not part of the equation).

Right now I am thinking axles or the bearing on the differential perhaps...what do you guys think??

OP :::::

2 quick things .... did you ever get this issue resolved?

Also, how are your struts? I only ask because I have had several issues with my KYB's after I installed them. Thought it was an axle (Raxles - FTW!!!) but it was a bad strut mount instead. Now I have a totally new issue, same as your's with a loud moaning noise. Afraid it might be my diff .... but I'll do some heavy checking tomorrow and see what I can figure out.


Ahhh ... the joys of owning an older car .... lol

Iv had a issue just like this it ended up being my tires.

A couple years ago I had monroe sensatracs put on the front, with new bearings(moog). It seems alright. I do know from prev. experience, monroes ride a little more rough than your usual shock/strut.(the 91 s-10 blazer (SWB) I had was a stiff ride)

The stiff ride is probably due to the chassis of the truck vs a sub framed mid size sedan. ;)

At any rate ... I just exchanged a bad Raxles axle from Marty .... awesome co. to due business with! Granted, my axle was 4 1/2 years old and had 100k on it, but .... point is, Marty takes care of ya. If it is a bad axle, get it swapped, cost me shipping. Far better than any other place I've done business with.

They swapped an axle with 100k on it? Wow.

For future readers who have problems with Raxles. You have installed them wrong.

Lifetime warranty mang.

Are the axles engaged fully

Mitesh has raxles on his 4th gen auto and has the same weird vibration. Maybe its a raxle thing?

I just replaced both side with raxles and have the exact same vibration issues. Did Mitesh or 99sagelimited find out the problem? I believe it's the axle, as it happens after swap. Now how to find out which side is the problem.

ughh. I have developed this same thumping sound from my Raxle now. Have had my raxle on for about 6 months now. Im auto. Only happens from a stop and if I ease up on the throttle and diminishes. Slight vibration at 70+ mph.