Bad Bad Bad Bad Vibrations

Contrary to the Beach Boys song these vibrations were bad. And I missed a second trip to Pyette Draw with LDW because of them. So to diagnose the problem I jacked the front end up and found that the rack and pinion bushings had some play in them. Thinking it was a cheap and easy fix I went and bought the bushings. That was cheap! The project wasn't easy. I think I spent more time trying to find an easier way to go about it than I would have if I had done it by the book. Which was still a little time consuming. Well after I installed the new bushings and took it for a spin the vibes were still there, not as bad but present. That's when I figured it must be something more vital and more expensive that caused the rack bushings to go. The next thing on the list was the cv axle shafts. After finding a smokin deal on the shafts they were installed in no time. Well alot easier than the bushings. Billy helped me with the drivers side which took about half an hour and Blaine helped me with the passenger side which took a little longer because the half shaft was stuck to the cv so we had to drop the strut to remove the combined unit. Thanks guys! Everything up front was smooth after that and the only vibration I had now was coming from the rear. It was the driveshaft that I turned into a twizzler after Pyette Draw. I called around and found an exact match at a Jeep salvage yard for a third of the lowest price I could find at the local auto parts stores.

The driveshafts licorice make over reminds me of a cool story I forgot to write on the Pyette Draw post. That trip I crushed my tranny pan on a pretty big rock. Those of you who had seen it would agree that it should have been leaking. Well it held that whole Saturday and on the trip home from Payson. I was suprised and thankful. Sunday morning I went outside to get a couple things that I had left in the jeep and was welcomed with a huge puddle of tranny fluid. What a blessing!