Right now back from a 150mi trip with lot of fire wood on my bed I drove along the highway 1.5 hours with about 60 mph (i use a screwdriver with my hand throttle knob) . After this time i feel a vibriation if i need power. After i leave the highway and stopped for few minutes the truck runs like a devil without this vibrations? Any ideas whats the reason for that? Could it be the tranny or the driveline is too hot?? Volker
One they were never designed to travel at todays speeds. My truck has a vibration and I just live with it. I forget the method of where a vibration is means it is related to what. Hopefully someone will know .
Charles, I get a vibration, but its more like a harmonic phenomena, like when a dual prop boat is running equal RPM's. Its also at 50-60MPH, I just figured it was something to do with the closed shaft. I've got all new bearings and seals. I agree, its a little fast for a system designed to cruise at 45MPH. Flashlight
For the last couple of years I experienced such vibrations at approx 45 mph. I was giving my sister a ride last Saturday when the vibration became a clunking from the tranny. Limped home slowly and upon further investigation found: One of the bolts that attcached the U-joint yokes had sheared it's head off. The anti-rotation tab was intact. The head of said bolt found it's way into one of the the open aft slots into the waiting Saginaw where it prceeded to travel amonst the cluster. This was a NOS U-Jont I bought 15 years ago to use for my restoration. Ironically, The only piece of the drive train I did not re-build was the Tranny (3 speed). Oh well, this is a hobby ...right? I fixed the u-joint using a screw extractor to remove the busted bolt and it appeared to have been 2/3 of the dia broken many moons ago - discoloration as the indicator. Now I get the privledge of dropping a bad transmission. sigh
New overhauled 235 engine at 60 mph/96 km hour ? Volker If your driving this vehicle with your newer overhauled 235 engine at 96 km an hour on the german autobahn i`ll get a bit worried. Not that anything will happen with your engine but give it the time to satle and drive maybe at a range of 80 % of max capacity , 45-50 miles an hour. That means until the engine has been driven for 500 km or so. Remember to change oil in time to. Then tighten the engine topbolts and adjust the hydraulic lifters (if needed) and control adjust your timing aswell. Did you find a lot of good firewood in the forrest ? Regards Martinius.
@ martinius I drove about 1.500 mi since rebuild the engine and have adjusted the valves and change the oil after 500 mi, 1.000mi and just now but thanks for your tip. I think with Patricks new rear end gears and a new engine must be possible to drive about 65mph without problems. Or is it not correct? ...and yes i found a lot of good wood and had a lot of fun with my son and the chainsaw.
Zig, yes she got us home and I was very thankful for that. I took it real easy not really knowing what was broken yet, but these gear boxes are tough. Now to re-build that tranny...
Volker, That is a long way to go to get firewood, and not a lot of room in the bed of the AD. Did you use a Norwegian or Swedish chain saw. How much does a load of firewood cost in Germany these days. Flashlight
RPM's & Vibrations My first thought was also " U-Joint ! " as those have a habity of causing the occasional problem . As far how fast to drive with Patric's gearset , lay a Tachometer on the front seat and go for a drive ~ cruising speeds should not exceed 3,200 RPM's , period . yes , yes , of course it is O.K. to run the engine faster as you're accellerating up through the gears but NOT on the AutoBahn nor howling up or down hills in second gear.... . FWIW ; these old trannies are : A. durable beyond belief and B. dead simple to overhaul , just DO NOT use ' Republic ' brand gears , they're all over the place N.O.S. . I assume all here under stand it's *very* important to add a 1/2" NPT thread drain plug to accumulate the normal SWARF as it causes wear . I always do fine using used gears from junker trannies , I always use new bearings , there are NO seals to re-use . Lastly , although the U-Joint cavity came originally with a Zerk fitting , NO GREASE is used ! that was for faster filling when the truck (or car) was assembled by GM in 194? .
@Flashlight The wood was for free because an friend cleaned the garden and i love it to meet him. My son had a lot of fun with the saw and i can take time for him and drive with my old truck. I'm so happy Now it's too cold in Germany to drive with the old lady and she is going to the next operation. I have all parts for follow things till the next spring: power steering with the original steering wheel and an electrical power pump power brake with two circle brake system double exhaust double carby setup with Fenton intake digital temp gauge, voltmeter and tachometer hidden in the original gauge and if i get the new tranny - this also i will take a lot of picture and inform you about my progress buying wood in Germany is too expensive about $80 for an cubicmeter
@nate Could you give my an adress where i can buy new gears for my 1946 crashbox? I talked with Bob Adler and he can't deliver new gears. The reason for thinking about tranny swap if the impossibilty to get new gears. Volker
Tranny Gears E-Bay is the place ~ I see them there from time to time . I used to have a N.O.S. '41 ~ '46 truck tranny , it wasn't overly quiet either .
Vibrations in drive shaft. Volker When i changed the rearend ratio i upgraded the drive shaft with a new bushing & seal (stiffer type) just excactly to stop the shaft from vibrating or whipping when coming over 50 miles an hour. Maybe you could check out the condition of the old one and see if this could be the reason for vibration. At the same time i exchanged the U joint for a new one. If your system is an open system check out both U joints and the driveshaft balance to ? Martinius.
Luck After agonizing about my impending transmission re-build, I started to disassemble the drive line and low and behold while I was cleaning the Oil from the bulbous cup that surrounds the U-joint, there the sheared bolt head was! It did not get sucked into the tranny as I had feared. I did have to file and polish the exterior of the bulb where the bolt had created dents (the interior is scared) to allow it to swivel freely. I was able to clean everything up, lubed it generously (Valvoline Dura-blend 80-90w), and then re-assembled the drive line. Test drove her and all is smooth. I feel real lucky. I have the 3:55 Patrick's rear end and wonder if the torque might be part of the culprit. I don't drive hard, but I am fond of the torque that one can experience from a strong 235 Chevrolet. Cheers,
