Can rust jacking in-between double frame rails cause driveline issues?

Discussion in 'Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Mechanics Forum' started by Jennyspete, Sep 9, 2023.

  1. Jennyspete

    Jennyspete Light Load Member

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    So this is on my 99 pete 379. I bought the truck about 3 years ago and gave constantly had driveline issues. I've lost 4 or 5 driveshafts, 1 carrier bearing, had to replace the transmission and a rear end.
    A little history first. The man I bought it from was a long time friend of the family. He was terminal with cancer and wanted his truck to go to a good home and I agreed to buy it. He had lost a driveshaft the winter before and said it needed the back half of the transmission rebuilt. He wanted to make sure that work got done before I bought it. So he sent it to the shop. He ended up passing away before it came back from the shop. Another friend drove it hone from the shop and there it sat for a year until his estate was settled and I was allowed to buy it.
    The very first time I pulled a trailer with it I thought it was going to blow up the transmission. The transmission growled loudly. You had to yell to a passenger to hear you and forget the radio.
    Then it started loosing driveshafts. I'd have the shaft rebalanced. ( I've now learned it's often times the shaft next to the one that came out that is the trouble maker). Yoke nuts would come loose. Then I started loosing gears so I replaced the transmission. I thought my growling days were over. NOPE, the new transmission growled the same. A carrier bearing and another drive shaft later, I took it to a shop to have all the angles checked out and the ride height checked. He found 1 wrong yoke and a few angles off a bit. He said it was better but still growled a little bit and still had a minor vibration but he could not find the cause.
    It was better fir awhile but got bad again. Then I lost the front rear-end and my mind at this point.
    I'm so paranoid now that I make the mechanic check the whole driveline every few weeks.
    I've had a driver in it for awhile now. He's only had his license a year and is really green (3 clutch brakes in 3 weeks kind of green) I ended up driving the other day and it was awful. Growling, vibration, difficulties shifting. The mechanic found 2 bad u joints, a loose nut on the back of the transmission and upon further investigation a bad out put shaft bearing.
    The front 2 shafts had never fallen out but one of them had side to side play on the splines. So I sent those out to be balanced. We are doing the back half of the transmission. The driveline guy asked me to bring him the other 2 shafts and the new yoke so he could balance everything together. I did. He called today and said one of the front ones was junk. One of the rear ones was out of round.
    6 months ago I also replaced all the torque rods. I know I still have a broken spring mount. It's the little plate that sits on top thats cracked. I fixed one already and a week later the other one cracked.
    We've checked all the wheels. I have not checked engine mounts ( I keep forgetting)
    The truck has double frames up to the back of the cab. There is quite a bit of rust between them. I'm not sure exactly how much , I'm going to check tomorrow. So my question is, after all these details, could rust jacking be pushing the frame rails enough to cause something to not line up right that might be the root of my problem???
    Again, I'm not a mechanic. I work on my truck with my mechanic so I learn as much as I can and I love to research stuff but I still come up with off the wall questions sometimes. So if rust jacking can't cause this please forgive me. Im just getting desperate for a solution. I was planning on replacing the frame rails within the next year with a single heavy duty rail. Ill do it sooner if this is the cause of my driveline issues.
    Oh yeah, it needs a new clutch too but I believe that's driver related. I replaced the clutch when I put in the new transmission 2 years ago.
     
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  3. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    Is this a straight truck?
     
  4. 201

    201 Road Train Member

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    First of all, we, or at least the O/Os here feel your pain, although, you are on the extreme end, I'll give you that. I always try and recommend someone buying a truck, to do exactly what you did. Now I'm not so sure. Not to chew you out, but you simply can't keep throwing parts in it, like playing baseball in the dark. I know bad harmonic balancers can cause vibration, but not like you describe. Was the truck ever in a wreck? I think you can rule out the driveline, the rust "tumors" are common and not the problem. Worn mounts are the result of whatever is making the vibration. While I am sorry for the old mans health, I feel there's something he didn't tell you.
     
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  5. OLDSKOOLERnWV

    OLDSKOOLERnWV Captain Redbeard

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    (1). Any vibrations? U joints timed / lined up correctly?

    (2). Slip joint have plenty free travel? If the slip joint is bottoming out when the frame is pushed down, it will be trying to push the transmission & front differential away from each other, putting a lot of impact and stress on the bearings….
     
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  6. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

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    I have doubts the rust jacking is the source of the issue. There's adjustability in the driveline/suspension components. If it all measures out within spec then your issue likely resides elsewhere.
     
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  7. Last Call

    Last Call Road Train Member

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    Have you checked your ride height ?
     
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  8. SmallPackage

    SmallPackage Road Train Member

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    Check the flywheel housing on the back of the engine. There is a spec no one ever thinks about. They make offset dowel kits to fix the alignment issue. If it is beyond that repairable spec and cannot be machined it will have to be scrapped and replaced. If the housing is off center the input shaft on trans will be and it will domino everything back from the clutch to the rear drives with breakage.
    This is very rare but it happens enough to be mentioned in the old Cummins and Cat shop manuals when overhauling an engine or mismatching parts during replacement.
     
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  9. wis bang

    wis bang Road Train Member

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    Couple loose items; including the person driving.

    Three engine brakes?
     
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  10. jdchet

    jdchet Medium Load Member

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    Clutch Brakes.
    The OP has some big problems with that driveline.............especially with a "ham handed" operator behind the wheel!
    3 clutch brakes.........REALLY??????

    JD
     
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  11. jdchet

    jdchet Medium Load Member

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    BTW.............a double framed truck has usually had the snot beaten out of it for most of it's life hauling heavy. Even with a good hand behind the wheel.

    JMHO
    JD
     
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