Noise while driving.

[OldBeaver]

I just got my RV out of a shop where it was towed after refusing to start at a rest area where I stayed overnight.

The tow truck driver removed the drive shaft before towing.

After picking up the RV from the mechanic it went to Les Schwab for 6 new tires.

With new tires installed and my toad hooked up, I headed onto the interstate.

After a while I noticed that there was this noise coming from somewhere towards the back whenever I applied the accelerator from coasting and took my foot off the accelerator to coast. It only lasted for about a second. The noise was accompanied by a vibration, both of which felt and sounded exactly like when you drive on the rummble strip that's on sides of highways to wake up drivers that are straying off the road.

The noise and vibration were not present when coasting, braking or serious acceleration. It was also present when slight power was being applied to the wheels (constant speed on a straightaway, which was very rare as I was in the mountains).

The other thing that the mechanic did was remount the turbo, which apparently came loose - lost the clamp.

I called the mechanic that worked on it and he said that it could be numerous things and not to drive it but find someone locally and have it looked at (I was about 1 hour away from him).

So the RV is sitting right now at a different mechanic, waiting to be looked at.

Has anyone experienced something like this before? Any ideas what could be wrong?

[manholt]

Would help to  know Make, Model, Length and age of RV..Tag/not?  Was you brakes looked at, when you got tires?  When was the last time you had the wheel bearings looked at?  When drive shaft was reconnected, was it  also lubed?

[dickandlois]

Old beaver, The sound you are hearing sounds like the drive shaft could have been installed out of phase!

 The fact that it was towed to the service facility means the drive shaft was removed, if the tow truck driver did what needed to be done. 

Out of phase happens when the 2 universal joints are not lined up properly, because the shaft consists of 2 sections that have splines to connect the m. Sure sounds like your noise is cumming from that problem. More noticeable at highway speeds. 

Rich.

[jleamont]

1 hour ago, OldBeaver said:

The tow truck driver removed the drive shaft before towing.

Would you happen to know if it was unbolted at each end when removed or slid off of the splines on one end? Sounds like the drive shaft is out of phase. JUST make certain you let the current shop know the full timeline of events. It could speed up their diagnosis which will save you $$

[dickandlois]

4 minutes ago, jleamont said:

Would you happen to know if it was unbolted at each end when removed or slid off of the splines on one end? Sounds like the drive shaft is out of phase. JUST make certain you let the current shop know the full timeline of events. It could speed up their diagnosis which will save you $$

Ditto, Ditto. We are on the same page. LOL

Rich.

[jleamont]

5 minutes ago, DickandLois said:

Ditto, Ditto. We are on the same page. LOL

Rich.

 great minds think alike! I was thinking that or the tow truck driver dropped it and dented the tube. 

 

1 hour ago, OldBeaver said:

After picking up the RV from the mechanic it went to Les Schwab for 6 new tires.

I am guessing you didn't observe this vibration between the repair shop and tire shop or were the conditions not correct to make it happen? 

[OldBeaver]

RV is an old 1987 Beaver Marques. There is tag axle. The brakes were no looked at while In the shop. 

I do not know how the drive shaft was removed. Only that it was removed for towing. 

There was a thumping when I drove it to the tire shop but the RV sat for about 3 months at the mechanic (my fault for telling him I am in no hurry ..lol).

The tire shop manager said it was flat spots for being park that long.

I did not hear anything suspicious after I got the new tires mounted and drove for a few miles until I got onto the interstate. Does not mean it was not there. I just did not clue into it until after some time had passed.

The mechanic also reconnected the turbo, which lost a clamp and had come lose, so I was more intently tuning into the engine. 

[manholt]

That's the first time, I have heard the term "Flat Spots", since we got steel belted radials...Lot's of coaches, just sit in Fl, Tx or AZ every winter, for 4 months or more!  If a tire shop told me that, i'd be gone to another shop!!!

[rockylarson]

Check  driveshaft carrier/hanger bearings. One or both may be loose or busted.

[richard5933]

Two of the problems could be eliminated easily...

• If the problem is with the tires, the problem would be there anytime you are in motion and not connected to whether or not you are accelerating. You would hear/feel the problem when coasting. Since you did not notice it while coasting, I'd feel comfortable crossing that off the list.
• The Turbo issue also sounds like a red herring. If it were problematic you'd hear it every time you revved the engine, even when standing still.

I'm with the others - something wasn't done correctly when your driveshaft was disconnected/reconnected. That's where I'd focus my attention. Hopefully it's something as simple as your driveshaft being out of phase. But, possibly you had a failing U-joint before all this happened though. Your coach is at the age where things like U-joints can begin to fail. It wouldn't be uncommon for things to hold together until they are taken apart, and then once opened up things can go wrong. A good shop can inspect all the U-joints to be sure while they are evaluating things.

[dickandlois]

Old Beaver. There can be a thumping sound when the ride height is off, but the fact that the drive shaft was removed it sure sounds like you need a shop that deals with repairing and balancing drive shafts. They would know if  the drive shaft was put back together out of phase . 

      The one I have used for years in our area is Fleet Pride. They do have a number of locations, but I have no idea where you are located at the time. You can look up Drive shaft repair shops and locate one on the internet.

Driving the coach with a problem drive shaft can cause an expansive repair bill, because that problem can also damage the  axle drive shaft and or the transmission seals and bearings. 

The old saying - (A stitch in time saves nine) - does apply in you case !!!!! You did get the tires replace and the thump is still present, so it is not the tires that are causing the issue.

Rich.

Rocky mentioned the carrier bearing and this would be true on Gas powered chassis's, Except when the engines are mounted in the rear like you Beaver.

[OldBeaver]

Thanks all. The RV is in Ontario OR at Royal's Truck snd Diesel Repair right now. It was recomended as the place to go by the manager and service guy at Love's and it has great internet reviews.

The thumping did go away after new tires were put on. 

I am not the one doing the repair but I do appreciate all the opinions. There is a lot of experience on these forums.

Even though I am not doing the work, having this information is very important. 

[jleamont]

41 minutes ago, OldBeaver said:

Thanks all. The RV is in Ontario OR at Royal's Truck snd Diesel Repair right now. It was recomended as the place to go by the manager and service guy at Love's and it has great internet reviews.

The thumping did go away after new tires were put on. 

I am not the one doing the repair but I do appreciate all the opinions. There is a lot of experience on these forums.

Even though I am not doing the work, having this information is very important. 

Let us know what they find.

[OldBeaver]

The shop finally got to it. They checked the driveshaft and took it for a drive on the interstate and did not see/hear/feel any problems.

He said maybe I was feeling something because of the brand new tires and sometimes it can take 60 miles or so before they true up (or whatever phrase he used).

I know that cannot be it because the noise and vibration was not there when coasting or under power. Only when going from coasting to power and the inverse. Also if I was on a flat straightaway and only little power required to keep the RV moving.

 

Now I am wondering if the vibration was coming from the toad. I was pulling it (but they were not during their diagnostic drive).

Maybe I did not connect my tow bar correctly.  I am really stumped. I doubt I would screw up the hookup but it is physically possible. 

[dons2346]

Did you go for a drive with the tech? If not, load up the tech and you as the driver go for a ride so you can explain exactly when the event occurs

[jleamont]

10 hours ago, OldBeaver said:

Maybe I did not connect my tow bar correctly.

What do you have for a toad and more importantly, does your toad need the steering wheel unlocked prior to departing?

[OldBeaver]

The toad is a 2008 Honda Fit. The wheel does need to wheel unlocked. 

I did have the key in the ignition and turned one position.

 

I did not go with the tech. The RV is 8 hours away from me. I will be going there this week so I guess I will ge able to tell.

 

I just thought of another possibility.

I have dual hitch adapter with a bicycle rack in the top position.

When I originally assembled the entire thing, I used rattle eliminators.

I did not think that having play there and the bike rack rattling around way a good idea.

When I picked it up from the original shop I noticed that the extender did have slop in it. Also the little rubber caps that I have on all my hitch locking pins were not covering the locks (something I would never do).

Now I strongly suspect that what I felt and heard has the **** hitch extender/adapter rattling.

Which would make sense why I only heard and felt it when there was a transition of force that would remove tension from the hitch.

 

[hermanmullins]

Just an off the wall thought. If your back up camera has an outside microphone it may be turned up and your can hear everything from the back.

I say this with tongue and cheek. My hearing is marginal but in driving a 40 foot diesel motorhome there is no way I can hear or feel the slight rattle of my hitch coming from the rear of my coach. All I can hear and feel is the roads as I am traveling on these well maintained () highways and byways of our great states.

Of course I came from the era when Shake Rattle and Roll ment dancing to Bill Haley and the Comets , not driving through Shreveport Louisiana on I-20.

Herman

[urbanhermit]

On ‎11‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 11:28 AM, OldBeaver said:

I just got my RV out of a shop where it was towed after refusing to start at a rest area where I stayed overnight.

The tow truck driver removed the drive shaft before towing.

After picking up the RV from the mechanic it went to Les Schwab for 6 new tires.

With new tires installed and my toad hooked up, I headed onto the interstate.

After a while I noticed that there was this noise coming from somewhere towards the back whenever I applied the accelerator from coasting and took my foot off the accelerator to coast. It only lasted for about a second. The noise was accompanied by a vibration, both of which felt and sounded exactly like when you drive on the rummble strip that's on sides of highways to wake up drivers that are straying off the road.

The noise and vibration were not present when coasting, braking or serious acceleration. It was also present when slight power was being applied to the wheels (constant speed on a straightaway, which was very rare as I was in the mountains).

The other thing that the mechanic did was remount the turbo, which apparently came loose - lost the clamp.

I called the mechanic that worked on it and he said that it could be numerous things and not to drive it but find someone locally and have it looked at (I was about 1 hour away from him).

So the RV is sitting right now at a different mechanic, waiting to be looked at.

Has anyone experienced something like this before? Any ideas what could be wrong?

This is exactly what my DP was doing when I bought it.  The cause was the drive shaft being "out of phase."  I'll bet a dozen donuts your shaft was reinstalled out of phase.  The yokes at both ends of the shaft have to be oriented the same way:  e.g., both vertical or both horizontal.  Betcha they hooked one up 90 degrees rotated relative to the other. 

 

 

[urbanhermit]

For general information , other "out of phase" conditions:  straight through the U-joints with no angle; U-joints need a bit of angle (I don't know why); output shaft from transmission and input shaft to the differential must be in perfect parallel; and too much variation between height of frame from rear axle to front as very little vertical displacement is tolerated by design/engineering.  This all from the authorized Freightliner service facility which took the howl out of my drive train. 

[jleamont]

22 minutes ago, UrbanHermit said:

U-joints need a bit of angle (I don't know why)

Correct! If they are not at an angle the needle bearings inside will not rotate and spread out the load, thus creating a failure. 

[urbanhermit]

22 hours ago, UrbanHermit said:

This is exactly what my DP was doing when I bought it.  The cause was the drive shaft being "out of phase."  I'll bet a dozen donuts your shaft was reinstalled out of phase.  The yokes at both ends of the shaft have to be oriented the same way:  e.g., both vertical or both horizontal.  Betcha they hooked one up 90 degrees rotated relative to the other. 

 

 

 

22 hours ago, UrbanHermit said:

This is exactly what my DP was doing when I bought it.  The cause was the drive shaft being "out of phase."  I'll bet a dozen donuts your shaft was reinstalled out of phase.  The yokes at both ends of the shaft have to be oriented the same way:  e.g., both vertical or both horizontal.  Betcha they hooked one up 90 degrees rotated relative to the other. 

Geez !!  Did I answer my own post ?   <Hiding under the desk . . . >