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2002 Xterra Vibration / Shake / Shimmy at Speed

27K views 37 replies 19 participants last post by  dawgn86 
#1 ·
so I've been searching through this and other forums and I can't seem to get a Definitive direction on where to go tons of people have posted simular issues but nobody has ever posted the solution, so unfortunatly I need to post a question that has been asked 100 times before

here is my Situation

2002 Nissan Xterra

SC SE Autotragic 4X4

at 100 km/h (60 MPH) my truck starts to shake its consistent and does not change when increasing speed


first I thought it was my wheels so I did a quick rotate swapping front for rear
thinking if it were my rear tires/wheels me swapping them to the front of my X would cause my steering to shake this did not happen.

I've checked the rear driveshaft and there appears to be no play then again I'm not too sure.

what should I look for in Driveshaft play or Ujoints? should I look at Motor Mounts?

I also noticed when accelerating from a stop I can feel engine vibration through my transfer case shifter is this normal?
 
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#27 ·
BUUUUMP. This has been the best thread about my problem as well.

Sad there is no solution in here just yet.

On the highway above 60-65 my 2WD 3.3 Auto XTerra has a vibration. very annoying. It smoothes out every once in a while for a few seconds. I plan to crawl under there tomorrow and wiggle the U-joints and whatnot. I have yet to get the tires rebalanced, but the set I just replaced did the same. (new rims/tires were used so it could be them as well)

There is absolutely no shake in the wheel. It does feel like it is mid, to rear, so I suppose it might be a rear tire balance, or the driveshaft. It seemed to get worse on the trip I just took from Columbia, SC to Charleston, through Hilton Head, and down to Savannah and back. I also swear that it feels like it is robbing power, but it also does it in Neutral on the highway.

It has a rough shaking idle (only in Drive), that goes away when in Neutral as well. That seems like a motor mount, but I do not see how it would vibrate so bad on the freeway if it were....

I know... lots of info. I will post the solution if I come across one!
 
#30 ·
I looked under it and jiggled EVERYTHING i could. The carrier thing in the middle, where the 2 drive shafts meet has a round rubber thing that has some cracks going around it and I can easily move the shaft around. If the shafts are balanced I would assume this wouldnt matter, BUT they are sort of at different angles so it very well could be the problem. I may need to see what it costs to get this part since I am going down to the store for some rear diff oil anyway.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Mine is still doing it. I have not done much of anything to keep looking though. Played with tire pressure, but didnt help.

I almost feel that a ball joint or tie rod is loose and letting the tires wobble some. Shop had said everything is solid recently though.

I think eventually my next course of action will be Re-indexing my torsion bars. See if anything happens to be stripped, or maybe one side is sagging and bouncy... feels kind of that way.
 
#34 ·
I had exact same problem in my 2004 X. I was told to check the u-joints in another section of this forum- looked good but after pulling there was excessive play in the rear joint. Replaced them and vibration disappeared. FYI- you do NOT have to replace the drive shaft when you do this! For more info search the forum for u-joint replacement. Good Luck!
 
#36 ·
Hope someone post an answer to this soon as my 02 2wd has a rumble to it like driving over those strips before a stop sign. Driveshaft feels tight, although that could still be the problem area.

I have a u joint at the transmission, shaft goes through midshaft O rubber ring mounted to frame..has another u joint and then a u joint at rear differential. So I assume if you replace them all there is 3. The middle one is held on a different way than the others.
 
#37 ·
It's most likely the u joints on the drive shaft. We just had to change them on my buddies jeep for that same reason of vibration. They felt tight when you checked them but when we pulled them off you could tell they were worn.

Easy fix and fairly cheap.


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