PHLEX Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Hey guys, got my cortina back on the road after 2 years of rebuilding and restoring. When I first got it I drove it a few times and it cruised at 100kph fine. It's now warranted and registered so I've been driving it round a few times a week and at 70kph onwards it has a vibration that shakes the whole car, feels like it's coming from the gearbox as the stick viabrates but if I turn the engine off with the clutch in at 100 and let it coast down to 70 it does it the whole time. When I have my foot on the power and it's pulling up to speed it's not as noticeable but as soon as I let off the gas it shakes the shit out of itself. so far we have put in a known good spare diff, swapped to known good rear wheels and tyres, replaced front tyres with brand new ones, checked suspension is tight in front and rear, checked driveshaft universals by prying against them. anybody got any ideas? Driving me mental as I just want to be able to enjoy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Obviously you've balanced the wheels. Some of the symptoms sound a bit like my wife's Laser when it dropped a couple of balance weights. Of course she didn't notice just like she didn't notice when the back shocks were fucked. That doesn't explain the gear stick shake though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cletus Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Driveshaft bent or rear bush in gearbox worn? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cletus Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Or u joint . Remove driveshaft and check u joints move smoothly 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morkster Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Make sure the driveshaft is long enough and not wiggling on the end of the gb output shaft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglesponge Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Hey bud, I had the exact same problem on my cortina a few weeks ago and I was worried it was gearbox too but I took my driveshaft (which looked mint and so did the universals) to a driveshaft place for a balance and universals replaced and said said it was way outta bal and the joints were screwed. Mint as now. Give that a try. I paid about $285 to get it done. Cheers Cam 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHLEX Posted February 4, 2017 Author Share Posted February 4, 2017 Thanks guys gonna whip the driveshaft out and that will be my next port of call. It doesn't go as far into the gearbox as I would expect it to so I wonder if it's from a different model . Appreciate the input!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mof Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Is it one or two piece? Centre bearing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHLEX Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 Just a one piece so I had ruled it out initially due to both universals feeling fine. Still trying to get a replacement to compare it with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwibirdman Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 Not unknown for a balance weight to be thrown off the drive shaft. Also Uni's that have sat for a while will be OK to start with then start to wear rapidly. Either one will give the issues you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mof Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 How's your gearbox/diff angle? they should be perpendicular to each other. Are the engine mounts ok? U bolts tight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHLEX Posted February 12, 2017 Author Share Posted February 12, 2017 angles between gearbox and diff look good, checked U bolts and they are nice and tight, Engine mounts were in good condition when installed, being a 71M in a Mk2 i had to use one long and one short mount to get the engine on the correct angle but that shouldn't make any difference. Im going to pull the driveshaft out today and check the universal joints, I have had a ute with a very worn UJ before and that caused a similar fault Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHLEX Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 Update: Pulled driveshaft out, found a very small amount of side to side play in the front UJ. put in a friend's known good (but off the road for 2+ years also) driveshaft with no play and the vibration is still there. Also found minor up and down play in the FR wheel bearing which I adjusted but no difference there. Yolk is 1/2-2/3 of the way in the gearbox at the current ride height and will obviously push in a bit more when its lowered so I don't think that's a factor although there is very slight up and down movement which I put down to the shaft moving slightly. I am going to replace both universals in my original driveshaft just to be 100% sure that there wont be any future issues. Does anybody have any other ideas of what it might be? I do have a 1100cc flywheel on it as its lighter but I wouldn't have thought that would give me a speed related vibration. I do have the standard flywheel I can put back on if I cant work it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Is it stock diff and gearbox? Ride height stock or lowered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grunta Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 id be looking at u/j's first ,espically if is been off the road then checking pinion angle if its lowered... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHLEX Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 Stock cortina driveshaft, converted from column shift to floor shift, standard ride height and the driveshaft angle is almost perfectly straight. Driveshaft is far enough into the gearbox to rule out yolk wobble. There is some movement up and down on the output shaft in the box but it doesn't make any noises to suggest its blown On a side note the only other thing I have changed since I drove it without fault (over a year ago) was I pulled out some modified rear springs (top leaf was standard and lower two were from an escort sport) out and put some stock units in, one end had new bushes the other had standards, could that make a difference? Picked up a UJ to check for correct size and will order another tomorrow if its the correct one. Might as well do them to rule them out Tempted to take it for a rope tow down the motorway without a driveshaft in to rule that out completely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Is it still the stock crossmember and is it 4 speed or 5 speed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHLEX Posted February 14, 2017 Author Share Posted February 14, 2017 Still on a stock crossmember but has a couple of steel spacers between the x member and body which I always thought were aftermarket but can't be sure as it's my first Ford. 4 speed box, mate thinks it's from an anglia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleeektoy Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 Front/rear shock absorbers OK? At higher speeds the smallest of imbalance in the wheels/tyres and stuffed shocks will make the wheels almost jump up/down causing vibration. Get someone to drive behind/beside you and observe the wheels/tyres(both sides) at the speeds the vibrations happen to eliminate this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwibirdman Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 Since the problem started with the change in springs I would be checking the diff angle. Use a proper gauge (I have seen people use the built in angle gauge on an iPhone) and make sure that the gearbox and diff are parallel. It is amazing how 1 or 2 degrees of miss alignment will make things vibrate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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