I am a new member. I have a 90 B2200. I drive it in Montana on 46 miles (one way) of dirt and gravel on my daily commute to work. I am experiencing massive vibration. It's winter here so I had a mechanic replace the universals that he could. It still vibrates. Can I replace the sealed-permanent universals or do I need a new/rebulit drive shaft? If I do need a new shaft who can I contact to get one at a resaonable price?

I love this truck. It saves me a ton of money in gas and has never failed me on these horrific roads, even in snow. The long wheel base and low suspension (but not as low as a car) make it very stable on these roads that send many a top heavy SUV into the ditches or flipping down the road to be collected as scrap metal. My only complaint is that I wish I had a 6th gear or could re-gear the differential. I use this as transportation and not for hauling so I have no need for the low gearing and lose fuel efficiency at Montana's 70 mph highway speed (I do four miles of highway daily) and driving around town on my days off. Any suggestions here would also be greatly appreciated. Please send answers to my Mazda questions. Also I'm happy to answer any Montana questions. Zoom! John

 

If you are going through universal joints and still have a vibration,AND you drive on dirt/gravel roads a lot, have you checked the enginemounts?
I have a friend who had a similar problem and after having his shaft rebuilt,he too still had the vib. After inspecting the truck further it turned out to be bad engine mounts. He replaced them and no more problem.

 

Thanks for the advice. At great cost I had the universals replaced at a custom shop. The originals are no longer available anywhere! You are correct. It did not solve the vibration problem. I was wondering about the motor mounts so greatly appreciate your motor mount idea. I have a question though, do you have any idea how I might determine (before I replace them) if the mounts are really bad? Yes. I'm being a bit cheap.I want to solve my vibration problem, but it's beginning to get pricey so I'm hoping there's some test I can perform to determine if the mounts are really bad. Also, can you advise a parts supplier who is reasonably priced and will ship?

Thank for your advice. If you can further help me I'd greatly appreciate it.

John