Greetings fellows. Recently I upgraded my kickdown to a Lokar after doing a Weber conversion on my 1973 225CI Dodge Dart. I also recently rebuilt my entire frontend and got a proper alignment.

Now, when going down the interstate between 65 and 75 MPH, I experience really bad vibration. But it does not feel like a frontend issue. It feels similar to when I dropped a driveshaft in my B100 Van a few years ago. I had a bad rear u-joint when this awful incident occurred.

I have inspected my u-joints and driveshaft on my Dart that is now experiencing the vibration. All seems tight and well. But sometimes when pulling out in low gear from a dead stop, I hear a repeated clicking sound. Sort of like what it sounds like when we were kids and placed a baseball card into the spokes of our bicycle rims. THen once in second gear, the sound disappears. But then on the interstate above 65 MPH, that awful vibration occurs.

When first putting the Lokar kickdown on the tranny, it did require serious adjustment. It was shifting way, way too hard and at the wrong RPMs, etc. I got those bugs adjusted out but fear I may have damaged my torque converter or something related to the torque converter before I finally got it adjusted properly.

I know very little about transmissions and simply want to know where to start to fix this problem. This car is my daily driver and so I am on the interstate daily. And in Atlanta, traffic zooms when there is not a jam. So I need to be able to drive safely and comfortably at at least 70 to 75 MPH.

I was hoping maybe the problem might be the transmission mount, a bad bearing or seal. Something cheaper than a $300 torque converter.

Any help and advice is highly appreciated. Because getting to work each day depends on this car for me right now.

_________________
"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers ..." — William Shakespeare

Did you pull the driveshaft to inspect the universal joints?

I've seen them look fine from the outside, but actually had a dry as dust needle bearing pack, which was only revealed when I took them apart.

- Mac

Slanted Opinion:
I would also say there is a good chance that one or both of the U joints are dry, and the needle bearings are no longer round.

This can be a dangerous situation, so pull the driveshaft and check it out ASAP.

_________________
67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

Yep, the U-joints and their retainer straps and bolts are prime suspects. You didn't cause this issue with your kickdown upgrade or subsequent adjustments, directly or indirectly, so you can stop worrying about costly transmission or torque converter problems.

Please show and tell about your Weber conversion with a new post in the Engine section!

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Since things are quiet on this thread, I thought I'd piggyback on it.

I'm getting a pretty good clunk when shifting into gear from park, leading me to believe U-joints are prime suspect. What I don't know is how to examine u-joints. I went under the car for a superficial inspection and everything seemed tight. I couldn't get any play from the driveshaft.

Is dropping the shaft the only way to check u-joints? What am I looking for when I drop it and what parts MUST be replaced automatically when you drop the driveshaft?

_________________
<img src="http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k286/Krytellan/Vehicles/view1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket">

No parts must be replaced when you drop the driveshaft.

Put blocks around the front tires to keep the car from moving. Jack up one side of the rear of the vehicle, put a jack stand there for safety, then put the car in neutral.

Remove the 2 u-straps from the yoke at the rear differential. Remove the driveshaft. Careful not to let the bearing cups fall off into the dirt. You may also experience a bit of transmission fluid leakage... put a pan there to catch it.

Once the driveshaft is on your bench you will easily be able to check for problems. The joints should all flex smoothly, with no binding or grinding.

Your clunk may be in your rear differential... u-joints can cause clunk, but will almost always cause vibration as well.

- Mac