I've got an 2.2 Liter with a manual tranny. The truck has developed a horrific shudder at around 25 mph and 60 mph or around 2500-3k RPM. Seems to come from the front end.

I Thought it was the balance, alignment or shocks. Put in new shocks and had the wheels rotated balanced and aligned. Didn't help.

Took 'er to the dealer, they said it was the clutch. So I had a new clutch plate, release bearing, pilot bushing, and fly wheel installed. Didn't help.

Now I'm thinking maybe its the ball joints or bearings. Any thoughts?

 

The clutch pedal and shift level are oddly loose after the install. Should that be expected?

 

Hi LiquidGopher,

Welcome to the Chevy Forums.

First, it seems you only have the problem at certain RPMs regardless of vehicle speed.

If you can verify this, you can eliminate every other system on the car except the drive train.

Shift the car into neutral at 60 or 65 MPH, and let the engine idle. Do you still have the shudder? Generally, suspension and steering problems get worse the faster you go, and decrease in severity as you slow down.

Next, at a stop in neutral, rev the engine to 3k for a brief time.(2-3 seconds)
Any Vibrations?

The first thing I would check at this point would be the U-Joints, especially at the front of the drive shaft.

 

The problem does seem only happen at the 2500-3000 RPM mark which is consistent with 20 mph and 65 mph.

What I let off the gas at speed the vibration does go away and there is no evidence of it when the vehicle isnt in motion.

Ive got new u-joints and will likely install them tomorrow. Thanks for the assist.

 

3 new u-joints and its running like its supposed to. 2 piece drive shaft, who new. Some how managed to get a floor jack shoved through my radiator, but thats a whole other story.

Thanks again for the reply.

 

Yeah, during a minor retrofit, I somehow managed to run a drill bit into a friend's battery once.

It happens. Long story short, we all still save a bundle fixing them ourselves.

 

No doubt. $85 an hour for the shops around here is obscene. It's just a drag cause I was really just fixing this thing to sell it. Oh well. Whoever buys it is getting a truck that's in pretty damn good shape now.