"new" ZF - Bad Vibration at idle - Very Concerned

[84TD]

History is I bought this trans of craigslist from a dead guy at an estate sale. He was rebuilding a 93 F250 and had "rebuilt" the trans and was in the process of rebuilding the engine when he had a heart attack.

The Problem- There is actually a vibration through out the rpm band but it is REALLY bad at idle. It vibrates the entire truck. If you ever been in a 80's vw with bad motor mounts at idle, its just like that. Just super vibraty.

So its either in the flywheel or trans. The flywheel is a LFW127 and I am not sure about the clutch setup because I got it with the trans but it is also a LUK.

For those that have rebuilt a ZF: During the rebuild of a ZF is there a counter shaft or anything you could hose up to cause a vibration?

I am starting my research...... this blows.

 

[7.3 powerstrok]

most likley cracked transmission

 

[tbirdfiend281]

Dual mass flywheel? if so that could be bad.

 

[84TD]

No its a Single Mass. This is the flywheel I bought...

http://gripforce.com/product/luk-ge...ord-f-series-7.3l-diesel-8th-digit-vin-m.html

I was reading a previous thread a similar sounding issue because the bearings on the input shaft were bad. still researching.

 

[79jasper]

There is a countershaft.
I was told that 4th gear is direct drive, and if the vibration is the worst in that gear, it's the bearings.
Not saying the guy did crappy work, but these require setting the bearing preload very precisely during assembly.
Take a looksee here- http://www.thedieselstop.com/faq/9497faq/maint/stj/stj73b04.htm
Then go here and look through the different options- http://www.thedieselstop.com/faq/9497faq/maint/stj/stjs73bl.htm

 

[madpogue]

New pilot bearing?

 

[towcat]

run the motor without the trans hooked up. that will eliminate that part of the equation. if it is in the clutch and flywheel, the problem won't go away.

 

[south bend clutch]

I would check your injectors to see if they are all firing. A bad injector or two will cause the vibration as well,

Peter

 

[84TD]

Those are cool troubleshooting charts, printed them off to go in my manual.

New Pilot Bearing.

I dont think its engine related because before I swapped the engine ran perfectly smooth but I am looking into it anyway since I did have a failure on my t-19 before the swap.

I drove to work today so I had 30 min to analize things. Its hard to describe sounds on a forum but ill try. The vibration is there through the entire band. It doesnt make a difference wheter the clutch is in or out and flows with engine RPM. At idle it feels and sounds like there are 2 12in subwoofers in the back of my truck bassing, the whole truck is vibrating and looking through the mirrors you see it. After about 900rpm it goes from bass to more of a humm but it is still there and the higher the RPM the better. For example Cruising 65 about 2K or so if seems ok but if you look for it by contentrating on the pedals, feeling the windshield, looking the the mirrors there is still a strange harmonic.

Not sure what to do but I have a few days to figure it out, I wont dive this weekend but I need to drive to work so if I need to replace something I need to do it this weekend. Even though that flywheel is listed as compatible I am leaning towards a flywheel issue since it doesnt seem to care if the clutch is in or not. Thoughts anyone?

 

[84TD]

What is the M digit mean? I assume my 6.9 is exempt from that??? Its not the flywheel making me out of balance is it?

http://gripforce.com/product/luk-gen...git-vin-m.html

It looks like this guy used the same flywheel on his 93 http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?10607-got-my-clutch-ordered&highlight=lfw127

I am asking because I just ordered another flywheel and clutch.

Flywheel: LFW127
Clutch kit - 07-131

I could not find a listing anywhere for LFW127-vpd as mentioned in that thread. Might be a dialaclutch PN

 

[hesutton]

If the flywheel is incorrect for the IDI, sure the vibration could be from the flywheel. I had a problem with vibration from a flywheel when I rebuilt my 6.9. The SMF was not neutral balanced, and the pressure plate mounting holes were not drilled over the center of the flywheel. The flywheel only was bad enough, but an off center pressure plate "camming" on top of that was a vibrating mess. Called the company and got a new setup free of charge. Took the flywheel in had it neutral balanced and all is well now.

Heath

 

[hesutton]

Oh, and do like Calvin said. Pull the trans, but leave the flywheel and pressure plate on the engine. Start it and watch the flywheel and pressure plate to see if they are rotating off of center (camming).

When I had my flywheel problem, doing this made it obvious where the vibration was coming from.

Heath

 

[84TD]

I will be working on it this weekend. I will have my new FW checked for neutral balance before I put it on if that is what it is supposed to be. I chose those 2 PN because that is the LUK listing for a 1987 6.9L wish the SF-42 trans.

 

[84TD]

Should I be suspicious of getting this stuff so cheap? And I used my Prime acct to get it 2 day air.

Delivery estimate: January 29, 2013 Price
1 of: LuK 07-131 Clutch Set [Automotive]
Condition: New
Sold by: Amazon.com LLC
$207.14
Amazon Prime: Two-Day Shipping is free

Delivery estimate: January 29, 2013 Price
1 of: LuK LFW127 Flywheel [Automotive]
Condition: New
Sold by: Amazon.com LLC
$141.59
Amazon Prime: Two-Day Shipping is free

 

[6.9poweredscout]

Heath what brand flywheel was it?