1999 silvy 1500 4.3L 5spd 2wd 160k

newly developed decent vibration (rattling coins in the ash tray) that occurs only when on the gas and at highways speeds. disappears completely when i let off the gas.

i'd appreciate some advise on this.

i can see movement in one knuckle in the first u-joint (next to trans) so i am sure some of the needles have vaporized. that one is definitely bad.

thanks

 

To replace the U-Joint is fairly straight forward and yes, a fairly inept backyard mechanic could do this repair. The center bearing is called a "carrier bearing". Grab onto the driveline and see if anything moves within the carrier. If not, lube it up.

As far as the shocks..... replace them all!

 

carrier bearing: small amount of movement, seems to be just the rubber flexing, no clicking type of noise.

 

neighbor helped with what turned out to be an almost trivial R&R of the u-joint next to the trans. no more vibration, yeahhh!