vs berlina vibration and noise

[vs station wagon nz]

ive read a few forum on this web site about vibrations and shudders,my vs berlina station wagon has been getting shudders and vibrations as well but it only starts when ive been driving for about 30min , its also acompanied by a ringing sound.ive checked engine mount and tras mounts which seme to be in good nick,and the diff seme to be ok,when it starts shuddering it seem to be at its worst oround the 80 kms and bellow and when i start excellerating,i think it could be the centre berring in the drive shaft,but would have thought it would vibrate from the word go.any ideas appreshiated.

[hako]

I'd look more at the exhaust system - check that no part of the exhaust can hit the body when the engine tilts under harsh acceleration....same with engine mounts especially the passenger side....they may look OK but remember that the engine tilts over quite a bit when supplying power.
Some Commodores have a miss at around 80Kph which is sometimes traced to either a bad coil in the coil pack or the DFI module on it's way out. Dunno about the centre bearing as they really very rarely give trouble although many people replace them when attempting to stop a shudder.
Can you explain a bit more about when it shudders/bellows - also Kms of car.

[vs station wagon nz]

its done 246000kms.when viration first started i had a look under the car and found the cap screws loss which hold the two parts of the drive shaft together.tightened them up took it for two good hour runs through twistes and straight and was fine no vibration or ringing,the ringing sounds like someone hitting a steel tube a piece of steel.thinking id fixed the problem the next day when to pick a door up for my berlina when good for about 30-40 mins then came to some tight slow corners,thats when the vibration/shudder ring started again.when i picked the door up i also got some rubber exhaust mounts and put them on when i was there,and checked the cap screws again which were still tight.i did notice when i got under the car again that the exhaust on the drivers side was hard up against the front of the trans.was wondering what trans was ment to be in there as my car has a 9FHD in it.it shudders under slight accelleration as well as hash.hope this helps and thanks for your time.

[hako]

Looks like the box in your VS is from a VT - will have the separate bellhousing - when fitted to VS they usually modify the exhaust otherwise it fouls the bellhousing - maybe yours has been modified in a way that allows it to foul the bellhousing under certain conditions. Re the centre bearing bolts - probably not tightened when they put the VT box in. They all shudder under harsh throttle and wagon are worst although some are worse than others, but you say it shudders under slight acceleration as well it must be different - I'd check the flex plate is not loose where it bolts to the torque converter - remove the inspection plate to check. Check the uni joints for rust stains coming from the caps which indicates they are dry. Do a code check as well as it may be a bad coil or the DFI module failing.
Great place NZ - we had 2 weeks over there in November driving around staying at overnight cabins. Great fish and chips too.

[vs station wagon nz]

thanks for those tips hako,try not to sound like a dummy but by uni joint do you mean universal joint,and to do a code check would i have to get a mechanic with a diagnostics devise or is there another way,thanks once again hako.

[hako]

Yup - uni is universal joint - the one at the diff end is usually first to go. Fault code check is very simple and all you need is a paper clip and these instructions: Checking error codes VR/VS (Revised)
Next time you're under the car, grasp the back of the gearbox where the prop shaft comes out and try forcing it side to side and up.....should be very firm.

[vs station wagon nz]

awesome thanks hako.

[vs station wagon nz]

done code test today and it came up with 12,so the electrics are fine checked bolts and flexi plate in trans and they seem to be tight.checked for movement in front half of the driveshaft and rear of the trans and it was a bit sloppy,rear uni joint on drive shaft was fine.so at this stage im going to get another driveshaft as it the cheaper part to buy,if that doesnt solve the problem at least i have a spare.i have asked a few friend with a bit of mechanical knowledge and both recon its the carrier berring in the driveshaft.thanks for your help hako its helped me eliminate any other faults it could be.hopefully this helps anyone else with the same problem.

[hako]

You may find it's a lot cheaper to buy the uni etc separately - in Aus they are under $20 from a parts shop and a driveshaft at a local wrecker is $80 - cheaper if you live in the big smoke. SuperCheap were selling off the joints for $6 recently!
However as you are in NZ you will be charged an arm and a leg for a full shaft from a wrecker but a reasonable amount for the actual uni joint as it fits many other types of cars. This is based on what my brother in NZ has had to pay.

[sticksicks]

this might be a silly suggestion, but have you made sure the trans fluid is up to scratch and at right level?

[vs station wagon nz]

yes checked tras fliud at hot and cold tempreture and its at the right levels and is still cherry red.may look at doing a service in the near future as ive only owed it just over two months now,thanks for the idea anyway.