i just replaced my pinion seal in my rear diff with the much appreciated help of the vets on this site and all was well so it seamed... i'm now noticing that upon deceleration and from coasting to acceleration there is a subtle vibration for no longer than one literal second. it's worse at high speeds, more noticeable on the freeway letting off the gas and it's very subtle as something only someone very familiar with their vehicle would notice, but still concerning. could this be drive shaft vibration from incorrectly setting the pinion bolt preload? also my drive shaft has about a 12 o'clock-2 o'clock amount of play in it that was there before i replaced the pinion seal and seams the same after the repair. normal?

 

it could be the pinion bearing

 

pull the drive shaft and check the pinion flange for in and out play. if any is present the nut needs tightened more. pbpl on a used bearing should be about 7in/lbs or so.

 

the reason i don't think it's the bearing is because the problem didn't exist before i replaced the pinion seal. that's why i feel like it must be something i manipulated...unless it's just random timing.

 

Did you mark where your drive shaft was before you took it off the axle? They are balanced to go one there a certin way and if not you get a vibration.

good luck

 

no, but it only vibrates for a second the moment i go from coasting to acceleration or acceleration to deceleration. if it were just a matter of the shaft being unbalanced wouldn't it just vibrate constantly?