I replaced a good running but cracked 216 with a 235 last year. After a year in the truck, not much driving, I am finally looking into why the new 235 vibrates on the road at speed above about 30 mph.
The motor has all new mounts, especially the front mount got a lot of attention over the three seperate attempts to install it.
I've done a lot of motor work over the years but still consider myself pretty green. This is the first time I've dealt with these problems. My understanding is that the vibration cannot be coming from the flywheel/clutch area. It almost certainly has to be from the u-joint. The original drivetrain has always worked fine, and I have retained the original tranny behind the new 235. As far as I can understand, I must have botched the u-joint during the engine replacement.
So is the only course of action to remove the u-joint? Can I have reversed something in the u-joint on installation which would cause vibrations? I've got the truck up in the air now and the ball joint pulled back. The u-joint looks like it is working as intended. But I have never needed to inspect a u-joint with a critical eye before.
One other question: is it normal that a good half-cup of gear oil runs out of the ball joint on removal?
Where do I go from here?
Karl
