So last night i went out in blizzard conditions to get a friend pulled out of a drift. well the road was crazy drifted over and all, finally got to him and got him pulled out and with the time it took to do that the road drifted over more... so getting out required blasting through several deep drifts to get out.

When i start getting back into town i notice a weird vibration at low engine speeds. i shifted in and out of 4wd and everything. no change. get home and at idle the engine sounds and idles fine but buzzes everything in the interior and is vibrating everything! it gets better but not completely gone at higher engine speeds. start this morning and it's still there. i look around under the hood and undercarraige and see that it is packed with snow everywhere.

i cant thaw the truck till tomorrow night and i have a few theroies but i want some input from you guys...

i think that either i have snow packed in the flywheel area throwing it out of balance or hitting it. or when i looked under the truck i saw that the engine and tranny crossmembers are packed and acually turned to solid ice but it's still packed in there good. im thinking that maybe that solid block is acually just transfering the engine vibes straight to the frame instead of being isolated by motormounts.

what you guys think?

 

Most likely snow is built up in the rims which is throwing the tires out of balance... I'll bet that is the problem....

 

yea, thought of that except that this happens when the truck is in park and not moving..

 

I'd say you're on the right track Texan but if, after you get it thawed out, you still have a vibration while sitting still, you better check the plugs on the ECM.

 

It's the snow. Once you get the truck thawed out it'll go away, the **** stuff gets in everywhere. You could have it in the balancer or packed into the clutch on your fan. If you have a heated power wash joint near you you can go in blast it out if your careful...

*EDIT* I've never had a forum star-out d**m before, better what my mouth

 

had a buddy who found his airbox and filter packed with some snow after some blizzard driving, worth a check...

 

I've had similar experiences with my Jeep. Hard pack snow between the transfer case and skidplate.

Thought my Jeep was going to vibrate to pieces.

Of course I didn'nt learn my lesson and went through some unfrozen mud that froze in the same place.

 

cool, kinda starting to feel better about it now... i really don't have the money to fix anything serious right now.

hey jeep man, know of any good cummins shops in the central iowa area?

 

i looked at that too, thought my filter might have been packed, but it's free and clear right now.

 

if the engine and exhaust are not isolated from the frame you will also feel vibrations throughout the truck. I found this out when installing my big muffler. one of the stock rubber hangers was wedged between the muffler and the frame and vibrated the truck like crazy til I removed it. I'll bet the hard packed snow/ice under your truck is doing something similar.

 

Yeah, it's just the ice packed in there.
We have crazy drifts too. One cracked the wimpy bumper cover.

 

I have the same thing going on. I live out in the middle of nowhere, and I have to push through some snow to get to work. I notice it more when it gets -10 or colder. When the temp goes above 0 the vibe goes away. Same thing, a vibration at idle. I was worried like you at first.

Today it got to a balmy -15 for a high.

 

well, i got her thawed out and it's gone. when i pulled it in i looked around and saw ice packed all around the engine cross member and basicly iced it all solid together. let it thaw, blew it out with hot water and it's smooth as ever... boy i was worried for a while there. right now it's 0 with a wind chill of -17 so i needed to get it thawed out! we have been getting hit with blizzard conditions for a few days, so i bet it will happen again. but now i know it's not something crazy or expensive.

thanks for the input guys...

 

Glad you found the answer and it was a cheap fix. Just remember, us old guys know no good deed goes unpunished. Next time, after you get your buddy out, let him lead the way going home.

 

i have the same exact prob. I just need to find a way to thaw. Theres like a block of ice that used to be snow under my truck. It gets alot better when my truck warms up but as soon as it sits and freezes over nite the vibes are back. the truck vibrates so much it feels like a message chair. glad to see its a easy fix. i figure i would check on here b4 dealer.