Don't do this unless you have the right jack stands
(theyre are a lot of cheapos out there), know where &
how to palce them and know what you are doing.  It is
not hard to see this experiment resulting in death,
should things go wrong.

EMZ wrote:
>
>       If the vibration is that bad, try this. I did this years ago.
> Jack up all four wheel, on good strong jack stands, about 2 inches
> off the ground. Have someone start the van and run thru the gears
> until the vibration is at it's worst. You should be able to
> climb under the Van and see the drive shaft, or whatever, shacking.
>
>             Eric                   86-VW4x4
>             vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
>             Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler
>
> On Tue, 20 Jul 1999, Fitz-Randolph, Douglas wrote:
>
> > Thanks to all who replied with suggestions about the causes of my vibrations
> > (see excerpt from original post below). I was really looking for advice on
> > good mechanics in the Northern New England area - there don't seem to be any
> > listed on either the Vanagon site or on Karl Bloss's list. Derek Drew
> > supplied Gordi Davis in NH, but that was the only suggestion. What do all
> > you other N. NE. syncronauts do when you've got syncro-specific problems?
> >
> > For those inclined to speculate on the causes of the vibrations, in addition
> > to the original post (below), let me add the following:
> >
> > 1) The vibrations are so bad that it feels like I am driving on railroad
> > tracks - the ties, not the rails.
> > 2) I made the following repairs with no effect on the vibrations:
> >     - New rotors, calipers and pads
> >     - New bearings installed by mechanic
> >     - Front outer CV joints inspected (OK) repacked, new boots - by mechanic
> >     - Driveshaft u-joints replaced (once) and balanced (twice) by driveline
> > shop.
> > 3) The vibrations occur both with my brand new Michelin MXT's and my old
> > Nokian Hak' LT10 snow tires - both with different sets of wheels.
> >
> > Anyway, all suggestions/advice is appreciated!
> >
> > Doug Fitz-Randolph
> > Yarmouth, ME
> > dfrandolph@talkam.net
> > '90 Syncro
> >
> > Original post: << I started having these vibrations - body of car, not
> > steering wheel or brake pedal - when applying power at certain speeds. They
> > spread to other speeds over the course of a few months, and in the last week
> > (with driveshaft) increased exponentially and became so bad that I thought
> > it best not to drive the van. Removed the driveshaft, presto - problem gone.
> > The u-joints were in sorry shape - binding and sticking - so I had them
> > rebuilt by a local driveline shop. Reinstalled the driveshaft - the
> > vibrations weren't quite as severe, but were still completely unacceptable -
> > driving the van still didn't seem like a good idea. Took the driveshaft back
> > - he rebalanced it - no difference. He said "there's no way just a bad
> > driveshaft could be causing vibration like that". My door lock buttons were
> > unscrewing all by themselves! The front bearings and outer CV joints check
> > out fine, the inner CV's were both replaced about 10-20,000 miles ago. >>
> >