Silver Star Reman. Trans- rumble stip noise

Carminooch615

Active member
Hello,

First sprinter I've owned. To cut to the chase, I replaced the failed trans with a Silver Star remanufactured unit. It drives and shifts great, however I'm getting a faint and intermittent rumble strip noise in what I presume to be 3rd gear approx 35-40 mph.

If this was your vehicle, how concerned would you be? Do you think it's worth reaching back out to them? I've heard some say RSN will happen and not necessarily mean anything is wrong.

Thoughts?
 

Carminooch615

Active member
Ok, did a brief search. Will the prop shaft have factory punch marks or arrows to show which way it should be mated? If not, and it was reassembled incorrectly, am I SOL for finding the original orientation (assuming it was reinstalled differently)?
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Yes
There should be marks on it, and the U/J's should be aligned.
You might want to discuss this with a good prop shaft repair shop.
With all that stated I did fix a van last week that had an aftermarket Spicer prop on it.
Vibros at 45 mph.
I installed a used take off genuine MB shaft as an experiment that had some vibros.
This was better than an aftermarket near new shaft!~
I gave the customer that shaft for free since it was used and it was destined for the scrap bin !

Moral:- only use genuine shafts.
Dennis
 

220629

Well-known member
...
I gave the customer that shaft for free since it was used and it was destined for the scrap bin !

Moral:- only use genuine shafts.
Dennis
Usually the story goes that the customer was given the runaround and the shaft was thrown in for free. This may be the only time where I heard that a repair shop gave a customer the shaft where it didn't make me a bit angry.

hat_tip.jpg

:cheers: vic
 

Carminooch615

Active member
Very solid information. When I can overcome the flu, I'll head out and take a gander underneath and see what I can find. Just to be clear, I'm looking for factory marks on the driveshaft (prop shaft) and also on the u-joints in the form of a paint mark or a scribe that would indicate factory alignment.

I would be floored to find out a misalignment is giving me the all too familiar rumble strip noise, I've been through enough with this van. Granted, it is much better- but the RSN is still there. Very subtle, but I've been able to coax it out by purposely driving to do so. Silver Star doesn't cover labor in the event that a defective part was installed and I'm hoping I don't need to drop another half grand on a tranny drop and install.
 

lindenengineering

Well-known member
Usually the story goes that the customer was given the runaround and the shaft was thrown in for free. This may be the only time where I heard that a repair shop gave a customer the shaft where it didn't make me a bit angry.

View attachment 94192

:cheers: vic
Well Vic
I try not to give a customer the shaft!:rolleyes:
In this case I was about to toss it on the scrap pile and to my surprise it was better than an aftermarket almost new one installed in Nevada.

As a footnote I have has one Silverstar unit that did the vibros and they supplied me a with a new valve body that cured the problem.
Dennis
 

SneakyAnarchistVanCamper

Reading till my eyesbleed
I was reading in the manual the other day, it said to use clamps of some sort to weight the shaft like you would a new tire, for diagnostic purposes. Might be something to look into, it's in the 2004 SM file in my signature. I had kinda bad rsn at 35-45mph as the TCC locked and unlocked back and forth, did the darf mod, now it drives like a 'benzo should. But the mod increases TCC slippage by relieving pressure from the spool, reducing torque output slightly as I understand it, and possibly increasing wear rate in the TCC clutch pack. So I guess the proper thing to do would be to first check trans fluid level, test/replace the driveshaft, change trans fluid/filter & clean n2 & n3 speed sensors, and if all that doesn't fix that then you could call Dr A to see if he recommends the DARF mod for you. I wouldn't blame silverstar - many have RSN from day 1, it's a design flaw that needs modification in my (possibly controversial) opinion.
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
Rsn, the low level typical kind, happens in light throttle decel, in 1, 2, or 3rd gears. It requires very specific throttle position as well. Driveline imbalance will usually show across a wide range of throttle positions. And is speed specific, generally not tied to a single gear. Even brand new trans can have light rsn.

Correct fluid is important. A worn torque converter can contribute.
 

Carminooch615

Active member
I’ve dealt with driveline vibration in other rwd vehicles that stemmed from an imbalanced driveshaft, incorrectly installed ujoints, and it feels totally different than that. This vibration happens very specifically at a certain throttle position at a certain speed when coasting or decelerating slightly.

FWIW my torque converter is new and the fluid was supposedly provided by silver star. I do also get a whining noise that changes pitch when the gears in the trans change. If I were describe it, it would be like driving next to a semi and hearing the howling gears. Surprisingly it’s louder than the trans that grenaded 1 and 2nd gears but with all my troubles with my first sprinter, I’m very noise-sensitive now. I understand it’s basically a truck with a big metal shell but I’ve had so many issues that you can’t blame me for wondering if something is truly wrong

I’m going to drive it pretty heavy and see if I can make it any worse
 

Carminooch615

Active member
Still under the weather unfortunately, when I’m feeling up to it I’ll check the alignment of the deiveshaft and the ujoints for wear and very heavily consider dr. A’s solution. Thanks guys
 

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