I have noticed that between 40 and 45 mph I can feel a drive train vibration. On either side of that speed range, the vanagon runs smooth. After asking around I decided the most likely suspect for the vibration is the drive shaft connecting the transaxle to the front differential. Also, at about 119,000 total miles on the van and running the original drive shaft this represents an appropriate preventative maintenance project.
Although they are bit expensive, and rather than rebuild the existing drive shaft, I decided to purchase a new drive shaft from Go Westy. Talking with the team at Westy Werks, they indicate they have had no issues with these drive shafts. With some rainy weather it was time to swap drive shafts!
The new drive shaft went in relatively easy. I did have to loosen the front differental mounts to get enough movement to get the new drive shaft seated on the front differental flange.
Now I need to go road test to determine if it was the drive shaft causing the vibration…
