When one thing goes, they all go

[TheZeidler]

I've owned my 1990 K1500 Silverado for almost two years now, and other than upgrading the A/C and an e-brake light that's always on, I haven't had any real problems with it until a couple of weeks ago. The clutch pedal went right to the floor while I was on the highway with no warning... ended up being a worn out hydraulic line. I fixed that problem and threw a new slave cylinder on as well since I had that area apart anyway.

Now, however, I'm experiencing all kinds of little troubles.

1) When I get up to highway speeds, 55-70mph or so, the truck has a terrible shake to it. I feel it mostly through the clutch pedal, and it only happens when I press the gas pedal. I originally thought alignment or balance, since I had a flat tire repaired about a month ago, but why would that just show up now?

2) When I accelerate, I'm getting a **** of a high-pitched squeaking noise from behind me... can that be anything but the rear diff?

3) Whenever I go over a bump or get off the gas too fast, the temperature guage goes CRAZY, flipping all the way up and back down several times. I'm guessing I have a short somewhere, but I haven't had time to look at the wiring myself or I'd have tried to fix it.

Please let me know what I can do about any of these problems... if I can get some parts and fix them myself I'd much rather do that, since I like to play around under trucks and don't like to shell out all sorts of money. Thanks for any help.

[436'd skylark]

more than likely your vibration/squeak is a dried up u-joint. replace them and your problems will likely go away. ten to 1 if you pull the shaft out the u-joints are stuck or worn out. the squeak is a good indication of that. The guage thing is probably just a short/loose connection.

[TheZeidler]

Thanks, I'm glad to know that one relatively cheap fix could solve both problems. I'll look into it and let you know how it goes... looks like a good weekend project ahead of me.