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99 steering wheel shaking at HW speeds

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by SolidTacoma, Jul 13, 2010.

  1. Jul 13, 2010 at 4:37 PM
    #1
    SolidTacoma

    SolidTacoma [OP] Member

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    So a couple weeks ago I noticed my front tires were cupping on the outer tread. (31X10.50X15 BFG all terrains) I took it to the local tire shop to have the tires balanced and rotated. When i got it back the steering wheel would vibrate varying amounts starting around 45 mph and would stop around 75 mph. I took it back to them the next day and had them rebalance them. It still did it even after the 2nd balance so I took it to a new place for a 3rd balance. after this it did it a little less but still does it.
    I jacked up the front end and wiggled the tires from top to bottom thinking maybe it was a ball joint or something but there was no play in the wheels. I never had any problems with vibrations in my steering wheel before the rotate/balance.
    Could it still be just a balance problem or would rotating the wheel make some other problem show up?
    Sorry for the long post, any help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
     
  2. Jul 13, 2010 at 4:41 PM
    #2
    98tacoma27

    98tacoma27 is going full "SANDWICH" Moderator

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    Some stuff. Not a lot, just some.
    Rotate them to the back and see if it goes away

    FWIW, every set of BFG AT's cupped on me. No matter what I did.
     
  3. Jul 13, 2010 at 4:53 PM
    #3
    SolidTacoma

    SolidTacoma [OP] Member

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    I tried the fronts on the rear and the rears on the front and it did it both ways. I currently have the rears up front so they will wear evenly.
    So the tires cupping may not be anything serious then?
     
  4. Jul 13, 2010 at 4:58 PM
    #4
    98tacoma27

    98tacoma27 is going full "SANDWICH" Moderator

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    Some stuff. Not a lot, just some.
    I don't know. I have had two sets before and both sets cupped, but thats just been my experience with them.
     
  5. Jul 13, 2010 at 10:06 PM
    #5
    poppystaco360

    poppystaco360 New Member

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    I bought my 2000 prerunner brand new and at 5000 miles I took it to toyota for an oil change and a tire rotation. When I got it back it vibrated just like what you are going through. They said I needed to balance them so I let them . Got on the freeway and it vibrated again took it back, they rebalanced them again and it vibrated again. Then they said my tires where not right so they put 2 brand new tires up front and it still vibrated. Then they blamed there balancer, so they told me to go to goodyear to have them balanced, and it still vibrated .I went through 3 sets of tires and 240000 miles and its still vibrates....please help us....I'm tired of getting out of my truck from long trips numb.
     
  6. Jul 14, 2010 at 4:46 AM
    #6
    98tacoma27

    98tacoma27 is going full "SANDWICH" Moderator

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    Some stuff. Not a lot, just some.
    Have you had yours aligned?
     
  7. Jul 14, 2010 at 7:07 AM
    #7
    SolidTacoma

    SolidTacoma [OP] Member

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    I haven't had it aligned yet. I was going to have it checked this weekend. I'm taking it in to have the whole front end checked out and was going to have them look at that as well.
     
  8. Jul 14, 2010 at 7:38 AM
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    shift96

    shift96 Well-Known Member

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    This is most defintely a balance prob. Good luck finding any shop that has a clue on how to balance tires. Most all of them are incompetent. To bad you were not in NJ as I have a great tire guy (ETD Tire in NJ) who knows how to balance properly. Only took me 5 years and hundreds of dollars wasted to find him:(
     
  9. Jul 14, 2010 at 7:40 AM
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    shift96

    shift96 Well-Known Member

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    Oh and get that fixed asap, if you let it go for along time I think it takes the steering rack out and other front end parts. Just think about when the tires are shaking like that what it is doing to the steering rack and related front end parts.
     
  10. Jul 14, 2010 at 7:55 AM
    #10
    Barnone

    Barnone Guest

    And have the tires checked for out of round.
     
  11. Jul 14, 2010 at 8:15 AM
    #11
    David Tarantino

    David Tarantino Well-Known Member

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    With the tires cupping you may never get it to stop and i said may
    if its that bad a good balance may cut down on the vibs

    Thank you :D
     
  12. Jul 14, 2010 at 8:17 AM
    #12
    shift96

    shift96 Well-Known Member

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    Any Time Dave. You are the best! You have all my business!
     
  13. Jul 14, 2010 at 10:01 PM
    #13
    wolfgang123

    wolfgang123 Well-Known Member

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    check your steering rack might need new bushings. have your tires road force baleneced. and
     
  14. Jul 22, 2010 at 7:21 PM
    #14
    tacoma guy

    tacoma guy Well-Known Member

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    Ya guys I hear you . I have a 99 prerunner and yes the same damn thing. I have done the same things, and still vibrates.When I first got my BFGs had them put on the stock rims no vibrates. Then got costum rims and then it started. I once read that toyotas need to be balanced with a haweka adaptor. What the hell is a haweka adaptor? I have called around these parts Phoenix Az. and no one has hard of or even have one . So has any one haerd of any such thing?
     
  15. Jul 22, 2010 at 7:25 PM
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    shift96

    shift96 Well-Known Member

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    I have them done with a Haweka. It's only as good as the person using it. didn't work on mine. Talk to David Tarantino a couple post's up. He balanced my tires and my truck rides like silk! He knows his stuff
     
  16. Jul 22, 2010 at 7:52 PM
    #16
    tacoma guy

    tacoma guy Well-Known Member

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    Ya but Iam in Arizona, hes in NJ.So what is a haweka adaptor? Iwas reading on anather farum that this guy had the same problem, and he chanded to 16in tires and the problem whent away??
     
  17. Jul 23, 2010 at 3:06 AM
    #17
    David Tarantino

    David Tarantino Well-Known Member

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    www.hawekaus.com · Maybe that will help :D
     
  18. Jul 23, 2010 at 8:50 AM
    #18
    tacoma guy

    tacoma guy Well-Known Member

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    Hay thanks, David Tarantino. I will check it out .
     
  19. Jul 23, 2010 at 9:13 AM
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    scocar

    scocar hypotenoper

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    I had a similar problem with brand new Michelins at stock size on stack aluminum rims, so I pretty much figured the tires weren't at fault. (Interestingly, the truck came used with BFG ATs that were unevenely worn all the way around...).

    The installer didn't get it right. Steering vibes at about 55 +. Since they didn't get it right the first time, I decided to find another place to rebalance rather than waste my time.

    I read all over the internet about the Haweka adapter, and the Hunter Road Force balancer, and took all this info to the new shop, which had rave reviews on Yelp. The guy took one look at the wheels and mentioned the Haweka adpater and said they didn't have one. But he said let us just try to balance them on the regular dynamic balancer first (not road force, which they had, which is one reason I went there). They even said if we don't get it right, we won't charge you :eek:!

    They said yep, way off, must have been static balanced. They did a perfect job correcting them without any special tools or machines, just skill. They also got rid of the adhesive weights on the inner part of the rim that the previous shop had used, and used low-profile clip-ons on the outside. They said it would never balance right unless they did that. I wasn't thrilled about that, but I was more interested in results than vanity.

    Now they have my business for life. (Radial Tire Service in Sacramento, BTW, and FTW)

    So here is a tip to find a wheel shop worth a damn: go find one near a bunch of high-end/performance car dealers that rely on the wheel shop for doing their work. These guys worked on Ferraris, Bentleys, and everything else. Big ass pickups, Hondas, you name it. And they weren't more expensive than anywhere else.
     
  20. Jul 23, 2010 at 12:36 PM
    #20
    David Tarantino

    David Tarantino Well-Known Member

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    if i understand you right the hole in the wheels are not round as if
    the wheel was losse if thats it you may need to replace the wheel
     

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