OFFICIAL 2nd gen 4x4 front differential bearing vibration thread

What kind of tires are you running? Sometimes aggressive mud grips will wear unevenly and cause similar problems. I was running Duratracs but the more they wore the rougher they got, truck was shaking and shimmying, especially at around 45 to 55 mph. Swapped them out for a set of Open Country AT's and it fixed the problem.

 

A buddy had some wheels and tires I bought from him. Came with pirellis - not my first choice, but they're not aggressive off road tires and have tons of life left on them. More like sporty road tires. It's a moot point tho, I had the shimmy/wobble before I swapped to the larger rims/tires. It's gotta be some issue with the driveline somewhere. Would rear wheel bearings give me this wobble/shake? They don't make any noise and are not sloppy (side to side or up/down).

 

I had a rear bearing go out on a 2002 Tacoma that I used to own, but it never shimmied or anything like that. It just started roaring like crazy. I actually figured out what the problem was by having my wife drive me around while I sat in the bed of the truck. From there I was able to tell where the roar was coming from.

 

LOL. I was thinking about the same idea...except hanging under the truck!! J/k. I'm seriously ready to rig up a go-pro to see if I can ID an obvious wobble somewhere in the driveline.

 

That sounds like a wheel bearing more than the needle bearing. But again its really hard to pin point.
Throw her in 4x4 and do the ol test thats listed here.

 

Changed both wheel bearings and hubs yesterday. No change. 4wd makes no difference either. All u-joints and carrier bearing replaced, too.

 

Is your front axle in rotation? Sometimes they can bind and spin when they should be free of the transfer case. Do hook up your go pro and start tracking it down. Makes it easier for other experienced guys to make an assessment.

 

Front axles always spin, the front driveshaft however should not - but I think that's what ya meant

 

See my message, but need to also know what cab style you have, reg cab or access? And also I assume you have a manual trans, I think you mentioned a "stick moving", yes?

 

Yeah driveshaft thats what i meant.
Thanks MTopp.

 

Just put on billies at 1.75 on my 2014 trdsport. Got the shit bearing noise. I'll be hoping to get the tsb for free unless they hassle me about the shocks. Which from what I've read here they shouldn't Wil update.

 

Everything appears to be spinning freely as designed. I guess I should double check that my front shaft isn't spinning when not in 4wd, but I'd be really surprised if that was the case. I think I spun the front shaft while it was on the ground last night... so if it was bound up I suppose I couldn't do that. I'll double check this afternoon.

I slowed to 60mph on the highway this morning and switched to 4H. Then sped back up to 70 (where the shake/wobble is worst). I don't think there was any change, so the needle bearing/front driver's CV probably isn't the issue. Plus at low speeds I don't have any noise and the subtle egg-shaped wheel feeling isn't changed by switching into 4wd. I'm really getting annoyed that I can't even isolate which end of the truck it's coming from. I can't see my bed wobbling in my rearview/sideview mirrors when it's at full shake/wobble (70mph). The hood/front fenders don't seem to be shaking either. There are no noises, so that doesn't help isolate it. If I had to throw a dart at a board of possible problems - while blindfolded - I'd expect to hit "rear driveshaft". LOL Could a brake drum be off balance enough to cause this? They're pretty small, so unless they were damaged or WAY outta whack, I don't think this would do it. Plus, braking doesn't change the shimmy. Could a brake shoe be sticking in the drum and that's where I'm getting the egg-shaped feel?... maybe it's more like a slight "lurching" feeling that I'm getting? No noise, tho. A sticking shoe would at least make a little noise if it was dragging on the drum. Although, if a drum was warped or out of round, it would account for both the subtle lurching (shoe catches on drum once per rotation) and the vibration at higher speeds. I'll check those tonight, too.

Maybe I need to find a dyno shop to put the truck through it's paces while observing the undercarriage. Sounds expensive tho. Guess a GoPro would be cheaper.

 

I just lifted with Bilstein 5100 (1.75") however the noise was there before I did the lift. I think I'll do the bushing and see if it fixes my steering issues....

Other thoughts are:
Tie rod ends
Steering Rack Bushings
Slight out of balance (tires were just balanced 200 miles ago and it fixed 90% of the "sway")
Wrong caster set (currently 0.9* and 1.5*)

 

I have had a recent alignment done, so i'll double check the caster setting. I remember everything was 'green' on the print-out, but with the lift it might actually be off or out of spec for the 2.5" lift I have. Doubtful, tho - it's only a modest lift. Tie rods appear to be healthy, but they have 186,000 miles on them. No play, no slop, no squeaks, no oil oozing out and they seem to be lubricated okay. Steering rack bushings? Are those the same as the tie rod ends ball joints? Or are there some other bushings hidden under my skid plate that I'm missing? I think I'm going to get the wheels balanced, although I'm doubtful this is the issue. The old wheel/tire set up wobbled/shook just like the new set. Thanks for the input. This is killing me! LOL

 

My post was specifically in response to my slight left to right sway in the wheel. I think we have similar problems, but yours may be a bit worse.

Try to find a shop that has a "Road Force" balance. Not all have them, and even if they have them, they don't always use it..... Road Force will help you understand if it's a bent rim, out of round tire, out of balance, etc. It can get a lot more detailed than a standard wheel balance.

I've heard ball joints rarely go bad in our trucks....there's ways to check them though.

Is your vibration always there at 70? Or does it start when you hit a bump/dip like the "death wobble"?

 

Forgot to answer your 2nd question.....
Here's a write up on the steering rack bushings: http://www.lieblweb.com/steeringbush.html

I'm not sure if the 2nd gens have bad rack bushings like the 1st gens....but I don't think it's your issue. The bushings would give you sloppier steering, not a bounce.

Do you have aftermarket wheels? Are you sure your wheels are correctly mounted on the hubs? Maybe there's an issue with your hubcentric rings/mounting area?

 

It's ALWAYS there. Some roads seem to make it worse or slightly better, but it's always there. The term "vibration" is not exactly right, so I've been trying to use "wobble/shake/shimmy" instead. It's completely tied to the spin of the wheels. Pushing in my clutch doesn't change it. Downshifting doesn't change it. My ball joints all look to be okay. No major signs of trauma. LOL

 

...and thanks for the link. That's for a 96' Taco, but at least I know where to look for a blown rubber bushing now! I do have aftermarket wheels, but the wobble/shimmy was there prior to the switch. That's why I'm virtually certain it's not the wheels/tires, but I need to rule it out by getting them road force balanced. I've had the wheels on/off so many times that if it was a hub centering issue, I would have thought at some point I would have either made it WAY worse by mounting the wheels caddywompus or better by getting them centered perfectly. Nothing has changed.

 

Yeah that sounds very much like the rear driveshaft being unbalanced/incorrectly angled due to the lift that was installed. Resolving that problem is probably the most annoying thing ever with these trucks haha, I have it and I don't think it's ever going away until I get a custom 1-piece driveshaft made.

 

BUT, the wobble was there prior to the lift. The lift made zero difference. Arg!!!