5100 adjustment and alignment now shaking/ vibrations

Quick background. I just raised my front 5100s from 1.75" with a 1/4" top plate spacer to the 2.5" setting with no top plate spacer this past saturday. Drove it that night and felt a little shaking in the steering wheel above 45 mph. Didn't think anything of it because I was going to get an alignment the next day. Well, alignment took a few days ( long story) but it's done now. (caster at about 2.0, camber at .5, toe at .24 pretty even on each side) Truck still shakes between 45 and 70 pretty bad in the steering wheel. I can definately feel it under my feet also. I am taking it in tomorrow for a road force balance just to eliminate that as a possibility however I don't see how lifting the truck about 1/4 to a 1/2 an inch could cause the tires to go out of balance or change angles that much to cause a problem. Also I've never had a balance issue that happened over such a broad range of speeds.

Could it be the increase of spring rate from 1.75 to 2.5 on the 5100s? The rims not sitting right on the hubs? change in weight distribution? Any ideas out there on what I should check? I have searched but vibes at this speed seem fewer and far between and most are from changing the rear height. I haven't done that. Thank you in advance!

 

i have the same setup you have...with no vibrations at all...with shakes/vibrations in the steering wheel..its usually always a balance issuse..

 

Just curious, when it comes down to balancing issues I have noticed everytime I get an alignment (or rotate tires, change suspension etc.) I always need to get balanced afterwards. Why would that be? Is it all the pushing and pulling on the tires? I can wheel for months and not have issues than one simple alignment and I get the shaking! Not torquing lugnuts properly? Just confused an sick of it.

 

did u get the problem fixed slak? wondering was it was. I'm getting my bilsteins installed next week and I really want to go for the 2.5 setting instead of 1.75 since my front fender is 3 in lower than the back fender, but im worried about any issues like you had.

 

First off if you have the tools I highly recommend doing it yourself. You will learn a bunch about your truck, it's fun, and if anything breaks you will be familiar with how to fix it.

After getting the tires re-balanced The shaking mostly went away. There is a very small amount remaining, barely noticeable, and I attribute that to the fact that the springs are compressed more meaning a higher spring rate which would transmit any balance issues more. Also the fact that the caster is not as high as would be ideal allows for a little bit more wobble in the steering wheel from little cracks and bumps in the road.

After driving it for the past week now I barely notice it at all and I feel that if I added new UCA's there would be no issue at all. These trucks are very sensitive to any tire balance issues so any changes will amplify that. I would recommend the 2.5 setting for you. I was very apprehensive at first but am happy that I did it.

 

i got the same problem after my spindle and 5100 coilover setup. i have gotten multiple road force balances and alignments and still the damn vibs are there. they start in the steering wheel, make their way into the shift knob then work around the truck back to the steering wheel. i wish my truck liked being lifted...but it doesnt

 

I honestly think that the roads here in PHX have a little to do with it. When you lift you change things from optimal. Increasing the spring rates at all amplifies this. If you look at our roads there are little expansion bumps every 5 feet or so on the highways and i notice the little bit of shaking in every car I drive out here. My 3 series felt it almost as bad as the Tacoma.

 

but i thought the lift spindles would keep the stock geometry keeping the ride... stock?

when i went for alignment they werent able to get my caster within spec for some reason.

 

I am no expert by any means however if they weren't able to get the caster in spec I have to guess that the spindles did in some way change the geometry. Hopefully someone else would chime in on this who would be more knowledgeable on the subject.

I would venture to say that the caster is probably the culprit in your situation. Every little bump in the road makes my steering wheel move a bit from side to side which could be misconstrued as a vibration even though technically it's not. What's amazing to me is that technically my caster is "in spec" according to Toyota's standards.

 

i was gonna take it in to the dealership cause my window motors going and my windows shake tremendously when down so i will have them check out my steering bushings while its in

 

What dealership do you go to? I have always (only twice) gone to Big Two in Chandler but I want to make sure that I only go to a "lift friendly" dealership for anything. They have told me it shouldn't be a problem however it seems to be new employees every time I am there. I don't want them trying to get away with blaming the lift for something completely non-related.

 

so the extra .75 inches of lift from the 1.75 setting to the 2.5 setting on the Bilsteins can really screw up all the geometry causing the vibes?

 

I don't believe it was the geometry that changed it that much. The caster was further from optimal which definately contributed however I think the increase in spring rate was more the culprit than anything. I am driving on BFG ATKO's which are a pain to balance and the smallest amount out of balance I feel was transmitted more with the increase in spring rate.

Honestly I say go for it. Try the 2.5 and do it yourself. If you don't like it or have issues just lower it to 1.75. Like I said earlier, I am happy with it now after the balance and have no thoughts of going back to 1.75. The point I'm trying to make is if I did want to bring it back down though I could do it in a good afternoon for free with only the help of a 6 pack.

 

If your coming out to maui anytime soon for vacation let me know lol

 

You buy the ticket and I'll gladly help

 

i go to the one off power and the 60, always friendly and very nice. if they dont cooperate with me on this then ill pop over to chandler