Bouncy and interval shaking when I drive

I have a 2001 Tacoma v6 4 by 4. I noticed yesterday that when I drive their is this slight shaking and bounce if feels like in the rear of my vehicle. It is starting to get real annoying. My truck isn't driving as smooth as it used to be. How do I tell or diagnose the problem further? Could it be my struts or rear shocks? Thanks guys...

 

Could be your tires...

 

check tires for missing tread or bulged out/separated treads. Look at the circumference and see if it looks round if theres a higher spot it could be internally separated. Also get your wheels balanced.

 

Ok I will go to discount tire today and have them take a look. I just bought new tires a month ago, but hopefully its something easy that is still under warranty. Just hoping its not an expensive fix.

 

I managed to knock a wheel weight off .

Just the one little weight caused the truck to shake so much I thought all the lugs were loose.

That also caused the tire to cup really bad till I got home around 100 miles

I have also hit stretches of roads just resurfaced that are rough enough I think the wheels are falling off to the point I pull over and inspect things

 

I just found a BF Goodrich that was out of round. Replaced it and all is smooth again. It took forever to diagnose though. I balanced them all multiple times. Replaced u joints, tie rod ends, ball joints, rack bushings. I was so relieved when I finally found it, I didn't even care that the tire was bad.

 

Hmmm I swear I have a KM2 that might be. I have been having discount rotate/rebalance every 3-6k but I still have a shake even though I have new shocks front and rear, new TRE, new rack

 

definitely sounds like a balance/alignment issue. did you figure it out?

 

That's all rear shocks and if the tire(s) is (GOOD) ie not a lot of weight needed to balance the first time then you can prove it's a shock. If its more than 1.5 oz of weight can be a defect tire and will have balance issues its whole life. Get in the truck and go around a paved turn at higher speed and make sure it has bumps. if the rear end starts to bounce and moves to the side like 6"-1' and doesn't trac exactly as the front tires then the shock is worn out and is actually unsafe. In fact if you have over 50K miles you should buy new shocks period! Also stay away from discount tires they do no mechanical work or alignments but they want to tell whats wrong with the vehicles. They are idiots and give real shops a bad name. sure you get rubber cheap but you can price match any competitor and most real tire shops have alignment racks and mechanics. Not wall-mart, not Costco, not discount tire. Shop wisely and avoid aforementioned retailers for auto anything.........also jiffy lube is trying to get into tires and auto repairs like brakes now LOL amateurs.

 

I sell tires for a living and have for 12yrs now. B.F. goodrichs are notorious for balance issues. When you guys go into have the work done ask if they will allow you to watch them balance the tires. And see what weight the machine is calling for and document each tire position and weight called for and compare the tires numbers. if one is out of weight by more than 2 oz. I send it back to the warehouse and get another. If i don't that customer will be in way to much for balance issues because the tire is defective. A little secret if discounttires wont help you ask for a b.f. goodrich-michelin-uniroyal adjustment form call the number on the back and make a claim with michelin about the tires and they will do something about it! It's a huge PITA for the tire associate but they don't lose out either as the manufacturer gets the old tires back to test them for rapid wear or blemishes and defects and credits the business for any lost retail amount. Avoid places like discount that cannot even replace a wheel stud if it breaks or properly align a vehicle because alignments DO NOT SHAKE or have anything to do with vibration! You could have bad tie rods that can cause a shake in the front but that is not alignment sorry.

 

I used to go to discount tires for the great prices. But they kept cross threading the lug nuts on the studs and have to break the stud to get the wheel off to balance. Plus since they don't do any mechanical work there, I'd get sent to a wheel & brake shop to have them replace the stud. Sure it was free but not really because your time isn't free. Whereas if you went to other tire shops that do everything in house, like I do now. It gets done right away. But I haven't had a problem since leaving discount tires. But that's how they can offer the tires for a cheaper price. Lower overhead since they only have to hire people that can take tires off, balance them and put them back on.

 

glad its fixed

 

when I had to do tires I would loosen the locking cone on the balancer and rotate the tire 90 degress then lock it in and spin her up again just to check. Quick and simple.

 

Thanks guys, So the shaking mellowed out and its not as bad anymore. I had my shocks tested and they look overdue to be changed. I am going to save up and get those 4 shocks replaced. And hopefully that will just make my truck a smoother ride. Am planning on getting OEM TRD shocks from my toyota dealer. Think thats the right call for new shocks? I got offroad every once in a while...

 

Where are you located? If you're near me, I have some used Bilsteins you can have if you want. I'm in the SF Bay Area.

 

Hey OP. Let me know if replacing the shocks eliminates the tire bounce. I'm having a similar issue that's only present in the rear of my truck. No matter what orientation I put my tires, I still get a bounce in the rear