Lifted, Frustrated, and Need Help...Rumble Strip Effect

Ok guys, here is my situation. Hoping one of you can sort this out for me.

I have a 2018 DCSB OR. Last Thursday night I installed Bilstein 5100s and Icon AAL on the rear. Friday night I installed 5100s with OME 855 springs on the front. Both installs were testbook. No issues or suprises. Ended up with a little over an inch on the rear and exactly 1 3/4" on the front as expected. Saturday morning I took it in for an alignment. I had marked the cam bolts on the LCAs before I losened them and got them back pretty close when I was done. They were able to get it in spec no problems.

However, on the way there I noticed this vibration like I was driving over rumble strips when slowing down between 25 and 10 mph. I immediately suspected the needle bearing on the drivers side. I checked some of the theads here and sure enough, users were reporting the same rumble strip vibration and replacing the needle bearing with an ECGS bushing fixed the problem. So parked my truck on Saturday and waited until Monday morning to call East Coast Gear Supply to order a bushing. It arrived today. A couple of hours later I had it installed. Again, textbook install. No problems. Took it for a test drive expecting it to be as smooth as butter, but No Joy. Rumble is still there.

So I'm lost at this point.

The rumble is still there between around 25 and 10 when slowing down.

It isn't the brake system. I get the same rumble/vibration whether I brake or let it coast down.

It happens in 2W and 4H.

It does not happen when accelerating or when the drive system is under power. I took it to a parking lot and if I am crusing at 20 mph while giving it a little gas, all is fine. As soon as I let off the gas and start coasting (drive system not under load), it starts rumbling. If I then accelerate, the rumbling stops.

Something in the drive train?

Nothing else has been done to the suspension. All stock before last Thursday night.

 

- Most likely your driveline angles are messed up. You may need shims or some such thing. Watch this:

 

More ideas:
- check your u-joints. Try and move them, there should be no play
- rotate your tires
Read this thread:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/drive-shaft-vibrations-solved-step-by-step.244535/

MOst important, don't worry, you'll figure it out! I had vibes and fixed it with shims. All vibe problems are solvable...enjoy the process

 

From a less than 2" lift?

 

Tires are new. Less than 200 miles on them. They were fine before the lift so thinking you are right on the u-joint issue. Just wasn't expecting it on such a mild lift.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Shouldn't be no, but something is wrong. Just start ruling things out. Measure your angles and if they are within tolerances, then at least you know that is not it. There are only so many thangs that can cause a vibe

 

Keep in mind that they often DO NOT grease these joints from the factory!

Each truck is different. Some get no vibes with a 3.5 inch lift, some get them with a 2 inch lift. Keep at it, you'll get it. Just be sure to post your solution! Nothing worse than when someone figures it out then leaves us hanging on the answer lol.

 

Will do @ecgreen. I have one of those magnetic angle finders. Will crawl under and see what it looks like tomorrow. Right now I'm too pissed that I wasted time and $$ on the ECGS bearing. Guess it doesn't hurt to replace it.

 

had same exact problem as you, but i installed the ecgs bushing when the lift was installed. i was baffled when i drove and had the same vibe. fixed mine with a 2 degree shim

 

Thanks @not0ny. Did you shim the rear diff up or down 2 degrees?

I keep reading that the rear likes a little negative angle compared to the trans.

 

I shimmed up towards the transfer case 3 deg. When I measured I was off around that amount. Fixed my vibes

 

shimmed up.. i thought for shims the thicker portion should be towards the rear.. don't recall reading anyone installing it the opposite, unless it was installed wrong lol

 

Thanks @ecgreen. There is a Summit Racing near me that has shims in stock. Going to pick up some in the morning and give it a try. Tried a 1/2 Carrier drop but not much difference that I could tell.

 

Thank you sir...

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...xle-bearings-bent-axles.555995/#post-18133794

 

Thanks...

 

I'll admit I'm stumped on mine. Just left a drive line shop and they said it is for sure not the rear end. I can't believe I forgot to try it but if at the speed of the rumble, throw it into neutral. Mine stopped. So looking further up line for me. Thought you might want to try that.

 

Thanks @musher. Will do. Hope you find the source of your issues. Incredibly frustrating.

 

My thanks for all the suggestions and information. I was trying to decide between 2 degree and 3 degree pinion shims. Fortunately Summit had a 2.5 degree set in stock so I picked up a pair of those and got them installed this weekend. That totally resolved my problem. Much smoother and no rumble strip vibrations. Got it up to 70+ on the way to work today with no issues.

I am getting a Vehicile Stability Control (VCS) error now for some reason. Will perform a Zero Point Calibration to see if I can get that to go away.