Vibration @ 30-40mph after 5100s installed @ 1.75

what about a simple diff drop kit?

 

On several of these front diff vibe threads, I keep hearing people talk about a throbbing vibe. I just installed billy's on the front set at 2.5" and got a vibe on my 07 4x4 Access cab TRD Sport with 46k miles. Everything else, including tires, is original. No TSB or AAL on the rear. My issue is that the vibe is constant starting at about 30 mph and continues until I can't hear it because of road/wind noise. I can feel it in the steering wheel and the pedals, but it feels like the truck needs to shift to the next higher gear. I cannot really hear it at all I can just feel it. Like others, switching to 4WD makes it go away.

 

I have the same exact thing. My truck only has 11,000 miles on it. I put the lift in at 8,500. Could it really be the front Diff so soon??

 

I don't understand. It sounds like one day no vibe, next day install a lift or the Billies, then you got a vibe and worried about front differentials. Does the lift uncover a problem?

I barely got my newly lifted truck to 50mph today briefly and got a vibe or shake. I need an alignment though bad. See my mods below.

 

I made these notes in another post...

"-In my own case I got no shake by raising the rear 2 inches. Adding the front 5100's at 2.5 caused a vibration at 20 to 40 mph (pretty minor) and then adding the diff drop makes the vibration now go from 10 to 60 accompanied by a whine as well as a clunk when going from 4H to 2H. I'm taking off the diff drop today.

-Well tonight I took the diff drop off and the whine or more like the sound and feel you get from running big nobby tires went away. It also doesnt clunk when going from 4h to 2h on the fly. Now its just a small vibration and noise around 30 to 40 mph.

-I tried lowering the cb 1/4 inch just for the heck of it and it made no difference at all. I should also mention that I raised the rear before the front and drove around for about 4 or 5 days with no vibrations aside from the 0 to 5 mph its always had.

-Today I decided to lower the front to see if it changed the vibration. Well it did a little bit but not too much. One major thing I noted though is that when I have the front wheels in the air and spin the tires, the drivers side axle gives a ticking sound and seems to wobble a bit (the axle itself, not the wheel).

Ive read through what seems like hundreds of posts about these problems and saw that many, many people have said that their diff was messed up and once lifted it revealed the problem, well I was very skeptical of that theory, until now. Whether the problem was there before or not it sure is now.

If it gets quiet once you are in 4HI then suspect the front diff. Im almost curious if this problem could be caused by doing the lift and allowing the axle to extend too far during the process and letting something get in the wrong place. Cause it sure seemed smooth before the lift.

Its just hard to imagine that the design would allow any problems too occur within the normal range of the suspension, speaking to 5100's, spacers and the like.

Anyways, I have the extended warranty and plan on taking it to the dealer in the next week or so to have them see what they think."

 

I have only put in 4 Wheel drive a handful of times. on the beach with the kayak, or on the job site. Before the lift I noticed the noise when changing from 4HI to 2HI. I assumed it was normal because I bought it new and it only had a few thousand miles on it. I got a vibration after the lift and alignment. I drove on it for 3,000 miles. I had the Diff drop but never put it in. (been working 7 days a week since the install.) I put the diff drop in the other day. Now the vibration is worse. The truck only has 12,000 miles. I checked the front end and notice my driver side CV shaft has a substantial amount of play. Let me know how you do at the dealer. I want to bring mine in but I'm afraid they will say its because of the lift.....

 

Finally brought my truck to the dealer to have them look at it. They say the drivers side hub is bad and will replace it tomorrow. Hopefully that takes care of the problem.

Strange that it only was noticed after the shocks were installed. Also it is strange that the hub would stop making noise once its in 4WD. Oh well, ill see how it is tomorrow. Ill be pretty happy if its good to go.

 

I don't think I updated this post. Anyway, went to dealer, told them I put new shocks on, didn't say anything about the leveling, had them drive it and then take it to fix it. (of course after the head mechanic had to go for a ride with me and I had to explain the whole 2wd/4wd thing to him. he still didn't understand why I was putting it in 4wd anyways. I tried to explain to him it was because i was told the noise would go away in 4wd and come back when in 2wd.) Anyway, the shop replaced the front diff and aligned and did the accelerator pedal recall and a couple other things under my warranty without a fuss and it wasn't even the dealer I bought it from! That would have been a lot of cash! No more vib but I am worried it may come back down the rode if I leave the lift/level. I really want to put the AAL to get rid of the -0.5inch in rear after leveling and return a little rake (also because I added a camper shell and if I load the back I don't want to drag ass!) But I am afraid to mess with it anymore.

 

Does the lift causes the front differential problem or does it just makes it more noticeable.

 

To answer both of these at once, the vibe is NOT caused by the lift. The lift just highlights the fact that the bearing was bad. When you lift it and immediately feel the vibration, it's only because the bearing was already bad. My guess is that I probably could have felt the vibration without the lift if I didn't have A/T tires and they were smoother on the road. I think people with stock trucks are eventually going to feel it too. (Shoot, just look at the Tundra TSB for this problem as they're feeling it at stock heights)

 

Subbed. Interesting pattern evolving here.

 

I think it just exposes a problem. My noise and vibration were immediate after lifting, not like it was a wear thing once it was lifted. My dealer experience so far was that they decided with some super quick troubleshooting that it was the drivers side front bearing.

They replaced it and it made the noise and vibration quieter, but it is still there. They of course realized that and told me that the remaining noise is because the tires need to be rotated.

OF COURSE, that makes perfect sense that once you put it in 4wd the tires automatically become rotated. So anyways, when I have some more time I am gonna bring it there and have them do some more work on it.

I got the feeling from the experience that the mechanic expected the bearing to fix it and promised it would be done the next day. It was completed like 10 min after the service center was closing, so they didnt want to make it sound like it wasnt fixed, and probably hoped I would be happy with how it is.

 

Why are guys with fairly new trucks with low miles having bad bearings? Manufacturer defect? Recall?

 

How can you guys describe the vibration exhibited by the front differential bearing failure? Is it similar to the vibration that happens when you have a regular wheel bearing going bad?

Do you guys feel it through the brake/gas pedals or steering wheel?

 

I suspect that its more like the bearing in the differential or perhaps the cv joint. Ive had wheel bearings that have gone bad on other trucks before and it was a lot more noticeable. Such as the wheel wobbling and even so much that the brake binds because the disc is able to move around too much. And when a bearing was going, it went fairly quick. You definitely could not drive on it for another 20k miles.

Anyways, the wheel on my truck has had no play what so ever. Just the noise, vibration and being visually able to see the cv shaft wobble somewhat.

Toyota has had so much trouble lately, I doubt they want to recall a million tacoma's to fix something that only becomes noticeable if you raise the front an inch or two. I havent heard of anyone having a catastrophic failure because of the issue. Just majorly irritating when your truck sounds like its rpm's are around 6k when they are only 1.5k.

 

I have the same issue after 3/1 truxxx lift. Everything isu great but a vibration starting around 20 through 50 mph. I can feel it in the wheel, pedals, etc. Seems to vibrate all the way to dead stop once started. Switch to 4h and smooth as can be. Switch back to 2h and vibration starts again. I'll take it to the dealer and see what's up. Lift installer said he's done dozens with no issue.
I'll be sure to post an update!

 

I felt it in my gas pedal and the front end. Giveaway was the fact that it went away in 4wd.

 

I got a faint vibe at 20 mph after I put the Toytec 1.5 inch add a leafs on my truck. I also put 5100's on all 4 corners with the front set at zero with Eibach springs. The springs raised the front 1.6 inches but the add a leafs raised the rear by more than 1.5 inches for sure.

 

When you guys try using the 4x4 on/off to diagnose the vibration, how do you guys do it? Let's say the vibration is @ 50 mph, do you guys switch to 4wd at stop or while driving at high speed?

Also is it bad for the truck to be driven at 50 to 60 mph in 4wd on the freeway in order to hear and rule out the if the vibration happens only 4wd?

 

The owners manual (and card in the visor) says you can switch to 4HI all the way up to 62 MPH. So you can do it at 50 mph without a problem. You don't want to be stopped when going in/out of 4HI to 2WD.

And if you have the vibration, just concentrate on it and flip the switch. The vibe will go away even before the front diff locks.