Undiagnosable Wobble

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone had a good holiday season and a happy New Years! I am hoping someone can help me figure out what this issue may be so thank you in advance for any comments or suggestions. My problem is as follows:

I recently just got out of the military so I haven't been around my 2008 Tacoma 5 lugger for about a year now. Recently, I took it on a 2k mile road trip and the entire way, the truck was wobbling and shaking. The shake isn't in the steering wheel at all and is more of a general shake around the entire truck. Thinking because my truck had been sitting for a year and it had older tires on it, I took it to a wheel shop and got the rims balanced and rotated while I was there, still the same issue.

Fast forward a week to when I'm back home, I decided that it was time that I get new tires for the truck and sprung on some General AT43's (really nice tires). I was hoping that new tires may solve the balance issue but it still persists. I just ordered new struts and shocks off of rock auto (KYB strut plus) as the truck has the original struts and shocks that came on it 155k miles ago. I will get it in for an alignment when I'm done replacing the parts.

I am at my wits end trying to figure out what this shake is, and if the struts don't fix it I've decided that I am just going to have to live with it. I checked under the truck and shook every joint and bushing, nothing loose at all. I appreciate anybody who could point me in the right direction. Thank you in advance!!

EDIT: I have noticed it does get better or worse dependent on weight as well. When I brought someone with me to test it, the problem almost went entirely away

2008 Toyota Tacoma (5 Lug) access cab

 

Hi,

Thanks for your service. Usually a shake in the seat (so to speak) is rear end related or tire/wheel related. A shake in the steering wheel is front end suspension or steering. After you swap the suspension parts I would have the wheels road force balanced if not already done.

 

Thank you for your support and for answering!

Shaking in the seat is a great way to put it and is exactly what I'm experiencing. Thank you for pointing me to the back, I haven't thought about it like that but it makes total sense since it's not in the steering wheel. As for wheel balance, I don't think it is road-force balanced per se, however the rims have moved around the truck from the 2 times at the tire shop and the shake still feels the same.

Do you believe it's the rear suspension then? I will follow your recommendation and ask for road-force balancing when I get an alignment.

Thank you again!

 

I’ll bet a broken leaf spring or worn out driveshaft center bearing or ujoints. Edit: I got new leaf springs under recall; maybe you can, too

 

Check for a broken rear leaf spring. It happens. And is dangerous.

Did anyone use your vehicle while you were gone?

 

Thank you for replying!

I checked and I can say I'm pretty certain the leaves are okay, I will check again tomorrow though. Nothing was apparently broken or snapped though, maybe a worn bushing? Drive shaft had no play in it either.

Thank you again!

 

You pushed up on the center bearing and it was tight?

 

Yes sir, same deal with the yoke and u joints as well.

 

It can be one leaf in the middle of the pack. If an end hasn't 'worked out' yet, it might be hard to spot. There were some recalls based on risk of puncture of the gas tank right next door.

 

Gotcha, makes sense. Will def check it out tomorrow and report back to you. Thank you for the heads up. I also realized I missed one of your questions, besides occasionally getting groceries with my mother, it pretty much sat in a shady part of the yard. Do you think it could possibly be the shock?

 

New shocks are always nice

 

It could be lots of things. You'll have to take one at a time.

My question was related to possible damage by another driver. Not intentional, maybe not even noticeable to them. But I've seen things like a vehicle getting curbed in the rain bend stuff that makes a mess, but not always easy to find.

Make sure your rear axle is correctly centered on both leaf springs by measuring from one of the spring eyes to the center pin location.

Put it up under the pumpkin with a floor jack and rotate the rear wheels, looking for an odd run out. Either side to side or front to rear. Best done with a dial gauge, but the eye with a good reference like a rafter square can certainly pick up oddities too.

BTW, 5 luggers rock.

 

The advice is much appreciated, will do all of this tomorrow along with checking the leaf springs. They do rock!
No doubt the problem will show up tomorrow

 

I was preemptively checking out leaf springs, both OME (excessive for sure) and on rock auto, and I can only see kits made for 4wd models. Are the leaf springs interchangeable between 5 and 6 lug Tacomas?

 

Bump. No damn idea. Anyone?

 

I would have another tire shop take a real close look at your tire/rims and I'd be wary of driving a shaking vehicle till it is resolved, it can lead to a lot of other problems.

 

Update: Checked everything you guys graciously pointed me to yesterday and took pictures. Here they are:

Front end struts:


Rear shocks:


Leaf springs:


In my opinion, I think the leaves look pretty good for their age, a little surface rust but nothing broken or weak. I checked the axle alignment with a measuring tape, that was good too. The tires have less than a 1000 miles on them so it's hard to check for abnormal wear at this point.

I know I keep harping on the shocks and struts, but the only thing that seems suspect and out of spec is the suspension. The boot is broken on both sides for the front. I appreciate all of your guys' help, it means a lot. Thank you!!!

 

OP, in one of the pictures of the undercarriage, there is one with the right rear tire in it, and on the tread of the tire it is stamped into it "Replacement Tire". I've never seen this, maybe one of the tire experts on here has, but I would start by having a tire shop take a hard look at that tire.

 

Hey Michael, thanks for your reply. I thought the same thing but it’s something called tire monitor with the General AT43’s. As the tire wears, different messages like rotate tires and replace will pop up, the whole message says “TIRE REPLACEMENT MONITOR”. These tires have about 500 miles on them and are brand new. Thank you though!!

Edit: here’s a link showing the tire monitor technology

https://www.generaltire-tyres.com/car/service/monitor-technology

 

Update:

Replaced both front struts and both rear shocks about a week ago. Everything was completely blown so I had high hopes on the new suspension fixing it. Although it seemed to greatly improve ride quality and fix a lot of the shake, unfortunately it is still there. At this point, I am just going to run the truck and not think about it. One thing I have noticed now though is how much the bed moves independently to the cab when I drive over bumps. Note all the driving I do is highway driving, about 400 miles a week. Thank you all again for your help, I will keep the thread updated if I find anything.