Suspension Issue?

Greetings fellow Taco owners. 1st time post here.

I'm having a vibration issue with my suspension it seems. I feel it over 40 MPH in my steering wheel and it gets worse around 60+ MPH. I feel it more in the steering wheel itself and there is some slight play in the steering wheel.

New tires in Feb. At first thought it was a balance issue, but had them rotated, re-balanced. Has proper air. No issues or defects seen with the tires. No issues with alignment. All this done by very reputable shop.

Had it off the ground and tried to shake/move the wheels and there's no movement there.

My wife drove it and said the ride feels "bouncy".

I'm not noticing any weird sounds.

Don't see any cracked boots.

My guess is the struts may be starting to go bad?

Could anyone else give me any insight on things to check before I start throwing parts at it?

 

Are you noticing any dark spots on the shock bodies, like oil leaking out? Are they original shocks, or have they been replaced before? If so, when? Have you ever replaced the carrier bearing/ u-joints?


We have the year, but what’s the mileage on your truck?

 

Thanks for the reply.

None that I have noticed so far with last inspection, which was about week and half ago, but I'll need to check again. The vibration was noticeably slightly worse this morning on way to work.

Truck has 160k miles. Entire strut assemblies on both sides were replaced 02/2020. I have not replaced the carrier bearing or u joints. Did replace passenger side upper/lower control arms and sway bar link because of bad boots and bad ball joints recently. Alignment was done afterwards.

 

Is it a steady rhythmic bouncing that gets faster the faster you drive or just a random bounciness?

 

Is your truck 4 wheel drive? If so, maybe you just need to grease your driveshaft. Easy to do and inexpensive

 

The vibration in the steering wheel seems steady. Doesn't seem to necessarily get faster with higher speed, just more noticeable/pronounced. The bounciness is more so with bumps, etc.

 

More info is better lol - It's a 2 wheel drive

 

I could be wrong but I think the 2 wheel drive Tacomas have sealed driveshafts so no greasing is necessary.

 

My goto first would be carrier bearing/ u-joints. At 160k, they’re due for retirement. Check the play in them, grab the DS and twist, if it twists or clunks, u-joints. If the carrier has more than 1/8” play, it’s fading fast.

 

definitely the carrier bearing and at the same time do all your ujoints, great maintenance or something you love

 

Does it change at all when you apply the brakes or make a slight turn? Is the steering wheel moving back and forth when it happens? Hoping to get a clue as to whether it’s due to the front wheels oscillating. I assume you had the alignment shop do an inspection of the components in the front suspension?

If you’re not getting the vibes thru the wheel more than the body/seat, I’d have a hard time pointing at the u-joints or carrier bearing first. Doesn’t mean they’re not due, tho.

 

Does it change when you apply the breaks?
I would look into your front hub assembly, replacing them (and CV pin bearing) helped with my steering vibration.
I had u-joints go and had my carrier bearing replaced, it helped with vibration, but it was more of a general vibration, not pronounced in the steering wheel.

 

Just to clear things up. Your truck doesn't have struts.

You have a coil over shock absorber.

With Struts there would be no Upper Control Arm.

 

Steel or aluminum wheels?

 

Questions;
Did the vibration start after you put new tires on in February?
You say they have been rebalanced, is there a lot of weights on one or both of the front wheels to get them balanced?
Your wife said the ride feels "bouncy." Just want to make sure here because my wife would call it bouncy when the ride is actually rough.

The condition of the front shocks (and rear) can be easily checked. With the vehicle level, push down on each corner (one at a time) and quickly release. The vehicle should return with some stiffness. If it continues to bounce, chances are you may have a bad shock and would need further evaluation.

Since your truck is 2WD with the 2.7 I doubt if the coils or springs on the front of your truck are shot and need to be replaced. Now your rear leaf springs could be a little flat, but that's a different subject and not the issue here.


EDIT:

One more question; Are your wheels steel or alloy?

 

No change when braking other than below 40 MPH it's not noticeable. No change with turns that I've noticed.

It does somewhat move back and forth, but not much. It's always had some slight play in the steering wheel since I've had it. I got it with 22k miles.

But, yes. They checked over the suspension when they did the alignment.

 

It did start after the new tires, but this vibration stated maybe 3 weeks ago. I went with a different tire this time, too. I was using Kumho tires, but I had a problem with sliding in wet weather. I had them put on tires more suited for wetter weather.

I'm not sure what a lot of weights would be, but there's probably a 3.5 inch thin strip of weights stuck on the inside of the wheels.

They are aftermarket 17 inch alloy wheels.

 

it would be helpful to post make and model of tire along with whether it’s a p metric or LT tire.

What aftermarket wheel are you using and which lug nuts?

 

Alright.

Nexen N5000 Platinum tires, 235/60 R17
Wheels are MSW T22. Used the lug nuts and centering rings Tire Rack sent me. Nickle plated lug nuts.

 

With all that new front end work done I would start with a torque wrench and make sure everything is tight, again.
Is it lifted? Just lifted mine 3" and everything changed as far as how it handled.....even after the alignments. Before alignment the lift had front tires toed in so far the steering was ultra sensitive over bumps. Would pull violently one way or the other.
After the lift I started hearing clinking and clanking over bumps. Had to get back underneath and retighten swaybar/linkages and put a swaybar spacer in.