Is this bad?!

Just put a lift on my 2nd gen Tacoma. I got it aligned and now I am getting the dreaded high speed vibrations. I already have plans to do the needle bearing delete. I added the rear axle shims, and carrier bearing spacer. I am still getting heavy vibrations around 80mph. I drove it for 2 weeks before getting it aligned. I wasn’t having any vibrations until getting it aligned

I took it in to a well known 4x4 shop for the alignment. They have tons of good reviews. The alignment was pricey (around 250) But I wanted to pay to get it done right the first time from someone that specializes in after market suspensions.

After the alignment the vibrations started. After throwing on the carrier bearing spacer. I noticed the tick mark/ guide lines they drew on my tie rods aren’t lined up. There is no play in the tie rods, and they feel solid. The truck drives fine, and feels aligned. Hoping it’s nothing but figured I would ask you folks at TW. Is this bad? Could it be causing the high speed vibrations or is that more driveshaft related.

It’s only been a few hundred miles since I got the alignment.

 

that's sort of the point of an alignment. to change the settings to make things right.

i mean, you just majorly altered the suspension, but it's got to be the shops fault, right?

 

It would be more helpful if you can describe where the vibration is coming from front or rear.

 

What are you talking about?! Yes I know what alignments are for. Not blaming the shop at all! Simply stating facts. Wasn’t vibrating before, started vibrating after alignment. I am hoping by providing ALL the facts someone can help with a diagnosis. Just looking for help. NOT throwing shade at the shop. And for the record the SHOP put those tik marks there. They were not there before. So I assumed maybe something shifted AFTER the alignment and wanted to find out if that it was normal or not?


You ok?

 

The vibration is coming from the rear for sure

 

What kinda lift did you do in the rear? Pics of your rear setup might help

Do you have the alignment print out of the before and after measurements? Nothing should have been touched on the rear of the truck.

Have you done a torque check on all the bolts? You should check/retorque all the bolts after a 100 miles or so, the u bolts should be at 73ft-lbs

Have you had your wheels balanced? Could have lost a weight off of one of them. In my experience high speed only vibrations are almost always the wheels fault

 

this

 

I did a 2” lift in the rear. Eibach stage 2 shock w/res. Add a leaf, 2.5* axle shim. The back measured close to 3” right after the add a leaf was installed. Called the manufacturer they said it was normal and they would settle. They have settled about an inch.

I have since had the wheels balanced twice. Once was a road force balance.

Retorqued all suspension components at 100 & 500 miles.

The shop did not provide me with a before and after print out.

attached a photo of the rear lift. This was the night after I threw on the add a leafs. They have since settled and it is not so raked out.

 

Dumb question but did you install the shims the correct way?

With the AAL and axle shim did you install a long enough center pin?

How many miles did you drive before getting it aligned?
Do you trust the shop that did your wheel balancing?
Did they check wear patterns on all the tires?
When you got the road force balance did they give you a print out?

When you did the carrier bearing drop did you check your driveshaft joints?

Do you have any vibrations at speeds less than 80?

Where do you feel the vibrations? in the seats, steering wheel, floor boards?

Is there any noise along with the vibrations?

Have you lifted the truck off the ground to spin the tires to see if you have a bad wheel bearing?


If it was me I would do these steps since they are free and only cost you time;
triple check all my bolts and that everything is installed correctly again, test drive
then rotate the tires, test drive to see if the vibration moves
then go back to the alignment shop (hopefully they would recheck their work for free), test drive
then remove CB spacer and axle shims, test drive after removing each part


Also if you do take the wheels off to rotate them take some pictures of the parts you installed

 

Alignment cannot and will not cause a vibration unless it is so far out that it is dragging the tires around.

Step one if steering wheel is shaking then balance the tires.

If whole truck is shaking then balance the tires.

 

Will do! Thanks again for the suggestions

 

I had an annoying vibration and noise that turned out to be a loose fender liner, I forgot to put one of the clips back in after working on it. It would only make noise at highway speed because the wind was strong enough to push it into the tire. So sometimes it can be just some simple little thing you missed causing problems.


Also if you off road often getting the lift time alignment at Firestone/Tires Plus is a worth while investment. I get an alignment after every time I offroad so it pays for itself. The Firestone near me has a good crew so I do trust their work, it really depends on the shop though, I have had a couple bad experiences with Tires Plus.