At a loss involving vibration

At a loss involving my 06 taco prerunner. At high speeds, I get a horrible vibration through the steering wheel, been happening for weeks, like the kind you get when your tires are unbalanced. BUT, today i had all 4 tires road force balanced using that special machine everyone calls for (cost me 58 bucks) and the vibration is back, BUT, it is now at a lower overall speed, and it comes and goes, but is there almost all the time. Anything else this could be? Im thinking its possibly the skidplate, because i can wiggle the back end of the plate, and if i push on it hard enough, it contacts the lower control arm on the drivers side. the passenger side plate does not hit the lower control arm no matter how hard i push it.

Notes:

1. Before balancing, it was at speeds close to 65-70. Now, it is at speeds closer to 55-60. If i hit 70, it is smooth. Im thinking this may have to do with airflow speed/force.
2. See skidplate info above.
3. DUNCRAP tires are on rear, running different brand up front. All tires have been road force balanced.

 

I have same problem with my 08 Prerunner. I got rid of the Duncraps & replaced them with Michelin Lattutude tires of same size. My vibration went away for a while & is now back at same speeds you mention. Some days are worse than others on the same stretch of highway. I'm at a loss & dealer says they all do it. Sorry I can't help, can only commiserate.

 

Its fine. Most people ive talked to also seem to be at a loss. Im just going to try every possible thing i can think of to get rid of it. if i cant, i cant. Enough said. This REALLY puts a dent into how much I like my truck. Which unfortunately, is dropping more and more every day. Things like : Fan noise, rough idle, vibrations at 2000 rpm, squeaking suspension, vibration off of a stop, and this damn wheel shimmy. I knew I shouldnt have bought this truck. Too many god damn problems. This will be my first, and last toyota. Never again.

 

Wish I can help you man. I got an 06 with 115 thouSAND miles. Runs like new. No vibrations and nothing has ever went wrong with the truck. I wheel the heck outta it too....

Good luck to you.

 

I am beginning to think its the skidplate tho. AND ACTUALLY. IM PRAYING. It is the skid plate just vibrating to the point where it is wacking the lower control arm bolt. I think it comes and goes because of the differences in the amount of air building up below it, a tire imbalance would cause a steering shake all the time.

If it isnt the skid plate Ill have to look into the steering system, maybe I bumped something loose offroading. Who knows.........

Ill remove the skid plate tomorrow and take it out on the highway.. If its gone, Ill happily dance with joy in my seat, and set out to modify it so it doesnt vibrate.

If not. Ill continue to hate my truck and count the days until i can sell it. considering i just bought it in February.

 

UPDATE:

So, right now its quarter till 1 am. far too late to go outside, remove my plate (in the dark) and drive it out on the highway. BUT, I just ran a test model in VR FLO VIZ (virtual wind tunnel) have it on my home computer due to a physics teacher friend), SO HERES WHAT I FOUND:

1. At lower speeds, air flows into the front grill, and air builds around the lower bumper, and the upper (front) skidplate, lower air passes under the plate.
2. As speed increases, air pressure builds in front of the plate and overtakes the bumper, causing air to flow directly downward, air hitting the front of the truck flows upward onto the hood and windshield.
3. Once the magic pressure is reached, due to speed (got 70 mph in virtual wind tunnel). air overtakes the skid plate, forcing the air directly down and along the plate, this pressure more than likely is more than enough to cause the plate to stabilize.

Ill test this theory tomorrow, this would explain why I managed to do 70 mph down the highway today and it was smooth as glass. But dropping back to 60 made the damn thing shake like a tree in a wind storm..

 

what about getting an alignment done?

 

Thought about an alignment. Considering I could have bumped something off considerably when offroading. BUT. Wouldnt an alignment problem have shown itself in tire wear, or would be pulling a certain direction? The truck isnt pulling at all. Also, the problem comes and goes, never really is a magic number of speed, the problem also disappears when hitting a speed usually 5-10 mph higher than what it started at.

The trucks steering is never hard to handle when its shaking. Never do i feel unsafe, its just stressful on my arms at times.

Sometimes i have to grip it hard to stop the shake, sometimes i can put on finger on the wheel and cruise on the highway. Its ever changing......

 

hrm, bushings and bearings all ok?

 

Havent checked em yet. But id assume they would be fine, trucks only got 48 thousand on it? and ive offroaded it MAYBE for a total of 4-5 hours in its time since i got it. Also, wouldnt the mechs at the shop say anything about anything worn when they took the tires off to balance and rotate em? I would have figured yes since they probably want my money.

Not arguing with you in any way. Im just trying to set my mind at ease, I am looking for a simple fix....hopefully....................

 

oh no worries im with ya, im just shouting out ideas. Last two times i went to the tire shop they couldnt open driver door on 66 bug, or get bug, or tacoma into reverse. So i dont give my guys any credit.

I would take a day and investigate those things once you've tested your skid plate theory. It very well could be tires, but as it just started then thats odd.

As for tire wear, i dunno, just got my taco, and it took bug 3 years and 60k miles to show bad alignment.

 

Very true. The vibe isnt new tho. Just this time of year shows it more due to all my high speed expressway runs (typically reaching speeds in excess of 85-90 mph) from philadelphia to the new jersey shore. And yea ill test all my theories first. that has paid off in the past. I was convinced i had the seat squeak issue. that turned out to be a squeaky center console lid which i fixed by opening it, removing the underside of the lid, and repacking it with foam.Also paid off when i had a rattling in the rear end, dealer was convinced it was a suspension issue, i was messing around with the tailgate one day and found it to be the rubber pads between the tailgate and taillight frame area to be worn. I replaced em with some rubber i cut from an OLD soloflex resistance trainer and some gorilla glue, silent ever since.

Im beginning to think my truck just wants to scare the hell out of me, and then reward me when i fix it myself....then give me another issue to play with

 

i actually had something similar in my 89.. it was a bad idler arm.. which ended up ruining my alignment which ended up eating away at the very inside of only one tire.. i didnt even notice it until i took the wheel off to change the brakes. same thing with my ranger.. only it was the control arms that were shot and letting things wobble about.

your skid plate doesnt seem too far fetched.. but id think you would be able to see some damage or hear something if the skid plate is impacting any part of your steering..

 

does it happen at different rpms? or just around the same?

 

true transplant true, i thought that id be able to hear it, but who the hell knows. Could be shaking enough to wobble front end, but not actually impacting, or if it is impacting i may not be able to hear it as it may be too low to the ground and too in-line with wind currents to allow to noise to reach the cab.

I do believe it has something to do with the drivers side. As the drivers side mirror vibrates and shakes like hell, the passenger side mirror is always stable, i know this could simply be the way the mirror itself is affixed inside its housing, but atleast that gives me a place to start.

 

night, it is differing rpms, although, at that speed im usually running 2000 to 2200 rpms, and my truck always has a cabin wide vibration at 2000 rpms even when im in my driveway in park or neutral.

my skidplate theory will be tested tomorrow when i remove it and drive it again.

 

Very interested to hear what might be causing this for you. I'm looking to get a Taco this summer and dont want to buy a rattle trap.

 

zul, its not in anyway a rattle trap.

Its not as smooth as a cadillac or a lexus, but again thats not what it was designed for. It has its quirks, its annoyances, and its share of problems. But ill keep it as long as i can continue to fix em simply an efficiently.

atleast it starts everyday, and the tranny isnt on its last legs. Cant say that for my fathers 2000 dodge that he had. 3 alternators, 4 batteries, etc.

I say go for it. but do test drive it multiple times before you buy. If you want something a bit more "planted" on the highway. Get a full size 1/2 ton or an suv with an independent suspension in the rear. Those vehicles weigh more and have a softer, more forgiving ride.

 

Don't know if this is related or normal. But going on a slightly bumpy offroad trail produces some steering wheel wobble too. Now I know that obviously the steering won't be completely smooth offroad. But it seems when I'm going on a dirt driveway or such. The wheel wobbles the same as it does on the freeway at high speed, but a bit more. Not sure if this is just bump steer or the such. Could this be a sign that bushings are bad or something just needs to be tightened? I can definitely crawl under the truck and tighten every available nut if need be.

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...driveline-vibration-class-action-lawsuit.html

hope this helps...