Driveline vibration Tsb out

Tacoma Mike: Any word from Toyota lately? It's been about a year since the driveline vibe tsb came out and we're not better off. Surprised it's taken so long to fix this?

 

The last thing I was told was that they are re-evaluating the condition. They pulled the tsb because the results were ineffective. I have not heard anything new on the situation. IMO unless they redesign the shafts and angles and maybe the center mount and frame I don't think much will be improved. One thing I am going to try is get two old chrysler rear trans weights. They weigh like 2 pounds.
I M going to try and mount them on the center bearing rail. Won't be untill spring but I'm thinking the crossmember is way to thin transferring the harmonics of the center bearing across the back half of the frame. If it is so, the insulated weights may have the ability to start a secondary vibe which will cancel each other out. I have no idea if it would work but without the rear d/shaft in its like a different truck. I'm in the dark like everyone else is at the moment. I just don't have the ability to persue it at this time. Believe me I have talked enough to coperate and for sure I don't want to cross the line with them.
I have had everything happen to this truck that all tsb's apply with springs, tires,mounts,fan motors, radio heads, rattles, squeaks,long crank,. The list goes on. When I post on particular problems, I know what people are talking about.
I read every idea that comes along and I'll tell u there are some pretty smart cookies around here. So I relay that info and although I do not know of it gets to them I believe I'm doing all I can to help here. If something comes up for sure I will let everyone know.

 

I'm sure this has been addressed somewhere in this thread at some point, but to be honest, I am a bit lazy and didn't feel like reading the entire thing. I used to have driveline vibration but when I installed my new rear leafs I added some axle shims and it went away completely. If Toyota ends up not offering any sort of fix...shims are an option.

 

how many shims did you add?

 

I noticed this when I bought the car (had around 100 or so miles on it).

I'm feeling this exact vibration @ around 15-25mph, brother and friend confirmed it yesterday. Doesn't really do it under little acceleration however anything mild-WOT you can REALLY feel the vibration.

Idle seems to vibrate a little more than I would think as well, going to call tomorrow and schedule a time to drop off the truck, has less than 3k miles on it.

 

Don't expect a fix, as you have read its a common issue. Seems to stem from driveshaft, carrier bearing design, and weak leaf packs. I also have the shudder at low speed, i have 2'' of rear lift via AAL. I added shims and screwed around with carrier bearing drops and no luck my shudder is between 5 and 15mph and is it annoying yes but will i get rid of my truck because of it? No. I keep the u jouints greased to keep them lasting and installed helper springs to ''strengthen'' the leafs packs so now i have essentially a 5 spring leaf pack but still have the shudder. Going to keep watch on this but can't expect dealer to fix my 2010 with the lift, etc. Probably just live with it.

 

Just one shim. 3 degrees I think it was. I can double check tomorrow and post a pic.

 

That is what I thought at first but mine does not have a lot of play in it. Not sure what the spec is but I asked a Toy tech and he thought that <3/4" was fine. Mine is well less than that. Don't want to just swap parts out to try to figure it out the CB is about $100.

 

2014's have the same problem,,, 1000 miles on my 2014 access cab,,, vibration is steering wheel... took to dealer,, said it was normal.. showed him TSB,, had to wait another hr. different tech said TSB obsolete,, no fix for problem,,, said to come back and start complaint with toyota in a week,,, 100 miles round trip. 200.00 in lose pay , 20.00 in gas.. traded in my 2001 tacoma with no vibration, dont make em like they used too,, not sure if i will take it back if there is no fix.. whats the point ??? not happy at all with the 32,000.00 investment,,,

 

Thanks for posting and adding your story to the increasingly long list. Like a surprisingly large number of Tacoma owners, I also feel your pain.

I've had the problem from the beginning, but it didn't seem too bad at first, plus I had too many other things to deal with at the time and ignored it as best I could. It's low speed only and is smooth at highway speeds, but when you add the shakes to stop and go traffic jams, the stress levels tend to increase. I love the look of my truck, but hate to drive it. Oh, what a feeling, Toyota. WTF, over?

Some have said this fixed theirs, but when I upgraded my suspension to a full ARB OME suspension, the low speed shakes got worse, not better.

I tend to be fairly naive about trust and perhaps foolishly believe Toyota and their dealers would be able to fix this simple problem if I took it in and IF I got lucky and the truck was serviced by a very experienced tech rather than a newbie doing OJT.

Unfortunately, I'm rarely lucky like that and am more likely to get the newbie tech who makes it worse while trying to make it better. For that reason, I generally try to figure things out myself and do my own repairs. After reading other people's experiences at the dealer with this problem, I doubt they are any better at fixing it than I will be.

As it is now, it sits in the garage waiting for me to read enough to crank up my motivation enough to start down the path of frustration of trying to fix it. I rarely drive it now, so for a 2011, it's got very low miles on it!

The one option that seems to be a guaranteed first time fix is to replace the two piece drive shaft and that's where my research is headed now. I'd like to find a driveline specialty shop in the area who could help me out, but I'm still looking.

I never thought my brand new, nicely equipped truck would teach me so much about drive line problems and the failure of a company and product I've come to love and depend on, but it is what it is. I am a bit jealous of those who don't have this problem, but still have the Toyota and Tacoma love I used to feel instead.

Good luck with yours!

 

Wow, 26 pages.... So what happened in pages 3-25?? lol...

 

I have vibration but it's when I'm driving about 75km/h or 47mph. It's not a normal shake where the steering wheel shakes from right to left like a balance issue.

Mine is almost like a bump or hop as if both front wheels have a flat spot in them.

I've had the tire shop balance them twice, the second time they road forced balanced them and said everything was fine but the issue is still there so I'm thinking it might be an alignment issue or ?????????????????????????????????????

 

i should have taken more than one for test drive. but they only had one offroad and thats what i wanted. with my trade and cash i had , i owe 19,000.00,,, i am going to dive it till spring and take 4 or 5 for test drives and get rid of it at some kind of lose,,, i want my 2001 back,,i miss her.......lol... no other small trucks out there that i would want,, and im not a full size truck guy... i dont think taking it back and forth to dealer mutiple times will get it fixed,, i also feel it in the gas pedal,,,

 

I fought with mine for months.... I gave up and bought a Tom Woods. I wish I would have given up sooner. I enjoyed driving it again!

 

larry,, did you just order a driveshaft made for your, yr. and model tacoma,, and tom woods did they rest, so someone could order one for there yr. and model ? was it very expensive,, thankyou for any info....

 

Hello Guys I have been suffering as well, here is a copy of my email from Tom Wood re a new drive line.

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]"Please keep the following in mind:

Vibration problems with the Toyota Tacoma are common even on unmodified vehicles and especially so on those with a lift kit. I wish I had a “one size fits all” solution. The truth of the matter is; we have had mixed results with any version we would send out. Should you purchase one of our drive shaft and it does not meet your expectations, you may return within 30 days for a full, product purchase, refund.

With that said. We have two options available. A conventional, 2 joint drive shaft or a double cardan (CV) drive shaft. As a general consensus, the conventional two joint seems to work well in most vehicles having up to 3" of lift. In vehicles with greater lifts, the double cardan seems to work best.

With a conventional two joint drive shaft you need to keep the output of the transfer case & the pinion parallel within 1 degree.

To use a CV drive shaft, you will want to pitch the differential so that the pinion points directly at the output of the transfer case (maintaining 3 degrees, or less, a joint angle at the differential end).

The conventional two joint drive shaft is $389.00. The double cardan is $469.00. Once you place the order, your drive shaft will ship the following business day. We pay freight, UPS Ground, Lower 48 States. However we do add on a $10.00 packaging charge. With other delivery areas or shipping methods, there would be additional freight charges.

If this is something you will want, I will need some measurements per the attached art. Please provide the B &C dimensions on the flange from each end of the drive shaft and a length measurement.

SEE DIAGRAMS ABOVE

If you have other questions or would like to place an order, it may be best to call. Our Toll Free US # is 1-877-497-4238. Our worldwide telephone # is 1-801-737-0757. Hours of operation are 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Mountain Time Zone. (GMT - 7 hours) Monday through Friday."

Thank you,

Tom Wood
Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts Inc.[/FONT]

 

Looks like Ben has you covered.
I paid the same price, $479 delivered. Took the same measurements indicated on the email Ben posted.

 

Thank you for that inspirational product review! Yours is not the first such report I've read, but it might be the ultimate motivation for me to pull the trigger and have one shipped to me.

Imho, the ARB OME suspension is the single best upgrade one can do to a first or second generation Tacoma and I love how it transforms the ride and handling feel and finesse on or off road. Toyota should offer a model with that option!

Unfortunately, it came with a built-in shake enhancer at no extra charge. Once the shakes are fixed, I'm back to full on Tacoma love. It's close...I can almost feel it.

 

Dealer is keeping my truck until they talk to Toyota next week regarding a 15 to 25mph vibration. My vibration is different from what they have experienced in other trucks. I'll update after I have more information.

 

Mine had a take off shudder that was worse that the low speed vibe, but it eliminated both. I was so friggin stoked when it eliminated them. I hope it works for you as well as it did me. I have almost 10,000 miles on my Woody..... wish I would have bought it 10,000 miles earlier!!