violent shaking at 40+ mph

hey guys. so i recently bought a tacoma (2001 4x4 trd xtracab manual), and unfortunately it has been sort of a headache, but such as life. trying do deal with the problems. so i originally noticed a slight vibration when i bought the truck, but chalked it up to the tires being 8 years old and very bald. the shaking got extremely worse this past week, so i pulled the trigger on brand new ko2s (265/70/17) hoping this would solve the problem. tires were mounted and balanced at americas tire co. the truck starts to shake usually around 50 mph sometimes even lower. was wondering if anyone here had any similar issues or any suggestions? going to the shop tomorrow. I was told by les schwab during their free suspension check that it could be the tires could still not be balanced, that there could be a problem with the clutch or there could be a drive shaft alignment issue. rotors are fine, just replaced the brake pads and had a friend of mine who knows what hes doing inspect the rotors, said they were solid, also the rear drums were good. thanks in advance!

tldr: violent shaking @ highway speeds, tires new and balanced (or so i think) thoughts?

 

Slide under truck, grab drive shaft, shake drive shaft.

If it moves, you have issues.

 

could be a number of things...tie rods, upper lower control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, shocks/struts. Driveline bent, ujoints...

 

Weak leaf springs

 

leaf springs are frowning a bit defiantly.

had the truck checked out by mechanic and les Schwab they said that the suspension looked fine, including u joints, upper and lowe arms, bushings ect. looked fine. taking it with a grain of salt tho.

 

if the drive shaft is bent or the rare possibility the driveline weight fell off it could cause shaking...also lift one tire at a time off the ground and see if your wheel moves freely...could be a dragging caliper.

 

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I would double check tires and wheels first ... even with new tires.

Had this problem years ago and it was my tires/wheels .. took several times to find the problem.

Its probably something else ... this is a guess from my experiences.

Weight falling off driveshaft is an excellent guess.

Good luck OP.
.

 

I've been seeing a lot of drive shaft related answers. if the weight magically fell off is it hard to replace on your own?

 

I might be wrong but I think you would have to take it to a shop that can balance the shaft or get a new one. Most driveshafts Ive seen have at least one weight welded to it. Could be flywheel clutch out of balance too...

 

good to know.


thanks for all the info guys! will definitely come in handy! appreciate your time in helping out a fello taco lover.

 

stinks you really have to rule out one thing at time if you cant find anything..

 

update: wheels were horribly out of balance according to Americas tire co. the vibration has quelled. still a slight one between 50-70. just now noticed she's shaking when I'm braking! we just did the pad like two weeks ago gotta go back in a change out the rotors. hopefully getting to that on Tuesday.

 

Probably rotors

 

Times 2!!! Check this my buddy's truck had the same symptoms he drove it like that until one day on the freeway the drive shaft gave up. He had to get tow to the nearest dealer. 1000 bucks later he was good to go

 

if it ain't a balancing thing or your rotors, I would take it into a shop, (toyota shop or the dealership)

 

Take off the drive shaft and check for binding in a joint. I had 1 cup that hasn't gotten grease in years. That prong was wearing fast.

 

Does it feel like the steering wheel is shaking? I've seen alignment issues and front end components create horrible vibration and shaking that doesn't show up until going faster.