'15 Tacoma with a WA WA WA vibration

Here is the background of my Tacoma, I bought it new and its lived a very pampered, on-road life and now it has 30k on it. The tires were getting a little worn and I wanted to upgrade them anyhow. So I bought some FJ Team Trail wheels, 265-75-16 tires, and a set of Bilstein 5100s. I installed the 5100s at .85" and got the truck lined up. Truck now sits level and looks great with the new black wheels and slightly larger tires, so awesome. Except, as soon as I took the truck off the jack stands for the initial drive after the 5100 install, with factory wheels and tires, it has a wa wa wa vibration I can feel in my pedal. I have done my Tacoma World studying and found a few threads on this subject. Most saying, try and switch it from H2 to H4 and see if it goes away. Mine does go away if I switch it to H4. So do I have a bad front differential from installing less than an inch lift? I mean, I could feel the vibration as soon as I left the driveway, weird. Thanks for any help.

 

Not a bad differential, but the factory needle bearing on the driver's side CV axle needs to be replaced with a bushing from these guys:

http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-8536125-toyota-8-clamshell-bushing-eliminates-needle-bearing.html

Or if your still under factory warranty, I believe Toyota has a TSB for this. But they replace with another, redesigned needle bearing. People have had success with both.

 

I climbed under the truck and gave the axle a shake and sure enough, there is quite a bit of play between the bushing and the axle shaft. I'm going to try the warranty repair first, then if it comes back I will just do the solid bushing. Any idea how soon I should get it repaired? I'm going to talk it to the dealer tomorrow or Tuesday but should I even drive it until then? Thanks for the help Fitz!

 

It is not something that would cause you to park the truck or have it towed. But it is something that you should take care of as soon as possible. Depending on how mechanically inclined you are it is an easy fix to do at home. There are ECGs needle tools floating all over the forum. I did the ECGs clamshell bushing the first time, rather than the dealer doing it and the chances of it happening again.

 

I haven't really driven the truck since the lift but this morning I had to drive about 60 miles. The noise goes completely away when I drive about 5-10 miles. Weird.

 

Could it be the tires are cold from sitting?

 

No, probably not. The reason I say this is because it did it with the factory tires.

 

I just took it back to the alignment shop because my steering wheel was off. They said to tow had moved a little and that they fixed it. They took it for a test ride and came back. The steering wheel was still slightly off to the right to go straight. They started looking at the front suspension and said the upper control arms are loose. When they back the truck up or drive forward and hit the brakes the upper control arms slide. I never loosened or messed with the upper control arms during my install. I did take it home and the bolts are tight, anyone ever heard of this? This 1" of lift has been a nightmare.

 

I'd go through the entire front suspension with a torque wrench again just to be safe. I find it good to recheck the alignment cam bolts torque once in a while. Especially after an alignment. They either work loose or shop doesn't torque them in the 1st place.

The needle bearing sounds a likely source though.

At only 30k, I wouldn't expect bushings or anything in control arms to be bad yet.

There are a handful of NC area people that you might even be able to meet up with you to take a look. (@Acerwin if i remember...)

 

Sounds like you have a bad needle bearing. Mine happened at about 42k. My local dealership fixed the problem no questions asked (I have a 3" lift w/ 33's). If you feel like you need the TSB (here is a pic of the TSB, you should only need the code...https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3oWW_vM6MWDS0ttUndGTkJvMzg/view)

T-SB-0026-15