Front end vibration/wobble

OK all you first gen'er. I have a 95 Toyota p/u extended cab 4X4 with the 22RE motor. 185000 miles on it. I get a shimmy when driving at just about any speed, faster I go the more shimmy and shake I get. I have had the front tires remounted and balanced, didn't solve the problem, bought new tires mounted and balanced, didn't solve the problem. I had the front end realigned and tires again rebalanced didn't solve the problem. I then replaced both front CV axles didn't solve the problem. My next mission is to check u joints and carrier bearing. If they are good then I am thinking the front end is shot and tackling that. Any other suggestions you guys might have would be appreciated.

 

tie rods, control arms etc

 

Wrong spacers if you use wheel spacers?

 

No wheel spacers. I am thinking maybe the carrier bearing is shot and causing the vibration. I will know tonight after work as I am going to crawl under it and start shaking things. If all the u joints are solid and the carrier is good then I guess it is go to the front and rip it apart.

 

I am thinking wilcam47 may be correct but I am hoping not.

 

If your steering wheel is getting shimmy or feedback then it likely won't be carrier bearing or u-joints. It'll be somewhere in the front end.

 

yeah you are saying two things..shimmy in the front is different than vibration. If its vibing in the front prob a front bearing. If you have a vibe coming from the rear then check the carrier bearing, u-joints and cardan joint.

 

It is in the steering wheel vibration and I can just about bet you are correct that it will be the front end. I will post and let you know what I find out.

 

mine had bad vibe in the front...ended up being the front right bearing. Got that replaced and it was all quiet.

 

How do you check your carrier/center bearing? how much play should there be in the shaft, none ?

Curious because I am getting a bit of vibration under my seat (as if the balance was off in the back tires) ill be putting new tires on soon and checking all that but in the past with those symptoms on my old '92 Pick up it was the center bearing.

 

I have, I think, a similar problem on my 04 Tacoma single cab with 223,000 miles. I've been looking for this vibration for at least 100,000 miles to no avail. Has anyone looked at the front axle/ differential mounts being trashed as a cause for these vibs?

 

I had bad warped rotors and they were causin a shimmy on my 96. Did break job up front with new drilled and slotted rotors and shimmy gone.

 

Well its a metal bearing covered by a rubber bushing so if the bushing looks cracked/ripped etc Id say its the center bearing. It will be hard to tell by looking at it about the bearing itself being bad. Depending on mileage and driving conditions will determine if its bad or not. You can disconnect and remove the rear drive shaft and drive it in 4x4 and see if the vib goes away...if it does then you know its center bearing related.

 

Thanks @wilcam47 for the info, ill take a closer look at it now that I know what to look for

 

dont neglect the u-joints, and cardan joint as well..

 

Well it has been a while since I posted this and thanks for all the input. I replaced the center bearing and much of it cleared up but still had a slight wobble in the steering wheel. I jacked up the front end and everything appeared to be tight but still had the wobble. I finally took it to a good tire shop told them what it was doing as it only did it at 55 mph. The rebalanced the front wheels problem solved. I had them balanced twice before but they must have run them at a much slower speed. Again thanks for all the replys.

 

I had this problem for probably 20k miles... kept replacing stuff to try to find the issue. Replaced my front struts and boom, fixed.

 

I do not have struts just shocks and have replaced them and the cv joints and center bearing. front end aligned and tires balanced still there but better now it only wobbles at around 65. taking to a front end place tomorrow to see if they can put their hands on it.

 

Good luck! It sounds like it may be some stupid rubber bushing you missed somewhere. Do let me know what you find out please! I'm very curious.

 

And just for good measure I'll also say I recently had the whole tear drive shaft rebuilt with all the u-joints / cardan joint, center support bearing and more. The more I replace the less it wobbles.