Vibrating Steering Wheel

Originally made a post about rough ride quality after buying my truck. I have come to realize that tacoma's (at least 2nd gen's) are a little more rough of a ride than other trucks. Ill eventually get around to buying some 5100's as many have mentioned an improvement in ride quality. I think this will especially help considering i'm running the original shocks at almost 100k miles.

So although i've come to get used to the ride quality, this steering wheel vibration drives me crazy. I can't pinpoint why exactly it does it. The truck has aftermarket wheels and tires, so im guessing and leaning towards the idea that it could be an issue with the tires. Its not the brakes or rotors, and its not the alignment or balance because i've had those done twice.

It mainly seems to happen at highway speeds, but it doesn't seem to happen on really smooth highways. Maybe its a combination of the roads being a little more rough and bad tires.

But before i go and buy a new set of tires i wanted to get your guys' opinions. Is there anything else i should try before buying new tires? Maybe this is just a good excuse to buy some BFG's because these pirelli street tires suck

 

A vibrating wheel is almost always a tire balance issue, how many miles on the truck?

Could be time for inner and outer rack ends rack guide, ball joints and bushings.

Also look into the "zip tie" column mod on here, take some slop out if it.

Tack welds also work.

 

About 93k miles. I thought the same thing about tire balance! thats why i got it done twice, to no avail.

I've never replaced any of those things that you mentioned. Sounds like a good research project for me.

 

Im looking at that mod you mentioned, but it seems to be directed towards fixing slop. I don't have an issue with slop. only with vibrations. Im uploading a video to my google drive right now so i can show you what i mean

 

I had the same problem. they could never figure it out. then one day they said that my rack was seeping so I had Toyota replace it and they replaced the rack ends and guide and its tight as hell. I must have had a bad rack from brand new. my truck now has 95K.

 

I know what the tie rod ends are, but what is a guide? Im looking up a DIY guide on youtube right now, and based on the fact that ill need to get ANOTHER alignment after the repair, i might as well have a shop do it all in a one stop shop. i have a mechanic i trust that doesn't charge me too much.

Either that or sell the tacoma and buy a new Tundra

 

I looked it up and there is no guide. Just inner and outer tie rods. A new Tundra isnt a bad thing. I thought the same. I just feel much more comfortable in my Tacoma. I've had it nine years now. Bought it 9 years ago this month right off the showroom floor and I just cant seem to part with it. It fits me like a glove so to speak and now that they fixed my steering issues, its a bigger pleasure to drive.

 

What kind of balancing are you having done? Take a look at your wheel weights. Do you have weights behind the spokes of the wheel and on the inboard edge of the wheel? When America's Tire balanced my BFG A/T KO2's recently, the weights were all located right behind the spokes of the wheels. I had a hell of a shimmy in the wheel. Took it back, he stripped the weights and balanced it a different way where the weights were split between the inboard and outboard sides of the wheels. Problem was 100% solved. My back wheels are still balanced the original way and I have to take it back to fix it, but it doesn't vibrate on the back. However, on the front, it was horrible.

Another item is hub centric versus lug centric wheels. OEM Toyota wheels are hub centric, meaning the bore of the wheel matches the outside of the hub flange. That means the wheels are self centering. Buying aluminum hub centric rings to take up the slack in what I bet are lug centric wheels, can also help.

Lastly, sometimes the quality of aftermarket wheels is simply sub-par. However balancing, a bad tire, out of true wheel, lug centric, etc. - can all contribute to a vibration in the steering wheel. From my experience, Toyota trucks are very sensitive to any of these issues. Rotate your wheels front to back. If you notice any change, then you know it's the wheel or the tire.

 

This sounds like another case of sloppy wheel install. Loosen the lugs and tighten them yourself using a torque wrench. Using a star pattern, tighten the lugs to 30, then 60, then 85 (Toyota spec) - I go a little higher. I ran lug centric wheels with no problems doing this. My current 60 pound tires on stock steel wheels always ride like shit when a tech does anything with them. I just go home, go through the routine, and they run smooth every time.

It's worth a try.

 

shit, anything is worth a try at this point. Ill go ahead and tighten them in that pattern with a torque wrench when i do my rotation in the next 500 miles. Ill check all the ball joints bushings and tie rods while i have the wheels off too. Will report back to you guys if and when i figure out what it is

 

when you rotate them, spin each wheel and see if they are at all out of round or have any side to side wobble.