Vibes in front end

Recently my truck has had some vibrations in the front end. It's a 2015 Tacoma double cab sr5. I have put a 3" front spacer and 2 "in spacer on the back with the diff drop. I have also already installed the ECGS bushing to replace the needle bearing. Since these went on I have driven the truck about 30'000km.

The vibes sound like a wheel bearing and I took the truck into a shop to replace what I thought was the left front wheel bearing. This shop (which I trust) tested all wheel bearings and said they are fine. I then took it to the dealership to have them look at my front diff. They report that it is not my diff and likely the front right wheelbearing. I'm more likely to believe the first assessment than the dealership, so it seems im at a stand still.

Has anyone had a similar issue with vibration noise that can't be pinpoint after leveling? It was quiet up to this point.

 

Welcome to Tacoma World. Before getting to your issue, are you sure you have a 3" spacer in the front? Could it be a 1.5" spacer instead because the ratio is 2:1 and a 1.5" would give 3" lift? I'm asking because if it truly is a 3" spacer you'd get 6" lift and that brings up a host of other questions...

Anyways, the other places to start looking for answers is rotating or re-balancing your wheels/tires. Sounds dumb but our trucks seem sensitive to this. A slight imbalance has given me some harmonic noises and sometimes vibes that feel like a bearing but are just balance issues.

Depending on the answer to your lift spacer question it could be CV axles telling you they aren't happy. But I can't say anything more on that without more details. Though if noises started after the lift, well...

You didn't mention if you have stock or aftermarket UCAs or what the alignment numbers look like. Could be something there too but again not enough info.

Good luck chasing down your issue. Do some searches about vibrations, lots of info on this forum and likely someone has seen what you are experiencing before.

 

yeah as mentioned i would start with the wheel balancing. maybe try swapping the front and rear tires and see if you still notice a vibration (assuming the rear tires are balanced)

Generally with a wheel bearing going out you can kinda hear a faint metal on metal sound. that is an audible tattletale it is going bad

 

Does this vib only happen at low rpm's?


If so look where the air box goes into the fender, the cheap oem foam they put on goes bad allowing the air horn to vib against the fender.

 

Thanks for the replies. The spacers are the 1.5" for the 3" lift. I had the mechanic replace the wheel bearings and so far so go the vibe is gone. I haven't a clue what the first mechanic was doing that day I first took it in. It vibed the most at 100 km/h. My guess is it was a missed diagnose and the right front wheel bearing was vibing through my diff making it sound like it was on the left of my truck.

Thank you for all the help!!

 

Try this, if you turn left while in motion and the noise increases it's the right bearing. If you turn right while in motion and the noise increases, it's the left bearing.