2001 Tacoma bad vibration while driving and braking

Ok, I have a 2001 Tacoma, 4WD, 3.4 V6. I have sunk $2500 into it in the past 3 weeks. I replaced the front struts and rear shocks, had the left rear axle seal replaced, new rotors and drums, front end alignment, 4 new tires and new muffler. I have a BAD vibration while driving and braking. it is constant while driving at any speed and while braking, it feels like a "studder" but doesn't shake may steering wheel. I feel it in the enitre truck. It has gotten considerably worse since the new tires have been put on and the axle seal replaced. Also, the new tires don't feel right. My last set took bumps the way a truck should. With these tires, if I go over a bump my truck will seesaw, like it is bouncing back and forth from front to back. It almost bounces me out of my seat. HELP!

 

Hey Jeff, If you've got an extended cab truck, I'm willing to bet it's the driveshaft center bearing (or carrier bearing) has worn out. Lay on your back and grab the drive shaft. There should be little to no side to side play; if there is the bearing is finished.

 

The guys that fixed my axle for me looked at that and greased all the u-joints as well. They said that everything was ok. Do you have any other suggestions?

 

By the way Aloha

 

To me it sounds like something is wrong with the rear brakes. Maybe something wrong with a shoe or spring? The reason I say that is because you said you get a shudder when braking, but not in the steering wheel. I don't know, but I would think a driveline issue wouldnt be affected so much by braking. I know u said new brakes, but taking drums off is an easy thing to check.

 

check your wheel bearings, jack your wheel off the ground and see if there is any play. There should be little to no plat at all.

 

Is the vibration the reason you had all that work done?

If not, then it may be the result of that work. What was done
immediately before the vibration was noticed?

 

I didn't have the rear brakes done. All I did was replace the drums and did them myself. I do not have a lift kit. I had a slight vibration prior to having the axle seal fixed and new tires put on. After these two things were done, the vibration has gotten considerably worse and the "shudder" started happening when I brake. And no, the vibration was not the reason I had the work done. I went too long without getting a front end alignment which screwed up my tires and caused my front rotors to warp. So when I replaced the front rotors, I did the back drums as well.

 

i had the same thing on my 96..The only thing I didnt do was replace the rear brakes,wheel cylinders,and preportioning valve.only thing I could think of

 

If this were my truck, I'd suspect the recently done work.

Vibration could be loose lug nuts ( been there, done that),
or bad (out-of-round?) tires.
Bouncing could be bad, or unattached shocks.

Braking shudder could be out-off-round drums (were they used drums?)
or warped rotors.

You could have a friend drive along side of you, and try to see
which wheel is going crazy, when cruising and/or braking.
Sometimes I can see a wheel vibrating real bad on a car going by
on the freeway.

 

I just bought a used 2000 SR5 extra cab 4wd Tacoma and have a similar problem. I get the shuddering feeling when I brake going down a steep hill or slowing down fast from highway speeds. But I get the same feeling when I just let my foot off the accelerator at highway speeds. I was thinking maybe some kind of vacuum or exhaust problem? Maybe a rear brake problem too?

-Sterling

 

I'd be willing to bet the "seesawing" has nothing to do with the tires, and everything to do with the new struts and shocks. If they're not installed correctly that could be the cause of your vibrations too...

 

this is happening to me too for 2 years now i think, and past 5 months id get a clicking noise when locking 4wd in. i thought it was the torque leaving the wheel, nope i was wrong. turns out that my cv axle on driver side is snapped in 2, inside both boots. when the truck was on jackstands i turned the front left tire and notices it got hard to turn every half turn... might be a long shot but check out the cv's. I'm hoping this is my problem because i have replaced all brakes 3 times with in 4 months. tires are rotated and balanced every 3k miles. all of that did not fix the problem. i will let you know if the shuttering goes away after this. hope all of this makes sense.

 

Welcome to TW from Sparks, NV

 

Reviving this in hope of helping someone else with this issue.

Before you do anything expensive, take your truck to a trusted tire shop and tell them to balance your wheels using the lug-centric method. These Tacos are different than many vehicles in that the wheels are balanced via the lugs rather than the hubs.
Most tire shops will probably balance them like they would any other car unless they know better or you tell them.

I went to a shop with my '01 and told the guy to balance using the lugs, he clearly had no idea what I was talking about but said he would do it and I foolishly let him. The thing vibrated like crazy on the highway where it had been perfect before. Took it to another shop and this time made sure they had the adapter for lug centric balancing. I had a nice smooth ride back to the first shop to demand a refund