2nd Gen Tacoma Front End Wobble

Hey guys, I’ve been trying to diagnose a front end wobble noise in my 2nd gen for the better part of a year and a half now and finally made an account to see what you guys think as I am stumped at this point. The wobble is rotationally rhythmic and gives a faint vibration felt in the floor board and steering wheel. The wobble can be felt and heard from 1mph to 35mph and is more prominent when turning left at lower speeds. I did notice that when im in traffic and going slow (1-10mph) I can visibly see the front drivers side slightly bounce up and down every 2-3 seconds. At this point the entire front suspension has been upgraded and replaced since the issue started happening.

Here’s what Ive done so far:

• Icon stage 1 suspension with 14” 600lb King springs, lift set at 2” with aal in the rear
• Billet UCAs
• New LCAs
• Icon Tie Rods
• New steering rack (old steering rack wore out)
• Upper intermediate shaft
• Front wheel bearings
• New CV axles
• Brake rotors, calipers and pads
• End links (eventually just deleted sway bar)
• Diff drop
• Carrier bearing and ujoints
• Rims and tires (Yokohama Geolander G003 285/75r17)
• 3 alignments and wheel balancing

There is no play in the front end that I could find when on stands. Im out of ideas so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

Could be front differential needle bearing. ECGS sells a replacement bushing. Lots of write ups on here describing testing method and how to install.

 

Sorry i forgot to add that to the list but i replaced the needle bearing with the ecgs bushing

 

Broken belt in a tire. Front or rear....I've seen it. Worth a look.

 

I’m just curious how you drive 1mph.

 

Tires are 3 months old, the problem started a year before the new tires, I tried rotating them to see if it made a difference but unfortunately it didnt. I may take it to a tire shop to get them checked just in case. Do you think it could be the lower intermediate shaft? Not too sure what kind of symptoms that would cause other than steering bind. Thanks for the info!

 

Very skillfully when bored in gridlock traffic haha

 

Wouldn't hurt to have a good shop take a look, I've seen newer tire's belts fail too. All it takes is the right pot-hole or curb. Intermediate shaft is possibility as you suggest. These things can be sometimes compounded when a lift and bigger tires comes into the game. Good luck & report your findings please.

 

Mount a camera and have it record the drivers wheel and suspension and go for a spin

 

So on a serious note. If you can feel at that slow a speed, something has to be loose, bent or obvious it would seem. If a tire had a really bad broken belt and you felt at that low a speed it would be horrible at high speeds. When you say wobble it feels like the truck has a slight rock n roll as you drive? Bent wheel, bent hub? I like the idea @knottyrope mentioned filming while driving up and down your street.

 

Looks like you've replaced everything. I've read about bent spindles before... how long had you had the truck before it started to make noise? I'm ssuming you've done the basic test like lift the truck, spin wheels, rock wheels, etc.

 

In an auto, by taking your foot off the gas lol

 

At this point, I'd put it up on jack stands, put it in gear and let it roll in the air. See if you can see any bounce coming from that wheel or corner of the truck.

 

When I lifted my truck I had the same issue and I added some 5° shims between the leaf springs and the axle. It cured the vibrations.

 

Front cab mount bushing/radiator support bushing.

Replace all 6 cab mounts with poly from energy suspension.

You owe me a pizza

 

Yeah a slight rock and roll would be the best way to put it, at high speeds theres no issues, no play or vibrations, no clunking and it does great with pot holes and speed bumps. I did check everything again today for any sort of play to no avail. I made an appointment at a local tire shop to get an inspection and possibly another wheel balance. So far the tires haven’t shown any sign of uneven wear. I like the camera idea though! I’ll most likely put my GoPro under there this weekend and see if I notice and movement. Thanks for the recommendations!

 

I was wondering about bent spindles, I have a spare set laying around that I was going to get gusseted, I’ll try throwing them on sometime soon. I’ve lifted the truck and tested for play and its all super solid. I did notice that when I lift truck from the LCAs, the drivers side seems to compress more than the passenger side. Not sure if thats normal or not, I figured its from Taco lean. What do you guys think?

 

Im definitely ordering that soon to get it out of the way, even if it doesn’t fix it ill have new bushings. But if it does fix it you’re getting pizza!

 

Here's a thought. Raise up the truck and rotate the front drivesshaft and tires. Feel for play from a broken tooth on a gear. Some of your symptoms sound the same as a friend had when we were out in Moab. He had 2 broken teeth on a spider gear, but in the rear diff.

 

I’ll check that out this weekend! Might be time for a regear soon.
Thanks!