Arbitration didn't go well..........

Well i'll be honest... I wasn't expecting it to be that bad.

 

Yeah, I was trying to hold the phone steady, but the drivers seat vibrates pretty bad too.. and I tried to steady my hand on the center glovebox/armrest on another video, but that vibrates pretty bad as well and the auto focus didn't work very well.

 

X2

The OP wasn't kiddin'.

The upright bottle was actually vibrating. The one cushioned on the backpack in the seat was bad too.

 

positive. 2 sets of wheels, 3 sets of tires, balanced and re-balanced multiple times, all 8 tires/wheels rotated F/R & L/R. Vibration never changed. Lot's of time remounting, rotating and test driving. it's almost an hour round trip to the freeway and back home after making changes. Guess I could have thrown everything in the bed and done the swap in a parking lot closer to the freeway.

 

one more.. the road did have a few bumps, but you can plainly see the bottle buzzing in the panel, and my arm was resting on the glovebox.

http://youtu.be/CoZaoenOuAI

 

Perhaps these have been answered already.
1. is it a 4x4?
2. if yes, does the problem exist in 4 High?
3. is it a cylindrical sound/Vibration? At 70mph can you count the vibration, or is in constant?
4. Does it vibrate at engine RPM in neutral/park, or only when in motion?
5. Can you find any signs of vibration (Fresh shiny metal) between the transmission and engine? Any lose engine or transmission mount bolts?

I suspect an off balance flywheel or defective torque converter. The cab sits directly over the transmission.

 

I'm going to remind you to consider my earlier post. After over 500 posts you are unable to even narrow down the cause to a general area, let alone fix it.

Put your energy into into finding a kick ass honest mechanic, instead of a lawyer. Take his letter, and his bill, and all your documentation to small claims court. No lawyer needed.

Just my opinion. Maybe it won't work. But you already know what hasn't worked. You already know what's not going to work. Try something different.

It's a mechanical device. It CAN be fixed. There are small claims courts just for this type of thing.

Again, this is only what I might try. Your results may be different. Use at your own risk. Good luck.

 

Aren't small claims court for small judgments of under $5K? Don't think a $30K truck would benefit from small claims if the OP is pushing for a buy back.

 

All states are different. Looks like Tennessee has a limit of $25k.

 

Not to replace the truck ... to fix it.

 

I hope this thread never dies.

 

So did you run that newspaper ad, any pics?

 

ya beat me to it.

 

1. prerunner, 2wd
3. no sound. It's pulsing vibration, sometimes it fades and then returns (more intense/less intense w/o changing speeds)
4. not rpm dependent, have driven it up to 90 mph, placed it in N, let it idle and coast, vibration is the same. Have also downshifted to raise the rpm, had no effect.
5. the mechanic double checked for any signs of wear, binding and loose components. Nothing was found. He did say it's probably a sympathetic vibration and it's nearly impossible to find or track down w/o replacing multiple components.

Thanks, Ken

 

I did stick the gopro under the truck. The DS is smooth at all speed, bounces a bit on larger bumps or irregularities in the road, but that is normal for a 2 piece DS.
have also tried a 1 piece DS, did not reduce the high speed vibration. The truck did was super smooth over bumps, RR tracks etc. If I could eliminate the vibration, the 1 piece will go back on the truck..

 

I have considered this, it is a viable option. I have had a couple mechanics "look it over", they could not see anything wrong and said chasing vibrations is expensive, time consuming and sometimes the outcome produces nothing.

I've had another large expense pop up and I can't afford to mess with truck till after my late father in laws 1966 charger is in picked from SLC and safely transported to my place in TN.

After that, I can focus on the tacoma.. or just wait till spring and trade it off, I haven't decided yet.

 

I feel your pain.

I'm in construction. A frame crew might price siding or roofing high because they aren't good at it. Challenge is finding a mechanic who is really good and fast at fixing vibration, and not just bragging.

You are going to get expensive however you go. I'm hopeful that you can find an expert who can fix it efficiently, and you can make Toyota reimburse you.

Wouldn't it be funny (not haha funny) if you went to see what you could get as a trade it in at a Toyota dealer and they offer less than BB due to the vibration?

 

Condolences on your father in law, but 66 Chargers are my favorite. Had a maroon 383 that I sold 17 years ago, never got around to restoring it and regret it.

 

Races, hubs, bearings? Anyone check those? Sounds like something is not right with that or maybe some bad shocks not soaking up the road...

Just throwing out some of the stuff it could be.

Hope you get it sorted out.