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Drive shaft vibration? Help! - 1995.5 Tacoma w/ 2" lift

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by jamescamp11, May 20, 2008.

  1. May 20, 2008 at 2:28 PM
    #1
    jamescamp11

    jamescamp11 [OP] Active Member

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    I own a 1995.5 XtraCab 3.4L V6 SR5 XtraCab Tacoma that has had a vibration problem when driving at certain speeds:

    25-30mph: This is probably where it is the worst. Everything shakes.

    50-60mph: Subtle humming noise w/ slight vibration. Very subtle

    I have a 2 inch suspension lift, 32x11.5 BFG "All terrain" tires with aftermarket 16" wheels.

    Interesting facts:

    Prior to the lift, no vibration whatsoever.
    Vibrates at the same speeds while gliding in nuetral (out of gear)

    I searched/read tons of threads & forums discussing the issue but out of those did not come across any vibration problems with 1st generation Tacomas (hence me creating one).

    Any ideas on what the problem is specifically? (i.e. tire balance, drive shaft issue after the lift, etc.?)
     
  2. May 20, 2008 at 2:32 PM
    #2
    Toy4Life

    Toy4Life 668: The Neighbor of the Beast

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    There are alot of possibillities. Tiires out of balance, out of alignment, could be the driveshaft (altered angles causing vibration). Might just be the tires. I have BFG AT and get a vibration from 50-55 and I have talked to a couple other people with these tires that also have vibrations.
     
  3. May 20, 2008 at 2:36 PM
    #3
    ETaco23

    ETaco23 Marshall offroad Fabrication

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    Hey there, I have had the same problem. Still do, but am fixing it this weekend. Ive talked to many poeple, and pretty much the only cure is so get rid of the 2 piece drive shaft we have and get a one piece solid 2 joint. Preferably a Tom Woods drive shaft. But... although poeple have bought shims and shimed there rear axle up to get the vibe to go away, but alot of poeple have done this and had no change at all in vibes. So thats why im not even ganna bother with the shims, and just get a new, better, drive shaft. Tom Woods makes the best drive shafts around, everyone uses him, his site is 4xshaft.com... hope this helps ya.

    And the higher speed vibe is more likely the tires like toy4life said, cause I have the same tires. But not the 20-30 mph vibe. Thats def. the driveshaft.
     
  4. May 20, 2008 at 2:52 PM
    #4
    jamescamp11

    jamescamp11 [OP] Active Member

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    The frustrating part of this is that I chose the 2 inch lift for 2 reasons:

    1. Makes the truck look a hell of a lot better
    2. Did not want to have to start doing major tweaks like replacing the drive shaft and adding other support to the frame.

    Ugh.

    Toy4Life - I noticed in some threads that some tacoma customers have had similar issues and tried doing balancing tires approach without much result. Apparently the machines that a lot of tire places use are not that reliable and do a mediocre job balancing the tire. I forget the name of the machine that the gentleman in the forum was recommending but apparently there is a better balancing system that select tire places have that do a really good job. Heard of any of this before? Your take?

    Evertaco - Any clue on what this new system (TW drive shaft + install costs) is going to run you after all said and done?
     
  5. May 20, 2008 at 3:38 PM
    #5
    tacomaman06

    tacomaman06 Carolina Alliance: Enforcer

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    getting there....
    cant really help with the driveshaft vibration, other than tom woods drivesahfts are great.

    as far as balancing the tires goes......have you tried getting them road force balanced??? this type of balancing is somewhat better than a regular computer spin balance because the machine actually makies the tire as if it was on the road, and uses adju7stments to where the tire may be moved to a part of the rim that balances the tire more correctly(im not too good at explaining things sometimes.....but hope this helps anyway.).
     
  6. May 21, 2008 at 8:03 AM
    #6
    02TACO1984

    02TACO1984 Active Member

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    the one thing you should check is the u joints in the drive shaft because if there bad they will cause vibration at certin speeds.
     
  7. May 21, 2008 at 2:25 PM
    #7
    Rosco75

    Rosco75 Well-Known Member

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    Clavet Sk
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    I had a vibe and just replaced the steady bearing. 100 bucks, easy to fix. Cheap and easy, just the way I like em
     
  8. May 21, 2008 at 3:39 PM
    #8
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    I was just thinking that the carrier bearing could be bad. When mine went out, it made a groaning sound with the vibration.
     
  9. May 21, 2008 at 5:16 PM
    #9
    02TACO1984

    02TACO1984 Active Member

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    yes the carrier bearing could be the cause!:D
     
  10. May 21, 2008 at 5:17 PM
    #10
    Rosco75

    Rosco75 Well-Known Member

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    Yeah same with mine. Wasn`t a bad fix. Same sound too. I was thinking u-joints for sure so I checked them with a pry bar and they were tight. Didn`t look like there was anything wrong with that steady bearing but that was the whole problem.
     
  11. May 21, 2008 at 5:25 PM
    #11
    02TACO1984

    02TACO1984 Active Member

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    3inch sus lift gibson exhaust k&n filter
    ya the ujoints usally last along time on a taco but you never know? but it is probally the carriwer bearing i didnt think of that. good call!
     
  12. May 21, 2008 at 5:45 PM
    #12
    Toy4Life

    Toy4Life 668: The Neighbor of the Beast

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    When I experienced vibration after my lift, I spaced the carrier down just under 1/2" with some washers I had laying around. Problem solved. Unfortunately this doesn't work for everyone. It is a cheap, easy thing to try though.
     
  13. May 21, 2008 at 6:22 PM
    #13
    Rosco75

    Rosco75 Well-Known Member

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    That sounds like a great idea. If i ever have that problem again I would definately try that out. Take a little bit of that harder angle out of the drive line.
     
  14. May 21, 2008 at 6:25 PM
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    Toy4Life

    Toy4Life 668: The Neighbor of the Beast

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    Exactly. And, if it doesn't help, you're not out any money, and it's easy to un-do.
     
  15. May 21, 2008 at 6:28 PM
    #15
    Toy4Life

    Toy4Life 668: The Neighbor of the Beast

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    You can experiment with different numbers of washers to get a different amount of drop. I don't think you should exceed 1/2", but anything less should be O.K.
     
  16. May 21, 2008 at 6:28 PM
    #16
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    Best thing would be to mount a remote camera under your truck and take a drive with it recording. That way you will see where exactilly the vibration is comming from.
     
  17. May 22, 2008 at 5:44 AM
    #17
    Rosco75

    Rosco75 Well-Known Member

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    Chris man, you must have way better toys than I do! Good idea though.
     
  18. May 22, 2008 at 9:52 AM
    #18
    jamescamp11

    jamescamp11 [OP] Active Member

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    Great ideas fellas (much love)! I have an appointment with the Toyota dealership this coming Wednesday to have my frame inspected for the rust problem (my frame looks great and doubt it will fail the test but better safe than sorry I guess). Even though I will most likely attack the vibration issue myself I might ask to see what they have to say about it (most likely nothing and they will try to milk more money out of me). All this vibration talk makes this conversation sound pretty funny. I just want to say it again, vibration. haha, is it Friday yet!?
     
  19. May 22, 2008 at 10:01 AM
    #19
    jamescamp11

    jamescamp11 [OP] Active Member

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    Im learning more and more everyday about this stuff. A short but informative article below.

    http://www.customtacos.com/tech/index.php?article=27

    I might start here. Thanks again guys.

    The other thing that I notice now is a very subtle clunk while engaging in any gear. This is actually something that has been very recent (well, maybe it has been going on for a little while but I have just started noticing it last week). I am assuming this is something that may have to do with the drive shaft/carrier bearing? Should I be concerned about this?
     
  20. May 22, 2008 at 3:13 PM
    #20
    chris4x4

    chris4x4 With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. Moderator

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    A "clunk" sound is not indicative of the Carrier bearing. Sounds like a U-joint. Crawl under your truck when its off and with the e-brake on. Grab the drive shaft near one of the u-joints and try to twist it with your hand. Go back and forth. Any clunking?
     

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