High Speed Rumble

Has anyone experienced a "rumble" at high speed? My 2013 4 door 4x4 4.0L automatic with a standard bed has a rumble vibration at 55-60 mph. Is that normal or should I be checking something? I have noticed that when I back off the throttle or change gears the rumble is still there. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thank you.

 

Sounds like tire balance issue? Have you ruled that out?

 

Yes, I had all 4 tires checked and balanced if needed. I still have the rumble. To give some more background, this rumble has been with the truck since I bought it October 2012. I had the Toyota people drive it about 6 months after I got it and they said it was fine. I've just been living with it since then. I just chalked it up to an unloaded stiff truck suspension. But, I'm curious to hear if anyone else out there has noticed a very slight vibration and rumble on smooth highways at 55 to 65 mph. If so, what do they think it's from? I'm no mechanic so I have no idea what could cause it other than imbalanced tires.

 

It could be so many things... hard to say without some more info. What kind of tires are you running? Have you checked your PSI all around? Have you tried rotating your tires to see if that helps? Does the ‘rumble’ cause a steering wheel shimmy? Do you feel the rumble in the steering wheel, under the seat, under your feet? Could be worn suspension parts. Could be your U-Joints. So many things... we definitely need a more detailed description.

 

Are you Lifted?
Do you feel it AND hear it?

Try this

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/torque-converter.535379/#post-17215408

 

The truck is stock. It is aa 7 year old crew cab 4x4 with a standard bed, so a long wheelbase with no lift. It has a 4.0 L stock engine with an automatic transmission. I’ve put about 50K miles on it mostly commuting with hauling maybe 2 or 3 loads of top soil and about 12 loads of garden bark over the 7 years and occasional loads of furniture and household items. So generally it has been lightly used over the years. I’ve been rigorous with the oil changes every 6 months during this time. The rumble has been with me the entire time.

The tires are the stock original tires. I keep them inflated to 30-35 psi. They were re-balanced about 1 year after purchase and they’ve been rotated annually. I have noticed that the rear tires are showing wear on the outer edges. I have started keeping them at 35 psi, which is 5 psi over the recommendation. Apparently the stock tires are a bit soft.

I hear the rumble and feel it in the seat. There is no steering wheel shimmy.

When I’m on smooth freeway at 55-60 mph, to see if it’s the engine or drive train, I have switched gears to change the rpm. The rumble is still there. I have noticed that when I’m hauling a heavy load the rumble goes away. That has led me to think it’s just due to a light rear end.

I’m just wondering if it’s my imagination or are there other people who have noticed a high speed rumble.

I'll check into the torque converter issue. But, so far I've not done any towing.

Thank you for your input.

 

Checked or greased the U-joints in a while?

 

Yep, based on that, I'd be looking at the driveshaft/u-joints.

 

My vote is carrier bearing followed by u-joints. I lean carrier bearing just cause it's been that way since new.

 

+1 for U-Joints

 

Thanks for the info. How do I check them? Do I just look for play or is there some measure indicating they are out of spec? With only 50K miles on them and being the original Toyota parts I don't understand how they could be the problem. Is it possible the vibration is due to the long wheelbase of a crew cab combined with a standard bed and as such something that can't be fixed?

 

Youtube search toyota tacoma greasing u joints. honestly they just may need grease. if they haven’t been greased in 50k they are way over due. but long story short crawl under your truck and grab the driveline pieces on either end of the u joints and yank and push and see if there is any movement in the joint. the drive shaft pieces have some play that’s normal. anyway youtube it it’s not hard!

 

If you have undercarriage rust:
1) U-joints
2) wheel bearings

 

I crawled under the truck and reefed on the drive train. A tiny bit of play but seemed pretty solid. I'm not convinced they greased the u-joints during the last oil change, so I greased them myself. We'll see how that effects the rumble. But I have a hard time believing grease can quiet a rumble.

I'm in the NW so rust isn't really a problem, but I checked when I was under the truck. I didn't find any rust around the u-joints or wheels.

Thanks for all the suggestions. But, based on the response, it seems like I'm the only one with a rumble. Maybe it's just what a truck does when it's not loaded.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/vibration-diagnostics-for-all-tacomas-write-up.520607/

 

Thank you gearcruncher, this is exactly what I'm looking for. BTW are you really in Red Lake? That's some pretty rough country for vehicles.

 

Its definitely one of your U-Joints ive been chasing this problem for a while and put off greasing my u-joints. Greased them before a camping trip and found my forward u-joint is pretty much trashed but the shake went away until all the grease flung out by the return trip home.

 

Thanks Cb Colorado. I just crawled under and lubed the joints. I could only find 3 Zerks. Now I need to run it and see if that fixes it. I've only got 50K on the truck so I'm hoping the bearings are still OK.

 

I've had the same/similar issues, and was following your post.
Found a great hobby mechanic, came by jacked each side front end of truck.
Twisted tire side to side, then top to bottom, while I looked at ball joints, and control arms? Not sure, but they didn't move, but the wheel was loose. Bearings!
All good now, good for another +230k km.

 

I went through Gearcruncher's list and everything I could check came out OK. With only 50K miles on the truck and it being a long wheelbase (crew cab and standard bed), I think it's most likely just a vibration harmonic in the frame that shows when the truck is unloaded at highway speeds. Something that I will have to live with.

Based on Marc70, I will have to check for wobble in the wheel bearings when I put new tires on next spring. But, I will be surprised if that is it since it's a new truck with only 50K miles.

Thank you everyone for your input, especially the very complete list by Gearcruncher.