I know... another BAD Vibration thread

Ok TW so heres the deal.... a few months ago I took a road trip that totaled about 1,350 miles round trip. While cruising the highway I had a really bad vibration that I though was a tire badly out of balance. it was shaking badly enough that you could feel it in the seat and you could feel your face shaking. I know that sounds ridiculous but true none the less. The vibration was coming through the steering wheel as well. if I remember correctly it started at about 65-70 and would go away at about 80. As I don't do a whole lot of highway driving I procrastinated a little bit about doing anything about it.
A little more than a month agoI finally took it to a tire shop too have the tires re-balanced and while I was there they talked me into an alignment because the guy said my front tires were cupped. I didn't notice any major cupping but he's the tire guy so I took his word on it. An alignment and tire balancing it was.
140 bucks later and I still have this vibration and I would even venture to say its worse than before. The vibration starts at 60 if you know what you're looking for but at 65 you really start to feel it. it continues on up to 80 and I haven't really pushed any higher than that because it feels like its gonna shake the truck apart. when vibrating the wheel shakes back and forth almost like it would with warped rotors but significantly faster I would say. The really strange part is when I was highway driving driving yesterday I really started playing with it. I found the sweet spot of the vibration and set the cruise control. While maintaining a constant speed the vibration would come and go as it pleased and when it wasn't there the truck ran smooth as could be. no shakes in the wheel no vibration no nothing.
I believe my front rotors are warped so I plan on replacing them and doing the tundra upgrade while I'm at it. with that being said I am believing that it probably has something to do with my steering rack because it feels like a minor "death wobble" when it is happening. I'm about to mount my go pro under the truck facing the steering rack and front tires and take a highway ride. do you think I go a bad alignment? maybe have worn parts that they didn't see?
Any help or advice is greatly appreciated and sorry for the long post but I'm trying to be as descriptive as possible.

One thing I forgot to add, it seems like there is a dead spot in the wheel at highway speeds where I can turn it a tad bit each way without any reaction. I tried checking at stop light though and it doesn't seem to have the same play or at least no where near as apparent. Seem strange to you?

Update:
first off let me say sorry this has taken me so long but every so often I do a project and replace some parts but with no avail yet.

I did replace the front rotors pads and calipers. Did the tundra upgrade. Didn't think this would fix my issue but I figured the rotors were warped anyway so it was a good place to start. I knew I wasn't just throwing parts at it. Indeed the rotors were warped and I couldn't be happier with the tundra brakes.

Jacked the truck up and noticed a clunk in the driver front when shaking the wheel by hand at 9 & 3. Decided to replace the inner and outer tie rod ends and the steering rack bellows. Got an alignment the next day and nothing. That was the beginning of this week.

Yesterday decided to order a carrier bearing or driveshaft center support bearing (as its really called) and replace it. The old one was definitely whooped. Does it seem right at 125k mikes? I can't say I hit the jackpot but I definitely narrowed it down to a driveline issue. The carrier bearing seemed fix it and make it worse all in one shot. Immediately after replacing it I had a very high frequency vibration starting at about 30. I knew something wasn't right as I never had this before. Now I'm on the road getting a back massage and stressed again but I believe it to be the driveshaft as it slightly changed the exact vibration I've been feeling. Gonna take it to a driveline shop next week.

 

Do you have OEM wheels and tires? Sounds like they still did a crappy job with balancing. I usually tell them to do a static balance, that means they use sticky weights only in the midpoint of the wheel, not on both the inner and outer part of the wheel. This method has been good to me. It also keeps them from slapping a ton of weights on the tire, which you should really not need to do unless your tire is bad and at that point you need new tires anyways because they are junk.

What tires do you have?

 

yeah I have OEM 5 spoke wheels with stock size tires. falken somethings to be exact. I'll have to look at the model when I'm by the truck but they are an A/T I believe. not too aggressive though. don't usually run falkens but they were on the truck when I bought it and when I bought the truck it drove smooth the whole ride home at 75-80 mph. they didn't use sticky weights and actually made it a point to talk me into weights on both sides of the tires because "thats how they get the best balance." I really didn't want that because I painted my stockers black and the look of ugly wheel weights drives me up a wall. even after me showing resistance they insisted so I figured it was better than having this effing vibration. Little did I think id have both.

 

sounds like that shop doesn't care about what you think, I would try another shop. They probably did a crap job balancing the tires.

 

yeah that shop does sound shitty. It sounds like a bad balance

 

now I know I would feel a bad balance in the steering wheel but do you think it would be going side to side or just a standard vibration?

 

That sounds a lot like a u joint on its way out, especially if it is a fairly recent occurrence. Unbolt the driveshaft from the rear differential and check it for play, binding, grinding etc.

 

You describe what I have had off and on during the last 2 years. All of a sudden while on the interstate I will develop a moderate shaking. It appears at about 65 and increases with speed. If I drop to under 50 mph it goes away. If I continue at 65 it does go away after about 5 to 6 miles.

I attribute it to my rear brakes. Sometimes one of the drums will get too hot to touch. When I check the adjustment it is 'way too tight so I back it off. That took care of the problem the last two times. One of these days I'll replace the shoes with OEM shoes but for now I'll just use the OReilly shoes that I installed.

You may want to check your brakes, especially if you have done anything to them before your vibration started.

 

steering wheel vibration, especially if it's a "shimmy", 99% of the time is tire or wheel related. Hell, they may not have torqued your lug nuts properly in the star pattern.

 

considering I drove it in with the vibration and left with basically that same vibration, same symptoms anyway, I'm thinking it doesn't have anything to do with the lug nuts but I could be wrong. I appreciate anything thrown out there that be worth while checking out.

 

how much weight is on your wheels?

 

Whatever is causing it it almost seems like its going in and out of balance as I drive spending about equal time in and out unless I hit a good bump or change speed... One thing I forgot to add, it seems like there is a dead spot in the wheel at highway speeds where I can turn it a tad bit each way without any reaction. I tried checking at stop light though and it doesn't seem to have the same play or at least no where near as apparent. Seem strange to you?

 

I'll have to get back to you on that one as I obviously don't know off the top of my head. I must admit I'm pissed at myself for not being more proactive at the shop and watching but below freezing temps and wind will make you wanna sit in the office lol

 

That's totally normal. See this:

 

just read that quick and will totally have to check into for myself. thanks a lot for that thread. maybe I can at least check that off the list if nothing else.

 

some people say not to weld it for safety reasons, but I may use a set screw or something when I do it myself. Just haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

When I have had a wheel out of balance shake, it seems to shake all the time. This makes it seem like something else.

Checking u joints seems smart.

I had a similar vibration that would come and go (and sometimes really violent on turns) and finally figured out it was due to a worn carrier bearing (center bearing). The carrier bearing was so worn I didn't even have to press it off. It came off with light hand pressure after taking off the bolt that holds it into place! Mine wasn't especially wiggly while on the truck either. You can feel this vibration in your butt on the seat and on the floor, but it would also produce a shimmy like sensation on the steering wheel.

Another thing to check is the steering rack bushings / tie rods. The tire shop should have caught it those...

EDIT: Carrier bearing Write Up: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-replacing-carrier-bearing.260283/

 

yeah I read that. I think I may bee more inclined to use a roll pin rather than a tack weld. something that would shear off. although it did say in the write up that the tack weld would have to out strength the 4 bolts holding it in or something of the sort.

 

I honestly thought about driveshaft issues as well as the bushings on the steering rack but for obvious reasons I don't wanna go just throwing parts at it. I also know if I take it to a shop thats most likely what they will do so I guess I might as well keep my costs down and do it myself lol

 

A driveline vibe will have a higher frequency than a wheel or tire vibration, since the driveline rotates much much faster than the tires do. Use your judgement to know the difference in vibrations.