My 99 Shake really bad at highway speeds...need advice !!

hey tacomaman... my sway bar bushing looks exactly like your old ones.

What problems did you have with your truck before you replace them? My truck has been vibrating but I thought it was a normal thing.

What differences did you feel after you had them replaced?

how long is the steering rack covered under warranty?

 

well......when i replaced the sway bar bushings, as far as driving goes........the truck didnt have a ton of front body roll as it did before i replaced them. replacing the sway bar bushings probably isnt gonna get rid of any vibrations that you may have. as for the steering rack.......i bought the wrap warranty for my tacoma,since it was used, so thats why it was covered. and now, since they replaced it, i havent looked to see how long this new one is under warranty.

 

alright guys listen to this. i took off work half a day to try to get my trucks vib./shake/bounce straightened out. anyhow, i went to the most knowledge/reputable tire center in our area, and let a guy with 30yrs. experience drive my truck and see if he could pin-point my problem.(i was told by several people that he could diagnois any tire/suspension/driveline problem just by driving around for a bit). before he even started the engine, he told me that all prerunner 4cyl. he has ever ridden in rode like crap, because the stiffer suspension combined with the light weight of the truck causes it to "kinda bounce excessivley" at highway speeds, once we started going down the road, i pointed out the particular harshness of the ride at certain speeds, and when we returned to the shop, he just said that that was the way the truck is going to ride, and that everything that he could feel/hear was ok and told me not to worry about it. maybe I am just putting to much concern into the matter, then again we never hit speeds above 55 mph. you do ya'll think.

 

How can this be diagnosed? Should there be any movement at the center support bearing.

 

i called my local toyota dealer today, and the guy said there should be a little movement

 

you can climb under the truck and push up on the drive shaft near the bearing.....if it has alot of slop, you'll be able to tell.

 

tacomaman, what do you condier alot of slop, mine has some movement, but i went to know how much is to much?

 

a little movement is ok, but you'll know when you have too much...............if it has a quarter inch to a half inch of slop....its probably safe to say it bad.

 

ok, thanks for the reply. also do you know where i could get the little trim caps that cover up the screws that holds the grap handle to the pillar. i have tried the local junk yards, but all they have are tacoma's with gray int. I have tan.

 

for those,im not too sure. maybe try http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=214074

 

OK, now I'm wondering... I've been fighting some serious vibrations myself lately. My truck gets shakin about 60-65 mph, but it isn't like a typical shake. It comes and goes in intensity. I'v gone and done the rebalance my tires dance a few times to no avail. Recently the actual tech working on my tires told me I have a bent wheel so I've been looking to get some new ones. Hopefully they'll help.

BUT...

Now I'm starting to wonder if there's just a certain harmonic* that the body vibrates at? My shocks are old and could use replacing so maybe that is allowing the vibrations to get to the degree they're at? Hearing others with this problem makes me want to find some engineering degree guys input on these things.


* I know race cars get tested to see what the harmonic frequency they resonate at so that they can be stronger, stiffer, ect. Also this is done with airframes for planes to keep them from failing due to metal fatigue. Does Toyota do this on their trucks?

 

jeeters, i hear what you are saying. i have replaced both sets of shocks, rotated/balanced/aligned tires, wheels checked out to be true, and i still have the bad vibs. i'm beginning to think the guy at the tire store was right, it is just the way our generations of tacoma's ride, i would surely not think so, but who knows?

 

Still... there's got to be something to be done. There's NO way Toyota would have sold as many of these trucks if they all shook like this. I've never heard of anybody else's rig with this until now, and figure somebody else would have complained. Or have they? maybe time to start digging thru old posts around here?

 

amen brother. i am going to try one other fix tomorrow, i am getting my mechanic to install a new center support bearing, just to be sure, than after that, if the problem persists, i'm going to drive it til the wheels fall off. as for other complaints i have read some, but they all was fixed with tires/bushings, etc. I have replaced all that i thought it could be, with no resolution, so it might be just a handfull of us that are just s.o.l.

 

Ditto!

 

i haven't been reading this post for a while. But I'm happy to see that I'm not the only one feeling the blues here lol. I'm getting new tires in 3 days. i was told that broken belts in the tires are causing the shakes .... I seriously dought it though

I was wanting to get a toytec lift but im afraid of putting to much money into a older taco that shakes like mine ...and i thinking a extra 3" lift wont help any

as for the comment from above about the weight of the truck ....I moved acrossed canada last year with about 400lbs of stuff on the back and it still shook the whole dame way ....ugg

 

a week ago, I helped a friend haul a motorcycle up from SoCal... 1245 miles each way. felt exactly the same with and without the bike in the back. Although I did notice it the vibrations almost completely dissappeared over 75mph. Good luck with the new tires savoy

 

savoy, when you get the new tires, pm and let me know if it helped, i am kinda thinking that's what problem might be. if it does help, let me know what brands, style, and size. thanks

 

hey guys, it's me again. today i was driving around, and as usually was feeling the rough ride, anyhow i got to noticing the bed of my truck in my sideview, it was bouncing up and down like a kid on yoo-hoo, and it was bouncing at the same pace my hole truck was. what could be causing this bouncing? a bad tire/wheel in the rear, or could the rear brakes be the cause of all my problems? suggestions?

f.y.i. i got some slightly used michliens ltx ats from my father-in-law, that was just sitting around(they came of his jeep when he upgraded wheels and tires. i'm goin to swap them out tomorrow with my nexen's, to try to elimnate possible bad tire problems. if that don't help, i'm goin to take my spare and swap it out daily with every wheel, to maybe throw out the warped/bent wheel possibility. but i am hoping that the tire will solve my problem.

 

You got new shocks in the rear?