Shaking at 70 MPH

My truck shakes intensely at precisely 70 mph. The shake is not in the steering wheel. Speeding up or slowing down fixes the shake. On cruise at 70, the truck will shake for a few minutes, then the shake will fade briefly, and then return.

I just returned from a two-week, 4000-mile camping trip out west and interstate driving was almost unbearable. Because I have the 2.7, maintaining the speed limit of 75 mph at high elevations in Colorado and New Mexico was pretty much impossible. Thus, I kept it at 70 (and gave myself a brain injury).

Before the trip, I had the wheels balanced and alignment performed at a highly reputable race shop in Atlanta. I had new front rotors and pads installed by the same shop.

Otherwise, I had a killer time and my 230,000-mile truck handled some high-elevation, really rough forest roads in Colorado like a champ. Even with a pop-up camper shell and full load in the bed, I managed about 22 mpg for the trip too.

What other causes of shaking could be at play here? Is this a drive shaft issue? The front suspension feels quite stable and the rear feels far less squirrelly when loaded.

 

I've had this type of thing on and off, in different forms, for the 4 years I've owned my truck. Everything I do changes it slightly but it never goes away. I just kind of wrote it off as the nature of an underpowered small truck trying to keep up at highway speed.

I could be so wrong and my truck could just be fucked

 

Propeller shaft u joints. Classic symptoms.

 

Could be wheel balance, U-Joints, Carrier bearing

 

Thanks for the responses, everyone.

I had my U-Joints replaced at 196,000 miles when I bought the truck a little under two years ago and I am at 236,000 now. They're probably OK, but I'll have my mechanic check them. I will have them check the carrier bearing as well. I am getting an oil change next Friday.

Balance has been checked multiple times now, so I think I can mark off that variable.

 

What size tires are you running? Took me a few tries to get my 33's close to balanced and still not 100%

 

I am not sure about the inches, but they are 265/75r16 BFG K02s (32ish inches?). When they wear out, I'm dropping back to stock size and something a little more road-focused. These came with the truck and rub the frame on full lock. I'm not doing any hardcore wheeling.

 

U joints can can start locking up pretty quick when the grease runs dry, and then they destroy the carrier bearing. I plan on greasing mine every oil change from now on because of that.

 

Driveshaft carrier bearing would be the next guess.

I had a similar condition in my 97.

Oddly enough, replacing the wheels cured it. The stock wheels seamed to balance on the machine but caused vibration at freeway speeds. Not sure if it was only one of the wheels.

Weird…

 

I'd also advise you to look at the upper and lower control arm bushings with that many miles. There are several mechanical issues that could be causing you problem. Good luck and let us know what fixes it.

 

How many miles on those KO2s? I've had several sets of them and have had a couple go out of round which caused vibrations above 55 or so. I couldn't notice it just eyeballing the treads.

 

They were installed right before I got the truck at 196,000 miles. I had my total miles wrong in my first post. I'm at 232,000, so they have something a little north of 36000 miles on them. They still have a lot of tread and even wear all around. I'm pretty obsessive about keeping things sorted out. Also, there's no shake in the steering wheel at any speed, so I don't think it's a balance issue unless the shake comes from the rear.

 

Will do. I'm taking it into the shop on Monday. They're probably the best independent Toyota truck specialist in Atlanta, so hopefully they'll get it sorted out.

 

is this rig a manual or automatic transmission?
i have the shakes at 55-65 mph (noticeable in 5th gear only) shaking the shifter stick and is still under DiY diagnosis... plus other issues trying to piece it alltogether
its a 5VZFE but perhaps similar to your issue(s)

my rig Also first had noticeable issues climbing the hills in CO last year, i go there often over the past many years and never had an issue before maintaining speed uphill in 5th gear

 

It’s a manual 3RZ-FE. Maintaining speed at elevation requires constant downshifts. It shakes in fourth and fifth at 70.

I was camping in the NC mountains this weekend and thank goodness, the speed limits are much lower.

 

Did you notice these shakes in the shifter stick at any rpm range?
Any abnormal whiny noise at those highway speeds?

 

Motor mounts original still?
I read on here in the past month while DiY diag my rigs current issues and those were suggested as a culprit

 

It’s probable, based on the many parts I’ve replaced since owning the truck.

 

Normal vibrations but nothing that stands out as excessive. No noises at all. The truck feels very well sorted other than the shaking at 70.

 

This is my second first gen Tacoma and I have experienced the same issue with both trucks. Alignments, wheel balancing, road-force wheel balancing....No change. I have always noticed that going around curves on the interstate is when the vibration will come in or fade away. If it fades away around the curve it will stay gone until I go around another curve. It's like whatever the cause is, cancels itself out at a certain point due to the wheels rotating at different speeds while turning. Both of my trucks are ADD front diff, and I am curious if a setup with lockout hubs has this same issue or not.