Steering wheel Shake

i have been trying to fix this problem for about a year.

i had 2 different tire shops balance my wheels. i have access to a balancer with a cone adapter and done it myself twice.

after that i just figured they where out of round and said the hell with it and started planing for a lift with new tires and rims.

i went to the dealer today got them balanced and its perfectly smooth at 90 mph

thanks to this thrend

 

def alignment your camber (or toe i can't remember which) is prob out. Don't go to the dealership, just go to a shop that specializes in front end work

 

pretty much what i can tell everyone after the past year of vibes and compilation of this thread haha. Is get a good alignment, road force balance tires, don't lift too much or get tires that are that large. Check your driveshaft and make sure u joints aren't shot and carrier bearing is bolted down tight and doesn't have much play within the sleeve. make sure your skid plate isn't pinched against the oil pan (this was causing some vibes for me and i bet avid offroaders this is common) and lastly for 2nd gens check the diff and wheel bearings

 

It is balance if you are wearing tires it can be tow or alignment

 

Well CRAP! F'n a-hole stops up traffic and being a gung-ho owner of another 4x4 wanna-be Tacoma, I employ the 4x4 susp. hidden under my stock look, skirt the lady, catch 11 potholes, and lo and behold my Toyota certified magic-smooth ride is gone. Problem is some other little a-hole snatched the chrome caps off my valve stems too. Now i have tha shake between 55-75 mph...just an alighnment/balance issue? Or is the weight of the caps enough?

 

If you rocked that many pot holes, your alignment is likely shot to hell. Also, check your tires for lumps. Pot holes can snap the belts in your radials.

 

I was an Asst. Mgr. for Discount Tire Co. for 3 years and we had this problem on not only Tacomas, but Sequoias and Tundras. Toyota vehicles are very, very, very ride sensitive. They have much better OE suspension parts than other Mfg.'s. First of all when you deviate from oe specs such as tire size, wheel diameter or width or a more negative offset you will more than likely lose ride quality. If your tires are larger and an A/T or MT style, rotate them OFTEN or they will cup out much faster resulting in vibrations. Typically 6-8K miles is recommended but if you do have all-terrains with a heaver ply rating (ie. LRC, LRD, LRE) rotate them every 4-5K. Also most reputable tire shops can offer road force testing or computer ride match which will essentially match the high spot on the tire with the low spot on the wheel to give a more uniformed roll. Basically two wrongs will make a right.

 

Very interesting. Thanks for the post !

 

has any one tried the dyna beads? they are little ceramic beads you put inside the tire and the are supposed to balance them out. my dad runs them in his goldwing he says they help and i've read other places where they have fixed balance problems. i ordered a set yesterday full write up when i get them in.

 

I asked this question a few months back and never got a response. I do not think they will pour through the valve stem, TPMS and all. You may not be running the TPMS sensors though?

 

I am having the same issue on my stock 2009 for at least a year, but it has been getting worse. I had the tires balanced and aligned at NTB and a Goodyear shop, but I don't know if wither of them did a force road balance.

There is another similar post that could be useful to look at: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/wheels-tires/138412-help-vibration-issues-tires-wheels.html

The following gives some good information on possible causes of the problem.

​

 

im not but if it works hell it worth 20 bucks

 

I had vibrations on a 2002 Tundra after I put new tires on.Come to find out that the wheels were lug centric.After using a adapter that attaches the wheel to the the balancer that uses the lug holes instead of the center hole it was ok.Most tire shops balance using the center hole and that could be why Toyotas develop vibrations after new tires are installed.Toyota dealers should have the right equipment for a proper balance if the tech knows how to use it.

 

exactly! its called a haweka adapter and you would be surprised that many dealerships have no idea. my biggest bit of advice is to just stay with toyota wheels for these trucks. TRD has been doing some good things and many of their special edition TRD wheels are pretty attractive. The different offset/backspacing along with center bore size makes the balancing (even with a road force) difficult as mentioned before due to sensitive "tight" front ends. I've learned that quality shouldn't be messed with haha

 

I had the shakes between 60 and 65 mph on my 2WD Tacoma. The stock tires were Dunlops. When I wore those out and put Michelin LTX's on the shake went away. The truck rides very smooth now. I never liked the Dunlops. The front end always felt like it was floating when I had the Dunlops on. After doing a little research I concluded the factory used the Dunlops because they were cheap. Cheapo to replace to but you get to keep the shakes. No thanks.

 

i figured out what was causing a little bit of vibes on my truck, i put a set of 17" trd sport wheels on it, and i didnt have lugs off a trd sport taco, well the alloy wheels take a different lug that actually helps to center the wheel and how its placed on the hub, rather than just tightening the wheel to the hub after you hand the wheel off of it when putting them on. you actually have to hold the wheel up to get the lugs on and center the studs in the holes on the rim for the lugs to fit on. pain in the ass to install but works great when it comes to wondering if your wheels are centered on your truck when spinning down the road. if you put trd alloy wheels on your truck either the OR's or the Sports, you need to get these lugs to avoid any shake, the stock basic acorn lugs will not place the wheel correctly on your hub and will end up chewing at the rim where they mount, and its going to ruin them while causing a vibe. just my .02, bc i wish someone would have told me before i tried using stock lugs haha.

 

Developed same common vib at around 50-65. Never thought to ask the Goodyear dealer if they used the correct attachment to balance tires. They did a good job, it's just a slight vibration, but noticeable. Will try the dealer next see if they can do any better.

 

i had the same problem started rotating tires by crossing rear tires to the front and front strait to the back has helped my vibes alot. and tires wearing fine

 

Having the same steering wheel shake issues going on...45-65. This started after I installed my Dick Cepek wheels. They came with all new lugs. I have had them balanced twice and also rotated. Still shaking. I'm wondering if I need to purchase the hubcentric rings. I have called my local dealership. Setup an appointment for next Thursday, so we will see what they say.

 

Decided to call Dick Cepek (Mickey Thompson). They said my lugs had to be 60 degree conical type lugs. I know when my local garage ordered the wheels (from a local rep) they came with new lugs. DC said they do not include lugs when they sell wheels. Must just be his local rep that does that. I need to find out if my new lugs are 60 deg conical. However, I still don't understand why I don't get the shake in the rear, if they aren't conical type lugs. -----end rant-----