Steering wheel Shake

Brake rotors that are checked at the factory,
and balanced aganist the the wheel and tire.

The tire is matched with the wheel, and if you notice there are a couple
colored dots printed on tires when they come frome the factory to aid
the technician in mounting the tire concentrically with the rim
and also ther brake rotor .

Brake rotors that are new should still be checked for runout.
Runners and 4WD's have the large center opening that confuses some
when mounting the rotor to the lathe just like when 6 lug wheels are
mounted to a dynamic balancer.

Toyota dealerships know this and have a on car lathe that turns the rotor
while it is still on the vehicle, since when the brake rotor is mounted in an
effort to match the wheel and tire's centircity.
(if it is done by correctly trained technicians)
Most believe the only reason an on car lathe is used is for convenience
and speed of service.

Tire weights are an important subject because on the Stock factory 16"
Tacoma alloy rims, tape weights used on the offset of the inside center
plane can have clearance issues and affixing the tape to the center plane
is not defined as completely as the lip of the wheel's rim is.

All these details if negated together can cause problems with a vehicle's
handling charicteristics and sterring feel, even if everything else
(toe in, caster/camber, axle, ackerman angle, etc) are within specifications

Shaking while braking can be caused by defective shocks,
brake calipers, warped or out of specified tolerance
for runout of a wheel or a brake's rotor.
Another factor is defective/worn front wheel bearings,
as well as other components that are stressed by braking force.

Tire matching to axle has an affect on handeling,
as when for example two tires are counter balanced
to the inside bias while the other pair are counter balanced to the outside
of the wheel those like pairs should be matched together
on the same axel/axis.

Some of the other factors that could impair a vehicles handeling,
are some of the electrical ABS functions such as VSC that's components
actuators and sensors are susceptible to RFI , miscalibrations, and
miscalculation from heat soak proximity by drive train and exhaust,
and harmonics from those of internal mechanical as well as imported
communications components.

 

Started searching here because of a new shaking problem and found this thread first.

My 07 Tacoma just started shaking. Stock tires and wheels, no mods. Was driving just fine up until about a week ago. Now it shakes or rumbles under load - when accelerating or going uphill.

Will probably take it into the stealership tomorrow. I drive 60 miles each day and am a little worried about it.

 

Mine is doing it. Had the wheels/tires rebalanced and it didn't fix the problem.

 

Toyota of Dallas found that it was the drive shaft. the service tech said my slip joint was leaking and the u-joints were bad. He recommended replacing the drive shaft for $1,022.

Of course they also recommended resealing the front timing cover for another $1,753 and other miscellaneous recommendations for an additional $559.

I think I'll replace the u-joints myself this weekend and see if that fixes it.

 

^
When I had my frontier I had bad u joints. The shaking only happened during acceleration or deceleration (engine braking) and went away ashen maintaining constant speed. It also felt like the rear was shimmying as opposed to the front tires.

 

I think the symptoms associated with this thread,
would be better discribed as, erratic steering.

Steering wheel shake is a good description,
the action that creates the symptom would be helpful if added to the title of this thread.

I have been going through the front suspension and have rebuilt a caliper,
replaced worn struts, have new tires and had them rebalanced,
rotated, tried a new set of rotors , but after each effort only to have the symptoms return.

The truck's specific symptom is erratic steering while braking.
Now than I've learned more about the ABS functions (VSC, LSD, TRAC)
I'm starting to see a pattern with the post associated with front wheel bearing failure
and the truck's symptoms and why they keep returning.

The best control I can have when it starts is to reduce speed .
In 2nd gear it completely goes away
and I suspect that is because the transmission gearing dampens the affects
of the VSC braking controls.

The symptoms still exsist if I turn off VSC and TRAC,
but I'm affraid that maybe because the trucks right front wheel bearing is on it's way out.

The reason I believe it has a reduced life is because the roads I drive are winding hills,
that have high crowns, which would normally affect the right front wheel.
But because the VSC and other ABS functions compensate for this stress,
the left wheel is taking the heat from the corrective braking controls.

I'm prepping for the front wheel bearing R&R, and I plan on making a point to see,
if I can surround the sealed bearing with high temp grease to increase it's life span.

 

Replaced my u-joints. Problem solved.

 

What was the part number or the brand of joints that you used?
Did you use Spicer and were they greaseable?

My 99 had a TBS for the u-joints not holding grease,
and the previous owner had replaced them,
but I think they were not zirk fitted for the original joints.



We have just had a cold snap here is SoCal and my tire pressure monitor ,
warning light came on.

Most of my tires were below 29psi and the spare was 10psi.
I was using the pressure gage on my airhose and
after comparing it to a dial gage I carry in the truck, I found a 10psi difference.

I carry about 150lbs in the bed on a daily basis and it is just an SR5
I have the reduced load capacity leaf spring pack and,
the Tokico gas shocks that the truck came with originally.
I bought P245/75R16 109S Geolanders that the FSM suggests,
I run at 29psi (cold)

This is the pressure regardless if I have a 2TR-FE or the 1GR-FE
Standard , Prerunner, or 4WD including the optional, body/bed
configurations
I look at the tire and how the truck sits parked on a flat surface.
the maximum psi cold on the Yokohamas I have is 44psi

I raised the psi to 34 and the rear tread sits flat,
with minimal sidewall bulge.

The front tires are a little tall on center of the tread at 34psi and
I think I'll lower them to around 30 or 32psi.,
but I'll wait till the weather warms up a bit.

I took the truck for a test drive and the shaking is reduced somewhat
to where It may be just tie rod end play that is creating the effect.

 

I bought them at Pep Boys. I don't recall the brand but I'll try to remember to look for the boxes when I get home later and check.

ETA: The brand name is GMB (PN 0364845) and they do have grease fittings.

 

First of all, a great shout out to Toyota and my local dealer. I will never buy another brand.

Secondly, to those who called me out and PM'd me with nasty accusations, I wasn't making anything up.

Now to the awesome news; the "FIX" is here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See attached PDF, I just got it Christmas eve from my dealer. She has already ordered parts for me.

To all those thinking that tire rotations, replacement, balance etc., I went that route and still no joy. I kept the pressure on; firm and direct without being rude.

This, is the permanent fix. Way to go Toyota.

 

Why would they accuse you of making stuff up ? I've been saying the tsb was in the works a few months ago. Sorry you got crapped on but you were spot on. I was talking to the reps a long time ago and it was one of the top 5 issues they were working on. Correct info

 

Sorry I'm a little confused. So, this TSB doesn't help with the steering wheel shake above 55 mph, just the driveline vibes auto transmissions have at 15-25 mph? I thought there was going to be a fix coming to fix the steering wheel shake.

 

From what I was told it's going to help The 15 to 25 vib which a lot of us have and in turn can help higher speeds. You need to understand it's a second order vib that can present itself at different times in the drive cycle. I can feel it come back in and out at higher than tsb speeds so this could in a round about way help. As far as it being specific for a 55 vibe than no I don't believe this is the intent of this tsb.

 

Thanks, there are so many threads & pages of replies, wasn't sure if I missed or misunderstood something.

 

Exactly.
I have the 15-25 AND the 55 vib/shake as well. Dealer stated this will fix all related problems. Not a cheap fix for Toyota, but hits the entire driveline/shake.
There is no specific open campaign for 55 shake nationwide.

 

Taco Mike - any idea what the springs look like? 4 leaf, 5 leaf, thickness or material rigidity? (I recall that you may have seen the parts already during testing?)

 

No I haven't Austin. I was lucky not to be bugged to much from them. I really didn't want to take my truck apart like 8 times playing with this stuff. If you have 3 leaf pack you get one set. If you have a 4, you get another. I don't know about swapping 3for 4 trying to kill 2 birds with one shot. With the storms coming through here I haven't had a chance to get the mount installed yet. No time to even look at it yet. I'm sure we are going to have quite a few once the word goes out

 

have you had a successful fix? my dealer here in south jersey is still waiting for the tsb. thanks tim

 

i'd like to point out, this TSB is complete BS. it calls for steering stabilizer part 45713-35050 for "ALL", this does NOT.. i repeat DOES NOT fit the "older" pre-12 steering wheel. I had to re-drill ALL the holes and cut off a LARGE amount of material to make it clear the upper mounts for the air bag.

now... now that thats out of the way... does it cure any "vibes"? Hell no. Does it make the steering "feel" more solid and ACTUALLY help with bump steer? My judgment, yes it does.

 

The steering stabilizer is only part of the TSB is it not ?