Toyota can't fix my truck.

Relentless- yeh i had the tires rotated and balanced didn't help. Also it seems to be affected with acceleration.

 

+1

 

one ? for you negative guys. Why did you join a forum if you don't like altering your vehicles?

Everyone is all about the way our trucks look with a lift, but the second someone has a problem, the ones without a lift start saying how stupid it is too lift one. Make up your damn minds. lol.

 

First, we are all friends here. No need for name calling or nastyness. If you can't be nice, then go somewhere else.
Second, I dont know if it is worth mentioning or not because I am still learning but my truck shook like mad until I replaced the rotors, especially if there was any mud or snow. Just a thought.

 

I would be surprised if it was the T/C. It's a pretty simple device, and about the only thing that would go wrong is the stator or the lockup clutch (if present). Both of those usually work or they don't, so I would think it would be a constant source of vibration. And, if it had lost a balancing weight, or really if anything inside produced vibration, it probably would've eaten the transmission's front pump by now. That's about all I can add.

Hope you get it fixed, I know it's frustrating.

 

im sure u already know this but the angle of your driveshaft changes as you accelerate, torque twists the axle in an upward direction, twists the leaf springs in an s shape, causing wheel hop in some cases and vibrations in others, my jeep did this alot, problem was fixed with a traction bar, not sure if this is a solution for u or not as my tacoma is not lifted

 

Badguybuster- The only reason i got an attitude is becuase i came to the forum for help and i get attitude from other people. I know its not the mature thing to do, but the last thing i want to deal with right now is smartass comments. Im stressing out bout my truck.

As far as the T/c not being the problem, i have heard from many technicians (not from toyota) that it is common for the vibrations to be coming at the speed im having it at if it's the T/C.

If this doesnt fix it i will try the carrier bearing drop, but i seriously doubt that will help. Last option is to take the lift off, but i really don't want to do that.

Thanks again for all the reasonable responses. The reason i came to TW from other forums is because "most" of the people on here are nice people willing to help.

 

lol take all responses with a grain of salt, we know it can be stressing, after all though, its only a truck

 

good&bad, pros&cons

 

It's worth a try... I have an 05 DC Off-Road with the 3" Toytec Lift w/ Add a leaf. I had a low speed vibration typical to the lift and you could definitely feel it. I made a set of 1/4 spacers for the carrier bearing, after installation the driveshaft was lined back up and the vibrations are gone. I am not proclaiming this will fix your problem since it seems your vibrations are much worse, but it may help. I also had a higher speed vibration problem that acted similar to yours and it was a result of my front rotors being warped and my tires/wheels being out of balance(they were brand new and freshly balanced by the place I purchased them) I had them rebalanced by another place just to rule that out and sure enough that fixed it. I have experienced this same problem on my jetta and it was caused by wheels and tires being unbalanced.

Good Luck! I know how frustrating it can be with the dealerships and warranty work. I had it out once with the service manager at mine and after that no more problems.

 

Good Luck Bro, I hope you were able to get your issue fixed by going to the dealership

 

Thanks man.

So it looks like i have to leave my truck in GA for a few days. I have to return to florida to work mon and tue and my truck is still at Toyota in GA. They have not figured out the problem yet. Everything checks out fine so far, but we haven't been able to recreate the vilent shuddering since it has been there. They suggested that they forman take the vehicle home and drive it in everyday sceneraios hooked up to a computer. I was ok with this becuase i would rather them be able to fix it then take it back home a state away and not be able to get it fixed. So I'm taking my stepdad's truck home to florida and coming right back in three days. lol.

The toyota up in GA is being awesome so far. They deal with lifted trucks on a daily basis and are fine with covering them. I will keep yall posted.

 

the dealer and toyota motor corp must prove that the lift caused the vibration or shudder. by federal law they must prove it before they can refuse to repair your vehicle. lifting or lowering your vehicle cannot and does not void your warranty. its burden of proof. if toyota cant PROVE the lift directly caused the problem they have to fix it ! its great post like yours that make this world a wonderful place.

 

+1

Hopefully the GA dealership takes care of your problem. If not I agree w/ mjp2's advice. Good luck.

 

Quick question...does it start after a left turn? A guy in my shop has the same setup as mine and had this problem. My service manager swore it was his tires and pretty much refused to help him. As a bet, we switched my wheel assy's with his and he drove it over night. Still had vibration. I talked my manager into letting me put a rack and pinion in it and the vibration went away! Not only did I win $50 bucks, I fixed a co-workers truck. Gotta love that !

 

I had this issue with a few vehicles over the years. It turned out that the tire tread was separating internally making the tire out of round. I swapped the spare from one corner to the next till I found the "oval" tire. I don't know but it is worth a try if all else fails.

 

Dude dont stress that much its just a truck .. Atleast you have a waranty .... My truck started vibrating really bad few weeks ago. It would start vibrating and would stop between 30mph to like 60 mph and then would be really bad at around 60mph. It was also making squeeking aounds on lower speeds. I changed all the brakes, balances, alligned, changed rear diff fluid...which took care of it just a little bit but the noise was still there and vibration was still there. Comes out i had to replace the rear hub assembly ....So if your symptoms are similar to this, it could be a bearing.

 

I'm interested to know if it's the torque converter. I had a Chevy van years ago that did that. The flywheel cracked and it had an intermittent vibration just like you describe. At certain speeds it would vibrate so bad you'd think you had blown a tire. It happened on a trip and before I could get it back home the transmission actually separated from the bell housing and it stranded me on the side of I-20. Had to have it towed. That was a G-30 cargo van with a 6.2L diesel. I'm not sure why the flywheel cracked but I was hauling a pretty heavy load and my hunch is that flywheel and drive line were not strong enough to handle the torque of that big ol' diesel motor. GM used to be notorious for matching up diesel engines with driveline and other components designed for gasoline engines. Anyway, once your torque converter starts wobbling it feels just like what you describe.

 

Well i just got back to florida(without my truck). Hopefully they will find out what it is. The dealer is being awesome, but since we havent been able to recreate the problem while a tech is in it then they cant break into anything. So im hoping that the truck acts up while the forman has it so i can get this resolved. They said they well have the truck hooked up to computers so they will be able to pinpoint it exactly when it happens.

 

Because you changed the angle of the driveline, they can deny warranty on anything drivetrain related.

Toyota could very well keep your truck for weeks at a time, searching for the solution to the problem, then tell you in the end that it is not going to be covered under warranty and bill you for their time spent diagnosing the problem.