Vibration at 25-30mph

Hello!

This is my first post, so bear with me. I hope I'm putting this in the right place.

I own a 2006 Tacoma and on acceleration between 25-30mph, my truck shakes. I've taken it to a mechanic who told me that it MIGHT be both my front lower ball joints and/or my inner tie rod on the driver side. I replaced the inner tie rod on the driver side, as well as the lower ball joint on the passenger side, but it did not fix my problem. Technically, I still need to replace the lower ball joint on the driver side, but I just don't think that is what's causing the vibration/shake. The parts I replaced were still in good shape, and I chose to replace the passenger side ball joint because it looked worse out of the two.

The shake almost feels like when you drive a standard and you don't give it enough gas, the way the car shakes before it dies. My RPMs don't fall, and it doesn't feel like a misfire, because I've already dealt with that with this truck. He's put me through the wringer, to say the least. Poor thing keeps on trucking, though. I'm kinda at a loss, and I don't have the funds to continually replace parts that don't need replacing, so I figured if anyone would know anything about Tacomas, it would be you guys. This issue is actually why I joined.

Thanks in advance to anyone who has any insight.

 

Have you checked your U-Joints and Carrier Bearing? That would be the first place I would look, another possibility is a bad tire.

 

Sounds more like a carrier bearing as stated above.

Is your truck lifted at all?

Bigger tires?

Did you throw a wheel weight?

Generally worn suspension components won't cause a "lugging" shudder but instead a vague steering feel and wondering in the lane.

 

Thank you so much for the suggestions! I have a shade-tree mechanic that has been helping me, and he has mentioned the carrier bearing being something he’s worried about. The only reason that we haven’t replaced it is because we just put a new one on at the end of last year, but he’s thinking it was a faulty part. I’m willing to replace it again, especially with three people thinking that might be the issue.

Yes, my truck is lifted and has oversized tires. There isn’t any pull in the steering wheel, and after the 25-30mph, he drives like a dream. Also, the shake doesn’t happen every time, just periodically, usually when I accelerate slowly.

 

Did you check for a stiff or failed U-Joint when you did the CB?

 

According to my mechanic, the ones next to the CB were replaced.

(I am not mechanically knowledgeable, so I’m trying to relay this information to him and vice versa. I’m trying to learn, but, unfortunately, I’m not naturally inclined to understand this like some people seem to be, so if I say something that doesn’t make sense, please let me know.)

 

That makes sense since the middle one has to be removed to change the CB but there is 2 more, one on each end of the driveshaft.
This didn't happen to start after the CB was replaced did it?

 

Several months ago, my truck would vibrate at low RPM's, specifically under light acceleration. If there was any extra pressure/stress on the truck (going up a hill or on bumpy roads) it would really vibrate, almost felt like it was stuttering when you're learning how to drive a manual car. To avoid the vibration, I would accelerate to shoot the RPM's up and problem/vibrations would disappear for that minute..

I searched around a few threads and followed their recommendations; I changed out the u-joints, carrier bearing, and balanced the drive shaft. While the vibrations reduced, I continued to feel some vibrations/stalling upon slow acceleration.

I went to a friend's mechanic who rebuilds transmissions and he recommended I'd change the transmission oil. I did four fluid changes, which cleared out and replaced about three quarts per change, and the truck stopped vibrating. It now shifts much, much smoother and have not had a problem since. May be worth a shot as a transmission change is fairly cheap and easy to do at home. For further, refer to this thread.

A different member had an issue with vibrations as well. He also did a transmission fluid change and it resolved his issue. Refer to this thread.

If you have a 4x4, look into the needle bearing.