I'm chasing a vibration that I and no one else has been able to figure out.

Hey guys,

I finally decided to join the forums instead of just lurking. I'm changing a vibrations I really can't figure out. I have the next culprits to investigate. But I need some of your intelligence/wisdom/ Ive searched the web and forums endlessly. But, haven't found the answer as I believe it's gotten too specific now. I will list all I have done to chase/fix the issue.
I will send photos or videos of anything you guys think would be helpful. I appreciate this a ton!

Basic Info:
2006 DC. 2.5 suspension with 1/2 pucks. 1 inch lift in the rear. Sits level. The last 100,000 miles have been great. The last 20k I've had a vibration. 285/70R17. I have changed some parts because I needed to anyways also in hopes for improvement. Some I have changed solely in attempt to find the shake.

Symptoms:
Vibration, mostly in the steering wheel. But the whole truck as well. Pretty severe at 60. I think I feel some below that but definitely not as severe and it may be in my mind now. Stays vibrating above 60. 1/16 to 1/8 shake in the steering wheel. Possibly intermittent? Sometimes it seems worse than other times.

The chase:
--Replacements/inspections with no change. (Not in order)
-In the last 20k miles I have replaced:
Newer Tires Currently 285 K02 and previously Geolanders 255s (these are on my 4Runner now.) Before both of those I had Coopers.
-I have swapped wheels/Tires from my smooth riding 4Runner to my Tundra
-I have removed, inspected and properly torqued my spidertrax spacers.
-I have tried driving both with and without the spacers.
-Upper and lower ball joints (OEM)
-Front wheel bearings (OEM)
-Both CV Axles
-2x alignments
-3x Wheel balancing
-Inner Tie rods
-Outer Tie rods
-Steering rack
-Carrier bearing
-Greased and inspected U-joints.
-Sway bar links

Potentials:
-Control arm bushings? No vertical play, slight front to back if I use a big pry bar. In my opinion they don't look terrible. But thoughts?

-Crappy front suspension? I put on the Racho Quuicklift when Bilstein had a shortage a few years back. Lower bushing on these doesn't look great but still not much play. Honestly, the overall ride is nice.

-I replaced brakes/rotors and drums on all four corners a couple years ago.
Maybe the toe is off? I have some really trusted guys who align my vehicles and have always turned out perfect. Tire wear does not indicate this issue.

-Bent wheel that balance hasn't picked up? Tire wear doesn't indicate this either.

Thanks a ton for the help!

 

The Rancho struts are notorious for the lower bushing blowing out on our trucks. Mutliple members can vouch for that. They're utter shit. I don't think that's your issue. If you're feeling it in the steering wheel, that suggests it's rotational mass.

KO2 specifically need to be road-force balanced, this is directly reported from other members here. You mention swapping known-good wheels/tires on, but nothing about the result. What was the result?

At what speed does the vibration start?

Say it starts at 55, and you take the truck up to 65, then tap the brake lightly for half a second so you're still well above the start range of speed, then coast, what happens to the vibration?

As @KNABORES will tell you, over-torquing lugnuts will also cause vibrations. I wouldn't torque higher than 100ft lb. A lot of shops will go as high as 120-140 or more with their impact.

You replaced both front wheel bearings?

 

Hey Shifty!
Rancho are terrible for sure. Got them in a pinch. Looking to replace them and the old 5100 in the rear here shortly. Still deciding what route I want to go.

Sorry I should have clarified: When I stated "--Replacements/inspections with no change." I should have stated the wheel/tire swap was included. The result was no change at all.

Vibration is most noticeable at 55-60 and continues at higher speeds. Much less Noticeable below, but there, around 45-55. It does not feel quite the same as a wheel balance vibration as its mostly lateral and in the steering wheel. Though, the frequency is the same as a wheel balance issue.

Yes, both front wheel bearing were replaced and pressed in by a Toyota mechanic as I did not have a press available.

 

Honestly, I don't say this often, but just to rule out the driveline (maybe driveshaft weight got knocked off or the driveline isnt' clocked correctly?), I'd specifically hunt locally for a driveshaft shop. See if they do free diagnostics, tell them you think something in the driveline is fucked.

Don't go to a generalist shop for this. Find a 'driveshaft shop' specifically near you that has at least 4.5 stars on Google/Yelp/etc.

Typically when looking at stuff like this, it's going to be something in the driveline, the tires/wheels, or tire/wheel bearing. I'm not saying it can't be suspension, but I'd expect other problems if it was suspension-related.

Another thing worth noting: If the Ranchos up front are there, and you're lifting, it's a big no-no to mix strut spacers and lift.

Lastly, for curiosity's sake, you never mentioned if you're 4WD or 2WD. That may be important. If 4WD, have you tried hopping on a straight section of interstate, throwing it in 4HI as you enter (before hitting 40MPHish) and see if it still happens at 60mph?

 

Yeah, I’ve considered the driveshaft may be an issue. When I inspected I saw weights and no sign of the weights missing. But, that still may be the case. So that’s good advice.

Yeah I’m not pumped about mixing the suspension. I didn’t mind too much being that they are so small. I needed the extra half inch to get it back tonight was with the previous suspension. I do plan to change them out soon which should improve the ride as well. Suspension being the cause seems like a stretch to me too.. But at this point there aren’t too many other things to point at haha

Yes it is 4wd. That would be a good test. I’ll give it a shot. Even just for a quick run.
Thanks!

 

My truck has had something similar for a long time, though I don't know if I would call it severe. It definitely isn't consistent - I think sometimes after going around a long bend in the road it can either reduce or increase.
Things that have helped but not completely eliminated it have been new road-force balanced tires and new brake drums.

 

Do you leave the truck sitting for periods? Flat spots in the tires and tire cupping will both cause this. Sporadic appearance speaks more to flat spots, and balancing correcting it for a period does too. Cupping would be pretty consistent presentation. I can’t tell you how many times tire cupping, especially with worn suspension, has been the culprit. People usually figure it out by throwing a know-good/known-balanced set of tires on their truck.

 

I'm the guy who put 12k miles on the truck in the last 9 years, so...
Usually it sits in the garage from November to April to avoid road salt, and even during the summer I WFH so not many miles.
I'm going to start putting a lot more air in the tires over the winter to help mitigate.

 

Yeah. Your issue is probably flat spots my dude. More air may help, but it’s also going to cause more centerline/crown wear. Every action has a reaction.

 

More air just for storage, back to normal pressures for driving

 

Strikes me as a wire/wheel problem. I second the roadforce recommendation. Also, do you have factory wheels so you can go back to all OEM parts (wheels AND tire size). There are so many variables with non-OEM wheels, tires, spacers, and suspension, it makes it hard to diagnose.

Did the brake work help at all? The only other thing I can think of is going through the rear brakes and make sure very thing is clean, lubricated, maybe a light turning of the drums, AND making sure the parking brake is adjusted perfectly (yes, the parking brake matters and it must work properly). My pickup had a vibration that went away after a full rear brake job.

 

Sorry for the late reply gang.

I do not let it sit much. I’ve been doing 20-30k miles a year since I’ve had it.
I have also swapped the tires/wheels from my 4Runner and it still did it. I’m actually going to try this again today just to make sure I’m not crazy.

 

I have been thinking about the brakes. I haven’t adjusted the drums in a while. I’ll give that a shot too.

 

OEM drums or aftermarket?

 

That's a very important question. I'm trying to track down 2 different vibrations. 1 with what I believe is from aftermarket drums--I sometimes get steering wheel wobble when going around 55-60mph. It used to be very intense and shake my whole truck at exactly 60mph or above. It turned out a shop told me my passenger drum was out of round when I got my rack and pinion replaced by them(OEM replacement with OEM tie rods) and alignment/balance. I had just got the rear drums after doing some of a new rear brake rebuild myself, but then having to take it to a shop to finish the job for me--they used aftermarket drums. My first mistake. I then ordered an OEM drum replacement and threw it on as soon as I got it about a week or 2 ago, but my genius ass only ordered 1 and kept the other fairly new aftermarket drum on. It did dramatically fix the initial issue of vibration at 60mph, but today I got a full 13WL brake upgrade with a proper brake bleed job (LSPV included) and brakes are dramatically improved, and pedal feels much better but get the steering wobble at around 55-60. Ordered another OEM drum today for the other side. I may also get them both turned as I have seen that suggested in other threads here. With everything you said you done to your truck recently, I would consider either new drums as well or try getting them turned to see what happens. I bought my drums from Serra today, I paid $95 with free shipping for 1 drum with their 25% sale going on now until Monday.

My other vibration happens when I brake and come to a stop. It still happened today after I replaced front rotors, calipers, pads. All OEM. I did the front brake upgrade because it felt like bad rotors. It's a bit hard to pinpoint where the shake is coming from, but I think it is slightly in the brake pedal and the floorboard, but also the front end. Has really thrown me off. But I am suspecting it being suspension (UBJ or UCA bushings or both) since they don't appear to be in great shape (shop said they noticed slight play in UCA, pics for people to see what they think). I'm considering throwing 5100s prebuilt with only 1" lift which would also be a good excuse for me to get JBA UCAs. I also been wanting to get my driveshaft checked out by a driveshaft specialist as @Shifty has mentioned plenty of times to people, but I don't really have any in my area (only seems to be full on shops and not specialists). TLDR I've had some of the same suspicions as OP, maybe working through and seeing everyone's suggestions for both our respective scenarios can help us both get closer to tracking down the culprit.

 

Since this came up earlier today and it’s fresh on the medulla, you may want to also verify the driveshafts are clocked correctly on either side of the carrier, and look for signed the pinion flange doesn’t have a loose fastener or hasn’t shifted somehow.

 

I'll have to get under and take a look, I know the u joints are rusted up but not necessarily seized--may just try and replace the carrier and those anyway

 

I had vibration in my '05, swapped the OEM steering rack bushings to polyurethane, all was good after the swap.

 

You need a NVH app or something.