Washboard Frontend Vibration 60km/hr + Fox 2.5

Howdy All,

So, I’ve got a nasty front end vibration that ONLY shows up on washboard roads at or above 60km/hr. Aside from this vibration I’m very happy with the ride quality and set up. On road, everything feels tight and well balanced. Even off road, when not hitting washboards, everything feels smooth.

To diagnose / fix the vibration I’ve tried:

*air down 24psi
*softened compression dampening
*4x4 or not, on the gas or not.

What I’m running up front :

*Camburg UCA
*Fox 2.5 remote adj.
*1” diff drop

To anyone that has some potential suggestions or feedback I’d love to hear it. I’m worried the 1” diff drop may have angled the diff support bushings to the point that they are metal on metal. Upon support bushing investigation there is still a bit of bushing protection but definitely a much steeper angle and only a few MM between metal surfaces.

***How do I find and get rid of this vibration?
***Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading.

 

Did you put the spacers on the screws for the skid plate to give room for the diff drop?

 

Yes sir I did, good call tho. That would definitely do it.

 

Mine did that also. Think it’s just the nature of the beast, my buddies with various different set ups get it also. Gotta go slower, or faster.

 

Glad and sorry to hear I’m not alone. I might experiment with slightly less nitrogen in the resi and potentially a little less preload this weekend. I’ll keep y’all posted.

 

Same issue with Kings, TC Arms, and Toyo MT

 

Really eh, so I’m not alone and this is not specific to a certain brand. Good to know.
How much lift are you running in the front? (Center hub to fender)

 

About 2.5" of lift so it's plenty plush when it needs to be but yeah. Not a lot can be done for washboard roads unfortunately

 

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. If I find anything that does help with the washboards I’ll be sure to post it here.

 

After another quick test run on washboards the vibration is feeling more like it’s coming through the steering rack / column. My front end is currently sitting about 5” over stock.
I definitely want it closer to 3.5” and hope to drop it down this week.

Any chance the 5” front lift is affecting the steering rack / column and causing this loud vibration ? Everything else about the front end feels very tight and is new.

 

More like 4” over stock on the front end. Still want to drop it another 0.5”.
I was able to quiet the vibration noise by resting my left foot against the steering column with a bit of forward and down pressure while driving.
The plot thickens.

 

You're just not going fast enough. There is a growling noise that occurs on washboard, I've never been able to eliminate that noise, except by turning up the stereo, but the truck is very smooth suspension wise.

 

I appreciate you joining the conversation. Definitely went fast enough yesterday and it only got worse. (120 km/hr)

I took some video of the noise yesterday as well. Curious what others are hearing because the noise I’m getting is far beyond the “normal” washboard hmmm / vibration.
Sounds like something is about to let go in the steering column.
I’m really hoping that’s not the sound that all others are living with.

 

I think you're in the right area (at least as far as the noise I'm familiar with), rack, half shaft, rack bushings......? I haven't made the switch to poly rack bushings yet.

 

Thanks for the reply. To clarify, do you mean that you think I’m looking in the right area for the vibration or that my description of the sound is the same sound yourself and others have?

The truck is brand new with 1200km on it so nothing is worn out yet, and it still has stock rack bushings.
My mind is definitely going down the same parts list as you’ve mentioned.
Would love to post a video on here but iPhone video file wasn’t accepting media.
How are others posting video, YouTube and link it? Thanks again.

 

Here’s a video link:
https://youtu.be/X7_PlYucvYU

 

Yes, post vids via Utube.
Yes, I believe you have the right idea about where the growl is emanating from and I don't believe it's due to worn parts.
Maybe the "big guns" can shed some light on this, @KevinK , @papasmurf , @osidepunker

 

Yep, same noise.

 

Are you airing down? Seems deflating the tires helps a bit.
NVM, I see in the first post that you're running 24 psi. I blame it on not having my coffee yet.

 

Damn! Wanting to have a problem and not at the same time.

So, I’ve aired down to 20psi, I’ve softened and stiffened dampening in both directions and I’m going to try taking away a bit of preload / front end lift and re-align this week.
I’m surprised that this sound is the norm for us Tundra folk.
Thanks for your time and feedback man.

 

I had some nasty noises on washboard and dug into the dash to see what it was. There was so much stuff bouncing around in there. I zip tied wires, put foam on the top of the ducts between the speaker wires, and used some sound deadening to go on plastic where it had any play. It helped a while lot! It still vibrates a bit when I’m on washboard but it’s not a BAD sound like you have,it’s just the sound of a 6000 pound truck and everything inside going over a washboard road.
To me it sounds like there’s actual components vibrating. You can get the dash off fairly easy with minimal tools. I’d say it may be worth a shot. Go in there and try to move stuff. If it moves, do what you need to to secure it, zip ties, tape, put foam between wire looms and plastics, sound deadening for plastic panels and vent tubes etc... if you’re off-road a lot it may be worth it.

 

Sounds like something is loose in that steering column area...

 

Thank you! Definitely going to head in that direction. I’m pretty much only off road / washboards, so this sound needs to go away.
I’ll keep y’all posted.

 

My thoughts exactly! To me there is a distinct difference between the sound and feel of a heavy truck on washboards and something loose / parts contacting that can be addressed.

 

You need to lower your coilovers down to 3”, anything more is bad for off road use, and it will definitely ride better. That’s a lot of pre load at 4+ inches, you are more than likely experiencing coil bind and topping out imo.. I hear the normal growl in the video, but also hear the shocks doing one or both. Once you get it lowered, take the diff drop off.

 

I hear you. I was surprised that my fender to hub was around 26.5 - 27” with only 8 threads showing on the 2.5’s. I didn’t think 8 threads was a lot of preload / binding issue , but regardless I definitely want to be lower in the front.
Any trouble with only having 1 thread showing ??

 

No trouble with one thread. Both pairs I ran on my 18 would only go down to a bit over 3” lift, any lower and the coil was free at full droop.

 

Solid! Thanks man.

 

You may want to rotate the resi so the 90* elbow is either straight up or straight down while, of course, keeping the hose off of the coils. Depending on tire size and wheel offset it may be possible to hit the elbow.