4RUNR

I've read it thoroughly, and there is no mention of starting the truck up and getting it up to highway speeds when it starts shacking. I would be highly surprised if it does *not* shake in the air, especially given the severity of shaking you describe while on-road.

Btw, while I read this whole thread, as messages were added, so my recall of the earlier stuff is not that great, but I don't remember any detail about the shake itself being mentioned: does it shake with the same speed as one revolution of the tire, and naturally increases with speed?

2001Millrunner

Matt, did this shaking happen before your brushguard? or after? or was it always there?

LSUMatt1514

4Runr,
No, I did not run it up to speed while it was on the rack if that's what you mean. I don't know if they'd let me do that anyway. As far as the vibration itself, it starts creeping in around 60 mph and then progressively gets worse up until 70 mph or so. Once there, it is pretty constant. It's not as if it gets worse and worse with ever increasing speed above 70 mph or so.

2001MillRunner,
It did start before I put the brush guard on.

Matt

4RUNR

Ok, maybe I'm not expressing it clearly: the shaking is like a heartbeat. It can beat slow, it can beat fast. The beating can be quiet, or it can be loud.

What do you mean by worse? Faster or louder?

LSUMatt1514

Well, I guess you would say that it gets faster as I go from 60 mph to 70+ mph and then plateaus (ie stays at the same rate/intensity). The seat flutters faster, the visor flutters faster, etc. Nothing audible, except of the loose plastic trim on the right hand side of the passenger seat which commences to vibrating along with the seat and I can hear it rattling occasionally.

Matt

4RUNR

Put some duct tape on the hood scoop. Maybe you are experiencing turbulence.

trx125

Quote: Flamedx4 gave great advice for the standard type bearing, but the 3rd Gen uses a different type of bearing.

I have replaced one of mine. I had a lot of vibation in my RT FT wheel. When roatated by hand it felt fine. Even after tearing it down, I could not see any defect in it.

You will need a press with all the fixures and press plates. It is a bit of work to press the whole knuckle and hub assembly apart and then back together. One important thing to keep in mind is that once you start pressing it apart, you must complete the job as you destroy the bearing when you remove it. It can not be reused and once you start the job you must see it through.

My bearing replacement went very smooth, however, I had the President of the VA Chapter of TTORA come over yesterday to replace one of his. His did not go smoth at all. The outisde inner race of the bearing was seized on the hub and would not come loose and we basically blew the whole thing apart with a 30 ton press. Still can not get that race off of the hub. We are going to take that hub to a machine shop Monday and see if they can work some magic on it.

So, this is not really a job you can do yourself. You need a high capacity shop press and several specialty tools. It would be best to let the dealership tackle this job for you so if they run into the same problems we did yesterday, it is on them to make it right.

Gadget

Quote: Another thought. Since you can't really tighten up the bearings like on the earlier model Flame was talking about, and just turning the wheel won't always be rough (unless its really bad), the only way I know to check them is by driving smoothly at about 25-30mph, and then make a gradual turn one way or the other. If you have a grinding or whirring noise (not tire noise) while going straight, and it gets louder or quieter while turning, that is a good indication of a bearing going bad.

I've had a few vehicles with worn front sealed bearings, and have never had one go out suddenly. They'll gradually get louder though.

Replys from another Thread

toy_tek

I think 4RUNR is on the right track, and I read the entire thread with probably the same frustration that he had. Matt, with the vehicle off the ground, I understand you 'spun' the tires. I'm assuming you meant 'spun by hand'. No wobble, nothing unusual. Was this all visual or did you put a dial indicator to check runout on the rim while mounted on the truck? Doesn't sound like you used an indicator. Even a small amount of runout will be amplified at 70mph. Rotating mass has a weight equal to 3 times that of stationary mass. That could be significant.

Ok, so you've checked the tires. Remove the wheels and check the runout of the axle. You mentioned potholes, which could bend an axle shaft.

So you're saying that your right seat is significally wobbling at 70mph. Is your steering wheel doing the same thing? Or is it just minor in comparison?

Don't give up hope yet.

btw- good luck with the wedding prep.

LSUMatt1514

No, we did not check it with a dial indicator. After that moron told me that "he was in training" I feel very confident that he probably doesn't even know what that is, let alone how to use it. After my experience there on Saturday, I've lost almost all confidence in their shop. I'm going to have to look for another shop that will pay more close attention to my truck, instead of trying to get it in and out as quick as they can. The shaking in the steering wheel decreased a little after the alignment yesterday, but it's still there. Again, I think this is total coincidence since it's been aligned numerous times between now and this past January. The vibration in the steering wheel before yesterday was very comparable to that in the seat. Let me make something clear. It's not as if the seat is vibrating to the extent that it looks like it would throw someone through the windshield, but it is a strong, visible vibration that should not be there. I'm going to let this be until after the wedding. We've got too much to do in the coming weeks for me to spend 3/4 of a Saturday running around town chasing my tail. Again guys, thanks so much for your input. I'm not going to give up yet, I've just got to put it on hold for about a month.

Matt

bamachem

you need to get the alignment done by someone who actually CARES...


last time i went in for an alignment, the runner was tracking OK, but had a slight pull to the right, and the steering wheel was off center - this was driving home from the freaking alignment shop! after about 300 miles, it was pulling severely to the right, felt loose on the highway and developed a BAD vibration that i felt throught the truck and in the steering wheel. i got underneath and looked - the rear passenger cam adjustment was completely pushed outboard while the front was almost centered. this pushed the caster for that side to the positive, pulled the toe WAY positive, and threw the camber severely inboard. NOT GOOD. it was OBVIOUSLY not properly aligned - not anymore. upon inspection, i found the driver front cam LOOSE. the idgit aligned the truck, but didn't do it properly due to the pull and the off-center steering wheel from the beginning, and to top it off he then didn't torque the cams down properly. the passenger rear and driver front have to be VERY, VERY TIGHT to keep them from self-loosening due to the force of the suspension trying to turn the bolt. on the opposite corners, the suspesion works to tighten the bolts. i use a 18" socket breaker bar to tighten them. i put about 200 ft-lbs on them after i aligned it myself and they haven't moved at all...

nakman

Well I'm new to yotatech (not to toyota forums though) and just read this whole thing, since I'm having a similar issue with my 96 after switching to 265 75 16's.. Wow, quite a read! It's been a couple months almost, is this problem still existing? anyway I'll offer a few comments:
1. Congrats on the wedding!
2. One way to find out if it's driveline related is to remove one of the driveshafts.. then put it in 4WD and take a test drive in either FWD or RWD, so see if the problem persists.
3. Check the backs of your rims for any burrs or raised areas that may cause the rim to sit with more runout than it has when on the balancing device. Also check the surface that the wheels contact when mounted... all the balancing in the world won't help you if there's a piece of crap behind your rim somewhere.
4. Also, you might try just rotating one of your tires.. and change its orientation to your lugs. Mark one of the lugs with a pen, then mark your rim next to that lug.. then pop the tire off and rotate it 180 degrees, and pop it back on. does it get better? worse? You may be able to find the "sweet spot" of each rim/lug combination, that at least minimizes your vibration, if not correcting it altogether.

Just a couple ideas that haven't been said before...

yotarunner96

try getting your tires balanced. the vehicle can be alligned perfectly and if the tires are unbalanced than it will shake bad at hire speeds. i had the same problem, and then when i got my new tires the problem went away. i would try that out.

bamachem

wow. so that's why they balance a tire. i had no idea...

ME --> <-- NOOBS

MATT:

any improvements/updates?

Fink

So where does this problem stand as of now? I have some vibration issues, while different, still curious.

Fink

LSUMatt1514

It's better. Seems like the last rotation positioned the tires in the "optimum" position to minimize the vibration. However, it will get bad again when they are rotated next time. I'm just tired of worrying with it and fooling with it....just living with it.

Matt

kpaxfaq

My 95' 4-runner shakes and vibrates like crazy between 75-85 (people have thought my truck was going to fall apart who arent used to it) but only if im letting off the gas (coasting down a hill) it disappears when accellerate or go above 90mph....i dont know its done this since i aquired the truck with 91,000 miles and im up to 152,000 with not problems

bdelc

Just Curious- I'm in bham looking for a shop to do balance and alignment- where are you taking the 4Runner for haweka adapter and hunter balance?

Thanks,

Brad

LSUMatt1514

I would recommend A&R Tire in West Jefferson. It's about 15-20 miles northwest of Birmingham going up Hwy 78 towards Jasper. They are open on Saturdays until lunch and on the weekdays (I think they close at lunch on Wednesday also). It's a "Ma and Pa" type shop, but they do better work than any dealer you'll find. Get them to remount your tires and do a road force balance on their Hunter machine (yes, they have the Haweka plate). Believe me, they will keep chucking the tire on the machine until they get it just right and they don't cost as much as a dealer either. Look their number up in the phone book and give them a call. It's worth the drive to have it done right.

Matt

LSUMatt1514

I can email you exact directions if you'd like. It's probably more like 20-25 miles from downtown because their shop is about 8-10 miles off of Hwy 78. I found them because I work for Alabama Power and the plant that I used to work at is almost right next door. Everyone at the plant buys their tires there and gets their work done there.

Matt

bdelc

Yeah, directions would be great. I live in the 280 area around Brook Highland/ Greystone. I'll call them and make an appointment.

I've tried the Toyota dealers (none in Bham) and had a hunter roadforce when I bought my replacement tires about 10K miles ago, but I just can't seen to keep them balanced for more than about 5K miles.

Thanks,
Brad