Hey guys! I have a beautiful 2002 limited 4runner that I love dearly. Hands down the cleanest I've ever driven even at 247k miles. Runs like a dream too but has a bit of a vibration at about 70 mph. Up to 65 it's perfectly smooth and after 75 it's perfectly smooth. Most 4runners I've driven have a little bit of a shimmy at certain speeds but not all of them. This one cannot be felt through the steering wheel and even letting go of the wheel, it doesn't shake back and forth. Rather, it feels like the whole front of the truck is moving ever-so-slightly back and forth rapidly. Almost as if a wheel was bent sideways but I've had the balance checked and all the wheels and tires are supposedly good and in balance. It's getting a little worse, too. It's not major yet but I've noticed right at 70 it's becoming annoying enough that I avoid that speed. LBJ recall was done at 75k. Steering is pretty tight with maybe 1/3" play at the center. Swaybar endlinks and swaybar bushings are fairly new but I think steering rack bushings are original. I grease my shaft (lol) regularly and all the U joints seem super tight. Any insights?
70 MPH shake getting worse :(
- Thread starter whyzee125
- Start date
Register to hide this ad
tx_shooter
New member
Yep - BTDT and ended up replacing my lower control arms because the bushings were completely gone. Go lift the 4Runner at the frame and then see if you can move the tire up and down. (This would mean in and out for the UCA and LCA bushings.) Movement means bushings.
IBallEngineer
New member
Speed related vibration is almost always related to rotating mass. The 1st harmonic occurs at much slower speeds, and high speeds is the 2nd or 3rd harmonic. A tire can be balanced, and still have this sort of thing happen, it becomes more about shape, than balance. You can balance a square tire, it won't drive very well, but the balancer will say it's balanced. Don't forget the oscillating forces of shocks(struts). They exasperate the out of round or out of balance. Rotate the tires, if it changes even a little, look in that area.
:cheer2:
Silver Supra
New member
I had the exact same symptoms and my LBJ's were toast. I replaced the upper and lower BJ's and control arm bushings which resolved it.
You have 175k miles on those LBJ's - time to replace them again.
You have 175k miles on those LBJ's - time to replace them again.
aTALLasian
New member
Do the sounds/vibrations go away when you lift off throttle? My truck recently had the same type of symptoms and I traced it back to a blown out u-joint. I also thought my u-joints were tight, but it turns out that too tight isn't always a good thing if the bearing is binding up.
atalarico
Senior Member
My 3rd gen developed a few issues around this. One vibration was only under throttle, and as the guy above said, it was bad rear u-joint. Replaced it and it was good again.
Another was related to my LBJ bushings which I think manifested in pulling to one side under braking or something. Replaced those and that went away.
All that was left was poorly balanced Duratracs on my 16" Limited rims. Got those balanced and it was mitigated decently.
Good luck!
Another was related to my LBJ bushings which I think manifested in pulling to one side under braking or something. Replaced those and that went away.
All that was left was poorly balanced Duratracs on my 16" Limited rims. Got those balanced and it was mitigated decently.
Good luck!
spartacus
Senior Member
had brand new tires put on june 20 17 and there was a vibration at 70 mph, took it back to the shop they balanced the tires. the shimmy still there checked everything lbj'ubj' driveshafts etc but couldn't resolve it took it back again spoke to the head guy they aligned and balanced the wheels in September 2017 vibration gone.
Last edited:
Hi, I had same problem with my truck. I make re-balancing 2 or 3 times and problem not solved. Last time I do TBU and my "vibration" problem magically disappear!
I think yours problem could be rusted brake rotors, rusted rotors make unbalanced rotating mass. Maybe try clean-up rotors from rust and you'll see if it solve yours problem.
I think yours problem could be rusted brake rotors, rusted rotors make unbalanced rotating mass. Maybe try clean-up rotors from rust and you'll see if it solve yours problem.
gamefreakgc
Elite Member
I agree, I had a vibration at 55+ MPH I could not fix. I did everything in the book (all needed to be replaced anyway due to age) except for the driveshaft. Once I got new tires on, boom vibration fixed. A tire shop who balanced my tires the first time said the tread was worn unevenly due to old suspension components so I knew that they could be the cause. They still had plenty of tread depth left so I didn't want to just throw them away though.
Do all your due diligence in replacing old/worn components, but my money's on the tires if they are not new.
Thanks for all the help everyone! My tires and rotors are both new although I don't recall the vibration before the tires were replaced (it's been about 9k miles and it's slowly been getting worse). Rear wheel bearings are good as I just had the axle seals redone. The bearings were in the original estimate but the shop said they were like new and recommended leaving them. Driveshaft u joints are tight, well lubed, and not binding. Slip yolk is not overpacked either. So this leaves mostly front end stuff or poor tire balance.
I think I will try:
1) road force balancing tires
2) replacing steering rack bushings (steering wheel has very minor play)
3) inspect LBJ's--they may indeed be worn, as one reply suggested. They do have 175k on the recalled joints..
Thanks all for the help, I'll keep this thread updated if I find a fix.
I think I will try:
1) road force balancing tires
2) replacing steering rack bushings (steering wheel has very minor play)
3) inspect LBJ's--they may indeed be worn, as one reply suggested. They do have 175k on the recalled joints..
Thanks all for the help, I'll keep this thread updated if I find a fix.
