Bad vibration @50-60mph WAY worse in 4-Hi

[redstar]

Hi guys, I recently put in a 3" lift(Toytec eibachs with Tundra bilstein 5100's up front and ome 891's with long travel bilstein 5125's in the back) and immediately got the wheels aligned.

Shortly after, I noticed a vibration in the front end(steering wheel, shifter mostly) between 50-60mph. So, I got all 4 tires balanced, but the vibration stayed. So, I rotated the tires to see if maybe it was due to uneven wear. Nope! Today, I decided to put the truck in 4-hi and when i did, the vibration got WAY worse!

I also often get knocks from the front end at low speed when turning in either direction. I used to get a knock when accelerating(straight forward) from a complete stop too but that seemed to stop on its own.

Its not the brakes, as I just did the 231mm TBU and it changed nothing(although I love the stopping power).

I'm thinking it is the CV's. I got under the truck, and grabbed the CV's and shook them up and down(no rotation) and the both moved ~1-2 mm up and down. The boots look like they are in good shape but the drivers side looks like it may be leaking a bit as it is a little wet.

Any ideas? Could it be anything else?

 

[Dephcon]

Check the U-Joints in both the front and rear drive shaft. Adding a little bit of extra pinion angle at the joints can cause already failing u-joints to show additional signs of needing to be replaced.

 

[Kanger328]

Check tie rods also. Not sure if you unhooked them for the install, but they might be loose.

 

[Scramble]

Check the U-Joints in both the front and rear drive shaft. Adding a little bit of extra pinion angle at the joints can cause already failing u-joints to show additional signs of needing to be replaced.

I second that its the drive shaft.

 

[redstar]

So I finally got under the car to check the U-joints. There isn't any play in them at all. I decided to grease them and when I did, the old grease squirted out the sides. It was black and smelled burnt... I'm guessing thats no good

Haven't driven it yet, who knows... maybe it's fixed... I hope. Lol

 

[redstar]

Not fixed I'm going to be replacing the LBJ's with new OEM ones today or tomorrow as I've got 200k on these already. Maybe they are causing the clunking.

 

[gamefreakgc]

The clunk from a stop is the rear slip yoke joint, not the U-joints. It's simple to grease. The U-joints might be the cause of some of your vibrations though.

If you're not sure which one is a U-joint and which the slip yoke, the slip yoke grease doesn't squirt out the sides like the U-joint. What I did was fill it up with a ton of grease (mine was empty) but don't over do it. I would add 5 pumps or so at a time and then I pressed in the ball of the zerk to see if it built up any pressure. If not, I kept pumping and checked again. Once it did come out I drove it around and checked pressure again. No more clunks since then.

Now the vibrations is a whole 'nother story. Been there, done that too. Here's what I did but by no means will this 100% fix your vehicle. The vibration is very common and hard to pin down.

• New lower ball joints
• New inner tie rods (outers were fine but inner had play on one side)
• New steering rack guide (pre-2000 issue)
• Balanced tires
• New steering rack bushings (this one didn't actually help anything and was a PAIN)

I've got maybe 80% of the vibrations gone. The rest is my tires, the PO had blown shocks on it and it cupped the tires real bad so they wobble. Had a tire shop look at them and confirmed it. I don't have new tires in the works since these have tons of tread left so I'm living with it. At least my hands don't shake around when I drive on the freeway anymore!

 

[Scramble]

I just got rid of the vibration in my steering wheel by changing the LBJ's, OTRE's & new ES steering rack bushings. First time I've been vibration free in years!

 

[redstar]

Thanks, I really appreciate the help!
While I was replacing the LBJ's I decided to give the CV's a good shake and it looks like my inner CV's are both loose, the inner left boot has a small crack, and from what I can tell it looks like the axles are also a little bent... Mind boggling considering I havent taken her off road yet....

 

[redstar]

Oh ya, I also found this http://www.raxles.com/troubleshooting.aspx

 

[thaemcee2]

OP-what perch do you have your 5100s on? do you have a diff. drop? are the flutes/coils whatever you wanna call them on the CV boots touching?
mine were on the inners but tried to stretch them a little and am gonna clean them and put some oil on them maybe thatll reduce friction?...
I have tundra 5100s on 2nd perch with the toytec/eibacs and also have vibes and noise but since my I/O tie rods are SEIZED I cant get an allignment so hoping that is the reasoning...if not I am going down same path you are now bro

 

[gamefreakgc]

Thanks, I really appreciate the help!
While I was replacing the LBJ's I decided to give the CV's a good shake and it looks like my inner CV's are both loose, the inner left boot has a small crack, and from what I can tell it looks like the axles are also a little bent... Mind boggling considering I havent taken her off road yet....

Having a lift puts more stress on it than taking a stock 4Runner off-road. I've never heard of anyone with a stock height rig with CV issues. Even if you never do anything demanding, just know that you will wear through suspension and steering parts quicker because of the lift.

 

[redstar]

OP-what perch do you have your 5100s on? do you have a diff. drop? are the flutes/coils whatever you wanna call them on the CV boots touching?
mine were on the inners but tried to stretch them a little and am gonna clean them and put some oil on them maybe thatll reduce friction?...
I have tundra 5100s on 2nd perch with the toytec/eibacs and also have vibes and noise but since my I/O tie rods are SEIZED I cant get an allignment so hoping that is the reasoning...if not I am going down same path you are now bro

I have em on the third perch. I actually ordered a diff drop, but eventually decided not to install it. Ya my boots are rubbing alot; the passenger side inner has already cracked(2 months since lifted) the drivers side inner is getting close to cracking but luckily the outers are still look good. I might just reboot the inners and stretch the outers.... or get NAPA or RockAuto CV's for under $75 each(new OEM are >$500 and reman'd OEM are $298 + $75 core!!! ). Oh my god man! You havent gotten an alignment?!? I barely drove it to the mechanic without the alignment. Unbelievably unstable.

Having a lift puts more stress on it than taking a stock 4Runner off-road. I've never heard of anyone with a stock height rig with CV issues. Even if you never do anything demanding, just know that you will wear through suspension and steering parts quicker because of the lift.

Ya, for sure. I definitely expected that. I had the vibrations and clunking right away though. They must have been in bad shape already.

 

[thaemcee2]

I have em on the third perch. I actually ordered a diff drop, but eventually decided not to install it. Ya my boots are rubbing alot; the passenger side inner has already cracked(2 months since lifted) the drivers side inner is getting close to cracking but luckily the outers are still look good. I might just reboot the inners and stretch the outers.... or get NAPA or RockAuto CV's for under $75 each(new OEM are >$500 and reman'd OEM are $298 + $75 core!!! ). Oh my god man! You havent gotten an alignment?!? I barely drove it to the mechanic without the alignment. Unbelievably unstable.



Ya, for sure. I definitely expected that. I had the vibrations and clunking right away though. They must have been in bad shape already.

3rd perch on toytec/eibachs is very high.... unless you have a winch, bumper, and other real heavy armor in the front you prop dont need it that high...I am debating lowering mine to the bottom perch but I dont think the rake will look good...plus my boots aren't touching although they are VERY close...I will just keep an eye on them...
as for the alignment yeah I know I went to get it aligned the next morning and they said my I/O tie rod ends were seized....its actually not that bad besides the vibes/noise at around 60mph...not terrible though...thinking of doing LBJs too

 

[redstar]

3rd perch on toytec/eibachs is very high.... unless you have a winch, bumper, and other real heavy armor in the front you prop dont need it that high...I am debating lowering mine to the bottom perch but I dont think the rake will look good...plus my boots aren't touching although they are VERY close...I will just keep an eye on them...
as for the alignment yeah I know I went to get it aligned the next morning and they said my I/O tie rod ends were seized....its actually not that bad besides the vibes/noise at around 60mph...not terrible though...thinking of doing LBJs too

Yeah, I suppose it is pretty high... no way I'm compressing those springs to lower it again though. It was scary enough the first time(the first spring compressors I used bowed like crazy, then slipped and the spring hit me pretty hard).

I'm picking up NAPA Altrom CVs tomorrow. Apparently, they're identical to Toyota OEM CVs but at nearly a third of the price. They also have a lifetime warranty. I'll just stretch the boots, install 'em and not really give a hoot if they break.

If you can get yourself a ball joint separator(like this one that I used: Powerfist Ball Joint Separator | Princess Auto), you can use it on the OTRE without damaging the boot. Using that and a impact wrench, you can put a whole bunch of pressure on the joint. That alone didnt do the trick for me so I left the bolt under pressure and took a torch to the bolt. Popped right out! A little scary actually :hiding:

 

[redstar]

The vibration is 90% gone! and now throwing the car into 4-Hi does not make it worse.
I think it was the CV axles.
Anyways, thanks for the suggestions guys!

 

[Cree]

I would put money on your axles being separated to begin with.

 

[redstar]

I would put money on your axles being separated to begin with.

Im not sure when what you mean by that. Can you elaborate? Do you think that the inner CV was separated?? I ask because the vibration is back...

 

[Cree]

Im not sure when what you mean by that. Can you elaborate? Do you think that the inner CV was separated?? I ask because the vibration is back...

Yes. Check it.

 

[fourfive]

The vibration is 90% gone! and now throwing the car into 4-Hi does not make it worse.
I think it was the CV axles.
Anyways, thanks for the suggestions guys!

When you thought it was gone, what was the fix?