Bent Rim?

[MxwlT4R99]

Long story short: My truck keeps vibrating and I couldn't figure out why but then I remembered today that when I got my Duratracs put on the tire shop said "one rim was bent, but we put it on the rear axle so it won't effect anything". I think I have figured out that is BS because the symptoms I am faced with (steering wheel vibration and car shakes at 60+ mph) match up exactly with a bent-rim scenario.

Anyway, if anyone has any info regarding this it would be awesome, or if they have a rim for me it would be even better (stock split-6 spoke).

 

[blizz86]

Long story short: My truck keeps vibrating and I couldn't figure out why but then I remembered today that when I got my Duratracs put on the tire shop said "one rim was bent, but we put it on the rear axle so it won't effect anything". I think I have figured out that is BS because the symptoms I am faced with (steering wheel vibration and car shakes at 60+ mph) match up exactly with a bent-rim scenario.

Anyway, if anyone has any info regarding this it would be awesome, or if they have a rim for me it would be even better (stock split-6 spoke).

have the wheels been balanced?

 

[Kanger328]

Tracking down vibrations takes detective work. Could be wheel balancing, driveshaft, steering components, etc. Work with the most likely culprit and go from there. You already know a rim is bent so take care of that first. That wheel is pretty easy to find usually on craigslists or on the "For Sale" forum. Well, maybe not so much craigslist because you're in Alaska...not sure how common 4Runners are up there. Good luck.

 

[MxwlT4R99]

have the wheels been balanced?

They were balanced by Midas when the tires were put on. Idk if they could've been knocked out of balanced somehow between then and now, because its mostly been used for street cruising/DD/mild dirt trails since then.

 

[MxwlT4R99]

Tracking down vibrations takes detective work. Could be wheel balancing, driveshaft, steering components, etc.

Yeah, I am pretty certain that all the steering components are in order, and just put on a new inner and outer tie rod on the drivers side. Pass side was solid. Brand new suspension all around, bilstein/toytec/OME lift. Not a result of the lift however as it was doing it beforehand.

As for the driveshaft, I had it balanced last October due to insane vibrations at speeds above 55 MPH. Worked wonders but still have the vibration from 60-70. I'm actually going to school in Missoula haha so I'm not too far off. But you're right, CG in AK is a b*tch most of the time haha

 

[02SE]

It could be any number of things, but one I haven't seen mentioned, is a defective or just poor quality tire. Lots of tires, especially larger truck tires, have uniformity issues which can be felt while driving.

I would find a tire store that has a Road Force balancer, and an employee that knows how to use it. Have them check the wheels for run-out first, and if they pass, then check and optimize the tire/wheel assembly.

During that process you might find that you have a tire that is too far out of spec to run smoothly, no matter what is done.

 

[csp]

Swap you spare on where the bent wheel is located and drive it. If the vibration goes away you have your answer.

02SE also has valid points regarding the tire being out of round. If it vibrated before the Duratracs it's probably not the tire. Duratracs don't have a reputation for being a hard tire to balance or out of round issues though.

 

[BrianSD_42]

At one point I bent a rim. I have no idea when it happened but it did.

Mine was so bent you could see it wobble from the mirror while driving.

It is a very easy to test for. Just go to any shop and ask them to try and balance it.

 

[gamefreakgc]

It could be any number of things, but one I haven't seen mentioned, is a defective or just poor quality tire. Lots of tires, especially larger truck tires, have uniformity issues which can be felt while driving.

I would find a tire store that has a Road Force balancer, and an employee that knows how to use it. Have them check the wheels for run-out first, and if they pass, then check and optimize the tire/wheel assembly.

During that process you might find that you have a tire that is too far out of spec to run smoothly, no matter what is done.

This is spot on. I've been fighting vibrations ever since I got the 4Runner. The suspension was shot and wore out a lot of steering components as well as the tires. The best things I did was:

1. Have tired balanced: the tires had worn unevenly with the fronts "cupped", meaning the outside edges wore down faster then the center. Balancing helped get rid of the wobble at least. They had to add 4 oz. to one side!

2. New suspension parts: new struts, shocks and coils. Kind of a no-brainer, if the worn out suspension parts are the problem then fix the problem.

3. New tie rods and LBJs

I still have some vibrations because my tires are a mess. They have plenty of tread but are now oval in shape (not visibly but detected by the balancing machine) and cupped. But it's about 80% better than it was before.

BTW America's Tire is cheap and they do an awesome job. The guy who did my 4Runner had a 3rd Gen pickup he had turned in to a crawler so he knew Toyotas well.

 

[MxwlT4R99]

It could be any number of things, but one I haven't seen mentioned, is a defective or just poor quality tire. Lots of tires, especially larger truck tires, have uniformity issues which can be felt while driving.

I would find a tire store that has a Road Force balancer.

Yeah, except my tires are pretty new and are Goodyear Duratracs which are more than just decent. I would be pretty shocked if that was the issue.

As for the Road Force balancer, I will have to look into those. I've heard of them before, pretty complex (and bad a$$) machines.

 

[MxwlT4R99]

At one point I bent a rim. I have no idea when it happened but it did.

Mine was so bent you could see it wobble from the mirror while driving.

It is a very easy to test for. Just go to any shop and ask them to try and balance it.

Yeah, mine isn't that bent but I know for sure it is. It was just weird to me that they can't really balance a bent rim to any precise level and yet they just kind of threw it on the back and called it good.

You just replaced the rim then, I'm assuming?

 

[MxwlT4R99]

Swap you spare on where the bent wheel is located and drive it. If the vibration goes away you have your answer.

This...is an idea. Quick and easy too. I'll hopefully do this sometime in the near future for sure. As for your comment about Duratrac's, I agree. I wouldn't think they would do that.

 

[02SE]

Yeah, except my tires are pretty new and are Goodyear Duratracs which are more than just decent. I would be pretty shocked if that was the issue.

Unfortunately, being a Goodyear tire isn't a guarantee against uniformity issues. Any brand of tire can have problems. I generally don't buy Goodyear tires anymore, because I got tired of dealing with uniformity issues several times with them over the years.

It's sad because Goodyears' are all we are allowed to run, in the racing series I'm involved in. Even in specialized racing tires, we quite often send them back to the Goodyear guys due to out-of-round issues.

But, I want to stress that not all Goodyear tires are bad.

A Hunter GSP 9700 Roadforce Balancer (and a competent operator) can identify tires that are bad enough that they should be taken out of service. Goodyear should replace any tire that is identified to have poor uniformity.

 

[eatmorechickenx]

When they balanced the tires, if they didn't use a lug centric adapter, you will have a vibration. This is covered in a technical service bulletin from toyota. I bent a rim BAD along with the rear axle shaft and drove around on it for a month while looking for my LC wheels. With it on the back, there was little to no vibration. It was bent BAD!!! A lot of people chasing vibrations on 3rd gens end up solving it with a proper balancing.

 

[MxwlT4R99]

Unfortunately, being a Goodyear tire isn't a guarantee against uniformity issues. Any brand of tire can have problems. I generally don't buy Goodyear tires anymore, because I got tired of dealing with uniformity issues several times with them over the years.
Goodyear should replace any tire that is identified to have poor uniformity.

Damn, this is actually good to know. These tires kind of have a 'cult' following in general, especially on this forum, so it's almost nice to hear something contradicting that. I didn't even hesitate when buying them due to all the positive things I heard, but maybe the Road Force will prove me wrong.

Also good to know that they should replace them if uniformity is the issue!

 

[MxwlT4R99]

Lug centric adapters...haha I know pretty much nothing about the specifics of wheel balancing or related topics. Other than they spin it and figure stuff out from there...but if you bent a rim that bad and had little to no vibration in the rear, it makes me think that the rim is not the issue at all and that it is indeed a balance issue. Now, to find a shop with a road force machine...