Consistent wheel vibration

[Samm25]

Hey guys, kind of a long one here...

In November of 2017, I bought new tires for my ‘05 SR5 4Runner. Had them on stock wheels but put on pathfinder sport ats from discount tire. Noticed that the wheel would start to vibrate anytime between 60-70mph. Took it back to have discount balance them about 4 times. Fast forward to May of 2018, I bought some American outlaw Lonestar wheels, didn’t change the wheel size, kept the same 17” wheel on 265/70/17 tires. Was still getting a vibration.

Well, fast forward to August of 2018 and I upgraded to an ‘08 SR5 with 17” wheels on it as well. Had the dealership I bought it from swap out the tires and wheels with the ones I had on my ‘05, however, since they promised me new tires when I bought the ‘08, the only thing they carried over to the ‘08 was the wheels themselves. Started getting the vibration on the new truck as well. Granted they put some knock off Ironman all country tires on there. So I brought it back to discount tire to ask them to rebalance them, letting them know my issue. After some time, the guy convinced me that it was my tires causing the issue. So he talked me into buying some Cooper ATPs 265/70/17, so I did it. They guaranteed me that it would stop the whee vibration. It didn’t. I came back the next week, they rebalanced them, a few days later I was getting the same wheel vibration. I then went back a few days later and discount told me they’d put some Goodyear Wrangler Ultra Terrains on it. So, they did, but the vibration came back again.

After talks with cooperate and getting an area manager involved, they got me some knock off TRD Pro wheels thinking that the wheels themselves could be defective that I bought from them. So, they put those on the Ultra Terrains. The issue came back a few days later. All of this was done in November and December of 2018.

Fast forward to now. I’m currently sitting inside of discount tire after getting their area manager involved again, they are putting on some Michelin LTX A/T2’s on it right now. The reason I specifically requested that tire is because my dad has an ‘05 4Runner, bought the same American Outlaw Lonestar wheels I had and put them on these Michelin tires...hasn’t had a single vibration issue at all.

Curious if this doesn’t work out, any other ideas at all? They have road force tested them, etc. however, I will tell you while sitting here right now the manager just came up to me and said that the Michelin’s are road force testing a hell of a lot better than the Ultra Terrains did. So crossing my fingers that this works.

Anyone else have this issue at all with AT tires or even just any tire or wheel at all? For it to happen on 2 different 4Runners, with different sets of wheels AND tires, I’m stumped.

 

[JVC8790]

I'd look to see if the wheel is bent laterally. I have had a few wheels that "balance" just fine, but then vibrate because the spokes of the face were actually bent. If the guy running the balancing machine isn't watching the wheel there is a good chance they might not notice it and the machine will keep "balancing" just fine.

The other thing to look at would be if the wheels are hubcentric, if the wheels have a different hub bore than factory it makes it a bit harder to get the wheel centered when mounting and can cause vibration that is pretty hard to track down if you're not aware of the difference.

Just two initial thoughts, not making any promises given the situation you've been through!

 

[Ida4runner]

With vibrations happening using different sets of wheels/tires I would look at something like your CV axles or even the steering rack.Anything worn in your front end could lead to vibrations.

 

[JVC8790]

With vibrations happening using different sets of wheels/tires I would look at something like your CV axles or even the steering rack.Anything worn in your front end could lead to vibrations.

Good point on the CV. I had a bad CV in my Volvo that did this exactly, had a bad vibration and I did the usual rotate tires to see if its a tire issue, and then swapped wheels and tires to see if its a wheel centering issue etc.

I'd also look at axle nuts and anything else that can be tightened, possibly something worked itself loose and is now causing your grief.

Following your timeline, it doesn't seem like the issue has come and gone much at all which would lead me to believe that it's something that hasn't been touched that became a problem and hasn't been fixed. There's always the possibility that there was one problem first that got rectified and then this is a second problem that is causing a very similar symptom.

Have you taken the vehicle to a true mechanic rather than a tire shop? Or do you have anyone near by that might be willing to lend you a set of wheels so that you can try on a "confirmed" balanced set that doesn't vibrate on another truck?

 

[chaz]

really no help but, i got the falken at3 on the lonestar outlaws & no vibrations at all. did they mount the tires correctly? even tho you tried them on 2 different 4r, have you had the alignment checked? strange that the vibrations go away for a week then come back.

 

[Fern]

If the vibration didn't change at all with wheel and tire changes. It has to be mechanical as stated above.

 

[chaz]

i would agree but strange that the same problem has happened on both his 05 & 08 4r, also that it goes away for a short period then comes back.

 

[JVC8790]

Have you had others verify the vibration? Or is it a vibration that you feel and others claim not to feel?

I worked in the automotive service industry for about 5 years and recall a handful of customers that sensed things that were not able to be replicated by a technician. Are you certain that it doesn't happen on just a specific stretch of road, or after a certain type of weather? Or only when it's going a certain speed in a certain gear?

There are just so many variables to consider that you have to thing about when it comes to diagnosing an issue.

 

[Samm25]

Have you had others verify the vibration? Or is it a vibration that you feel and others claim not to feel?

I worked in the automotive service industry for about 5 years and recall a handful of customers that sensed things that were not able to be replicated by a technician. Are you certain that it doesn't happen on just a specific stretch of road, or after a certain type of weather? Or only when it's going a certain speed in a certain gear?

There are just so many variables to consider that you have to thing about when it comes to diagnosing an issue.

Good question. So before they swapped out the tires to the Michelin AT2’s yesterday, the manager from discount tire drove my truck and even verified that he felt the vibration as well. So he saw first hand what I’d been dealing with.

The weirdest part for me is that it happened on BOTH of the 4Runners I had. It would go away for about 150-200 miles after they were rebalanced and then would come back.

 

[Samm25]

Update:

After the Michelin LTX AT2’s were put on, holy crap. Night and day difference so far. No vibration, nothing. Crossing my fingers that it stays this way. According to the manager yesterday he said when they were road force balancing the Michelin’s before they put them on, they were balancing SO much better than the Ultra Terrains did.

I don’t imagine that it could be possible that I just got a couple of bad batches of tires that wouldn’t balance correctly, right?

I’ll keep y’all updated but so far so good on the Michelin’s. Don’t look too bad either, I was worried they’d look like a highway tire, but they look decent!

 

[Dirty Dingo]

Glad your vibration got better.
I am having a vibration/weird low rumbling noise coming from beneath me. Basically starts the second I get rolling down the road. Stays there even when I put the vehicle in neutral. I recently put on a LT kit in the front. After a couple good weeks of off roading the noise started coming too. I have no clue what it is at this point. I assume the drive shaft continues to turn even when in neutral???

 

[AuSeeker]

Glad your vibration got better.
I am having a vibration/weird low rumbling noise coming from beneath me. Basically starts the second I get rolling down the road. Stays there even when I put the vehicle in neutral. I recently put on a LT kit in the front. After a couple good weeks of off roading the noise started coming too. I have no clue what it is at this point. I assume the drive shaft continues to turn even when in neutral???

Yes the drive shaft still turns when in neutral, if the wheels are turning the drive shaft is also.