Help Me Diagnose My Vibration Issue

[Volley]

OK so I know this is a difficult thing to try and assist with through the electrons of the internet but I am hoping some of the knowledge here can at least help put me on the right track.

I believe I have more than one issue actually. First I THINK my shocks are blown as my truck seems to have no absorbtion whatsoever going over bumps and dips in the road feel like roller coasters. That sound like shocks to you guys? I'm planning an OME upgrade so was trying to hold out a few weeks to get that ordered and installed.

My second issue is a nasty vibration which I am starting to believe may be a driveline vibe. I was hoping the new tires and alignment (truck drives straight as an arrow now) would help eliminate some of this, but no luck. I feel the vibration through the entire truck at varying degrees at any MPH but when I get in the 50-60MPH window it is MUCH more pronounced and I think I hear a momentary low rotational type whirring type noise very briefly...I actually feel it more than I hear it. Can feel it through the floor. The vibration smooths out some as I move past the 60-62MPH range but is still somewhat noticeable. The transmission and engine drive/shift smoothly throughout so don't think there is an issue there. Does this sound like typical drive shaft or even U-joint behavior or something else? And how do I check these and what should I look for?

Thanks for your input!

Volley

 

[Volley]

Oh and I already have new lower ball joints, outer tie rod ends and sway bar end links and bushings.

 

[MC1983]

I'd double check to make sure tires are balanced. Does the steering wheel vibrate as well or is it coming from the rear of the truck? Did you check to see if there is play in the inner tie-rods?

 

[Dangerous Davis]

Had Same Problem

I had the same problem. I had my tires rebalanced alignment etc and no fix. Finally I put my rear tires in the front and the front tires in the rear and the vibration moved to the rear of the vehicle. Check your tires. The dips at the tire store didnt balance mine right the first, second or third time.........

 

[Volley]

I'll certainly have the tires rechecked, the only problem is I had the vibration before the new tires. It feels like the whole truck is vibrating not exclusive to the steering wheel.

Sorry for the newb ? But what am I looking for as abnormal in the inner tie rods?

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Does it only do it under acceleration or does it vibrate even when you're just coasting? If only under acceleration, I'll put $$$ on it being a bad ujoint. Most likely the rear most one. If it does it constantly (both under acceleration and coasting) going to be harder to diagnose.

 

[Volley]

Paid attention on drive home and it doesn't appear to be acceleration specific. Sigh...the trouble shooting begins...

Definitely not exclusive to under acceleration. Got a final paper to write for tomorrow but will try to start troubleshooting on Wed. Will search the vibration threads some more for more infomation on what to look for.

 

[attitudeofgratitud]

I think I got the same issue as you. Mine did it before I installed the new trans., lift and tires. It's kinda like a real bad hum you would get from a bad wheel bearing. But they're all good. I checked the u-joints when I installed the trans and they were good. Inspected the drive shaft(visually) for dents and missing weights, and it looked fine. I also ran it on a lift at idle and with speed to listen to the wheel bearings and diff. When I get home next week, I'm pulling the drive shaft and sending it to my guy Berkley Springs to let him go through it. We'll see.

 

[Volley]

Holy crap. Finally got home and grabbed my alignment sheet and definitely think it may be indictive of whatever is going on...hopefully. So my front right is all within specs but the front left has SAI and Turning Angle WAYYYY out of spec. From my research I know the SAI out of whack usually indicates bent parts so what should I be checking? Here are the specifics:

Front left SAI normal range = 9.8 -11.3. Mine = 19.7! (before and after)
Front left included angle normal range = 9.3 - 12.3. Mine = 20.2! (before and after)

Front right is 11.0 and 10.9 respectively and in range. Makes the cross SAI 8.7! (normal is -0.5 - .5)

Something is obviously wrong here. Any thoughts?

 

[Volley]

OK here is a copy of my latest alignment. Sorry for the bad pic, got reduced in size/quality upon upload. I believe this is telling my that something is either bent or way out of what on the driver's side...??? Will look around again tonight for anything unusual.

 

[GX4SEVEND]

That may actually be it. I've also been dealing with vibration issues so I will look into alignment specs too.

 

[IanB]

OK here is a copy of my latest alignment. Sorry for the bad pic, got reduced in size/quality upon upload. I believe this is telling my that something is either bent or way out of what on the driver's side...??? Will look around again tonight for anything unusual.

You would think the alignment tech would have said something when giving your truck back, other than "here you go". Sounds like you have a good lead though, good luck and be sure to update.

 

[Volley]

Yea I had no idea it was grand opening weekend. Took them 4hrs just to mount tires and alignment on a Sunday! Think they just didn't take the time. I'll head back in there when it isn't so busy and have them hook it back up. I'm supposed to drop it off at my mechanic tmrw for timing belt stuff. If I can't notice anything, I'll just have him take a look at it for me I guess. Just hate leaving things up to a mechanics diagnosis, as a shiela we tend to get racked over the coals with repairs.

 

[Volley]

WTF! Oh my gosh, so I'm inspecting the truck tonight and when I look at the U-joint. The front one looks like there had been an explosion! Grease everywhere! The front 2 really but especially the foremost front one. AND! The same grease is spewing out of my ball joints! Yes the ones I just replaced last week. Joints and ball joints did NOT look like this on Saturday. I know because I was under there changing the oil and taking pics of the ball joints for my future build thread. i drove it to from work yesterday and that's it because it vibrated too bad. What the h*ll is going on! Please tell me I don't need a new diveshaft..
I will post pics in the am...I'm ticked so going to bed.

 

[MC1983]

Are the boots torn on the new ball joints? Was the truck on the ground when they tightened and torqued them? I was always told to do final tightening and torque on suspension components when the vehicle is at ride height to prevent any binding.

Don't know if you need a new driveshaft, but I'd start with replacing the ujoints and go from there.

 

[Volley]

WTH is Going On!

OK here are some pics from last night. Grease looks like it's spewing everywhere and I found the rear sway bar to be missing a bolt on one of the brackets. It did NOT look like this just the other day. Dropped it off for timing belt stuff this morning and asked my mechanic to take a look and let me know what he thinks...:ybrick:

 

[Volley]

Shop said the extra grease weeping out is because they pumped some in when installing the ball joints and tie rods. Would it have taken 4-5 days for it to weep like this? This obviously doesn't solve the vibration issue but will it hurt anything to do some cleanup/degreasing so I can better see? Shop owner said he will take it out for a drive himself once they are finished with the timing belt stuff.

Also, anyone know the size of the rear sway bar mounting bracket bolt?

Thanks

 

[Volley]

Should also say that I have greased my zerks many times on my other vehicles and have never had it seap out like this...

 

[jmnral]

Had the same vibration issues. My mechanic said driveshaft, u-joints and suspension are ok. He said the tires just need to be rebalanced. I did not want to pay for the balancing because i have the free lifetime rotation and balancing at Costco. They did it twice and even went to different Costco branch but the vibration persists. After a lot of frustrations,i finally decided to go to a local toyota dealer and pulled the trigger on the Road Force Balancing. And what a big difference! My runner runs smoother than ever. It was like night and day! No more shuddering rear view mirror.:trophy:

 

[Volley]

Gonna give the balancing another shot