Mystery Steering Wheel Wobble and Thumping Sound

[78-FJ40]

EDIT: The issue has been resolved and everyone running large tires and wheels should read. Go to last post to read resolution.

RIG: 2017 TRD Pro - has around 61K miles on it and the issue has been persistent since I purchased it with 17K miles.

ISSUE: At any speed there is a slight wobble to the steering wheel and a sound that sounds like a dull nail is in a tire or a wheel weight is missing or perhaps a wheel bearing is out.

Sometimes there is ZERO wobble but there is a distant sound of a very distant thump, thump, thump. You can feel it in the steering wheel but there is no steering wheel wobble.

There are times when I will be driving down the road at 40ish and there is no sound or wobble then I come to a stop at a stop light and upon acceleration the wobble returns as does the distant thump, thump, thump sound as if there is a missing wheel weight or even a dull nail in the tire.

At speeds of 60+ on the highway the sound and steering wheel vibration are less pronounced but the issue is still there.

WORK I HAVE DONE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE

SOLUTION: New tires and alignment.

RESULT: Steering wheel wobble and sound still present.

SOLUTION: New wheels and new tires.

RESULT: Steering wheel wobble and sound still present.

SOLUTION: New brake pads (all around), new rotors (all around) new front left and right CV axles.

RESULT: Steering wheel wobble and sound still present.

I have checked the wheel hubs, however, there is absolutely no play in the wheels. If this is the issue I would be blown away because as I mentioned in the beginning of the post when I purchased the rig with 17K miles on it the issue was present the day I drove it off the lot and for wheel hubs to be bad at that mileage would be very rare.

Bottom line is I have no idea what to do next or what the issue is. The last rotational item I can address are the wheel hubs but before I go spend more money on chasing this issue I wanted to know if anyone here has any ideas what they think might be causing this.

Thanks.

 

[lewdog998]

Sounds like your going down the right path....I had a jeep once that had a similar issue...everything was tight and looked good sitting still....one day I was under neath it and noticed that the steering box had a loose bolt. I tightened it up and it was like I rebuilt the front end. That 1/4 inch of flex magnified itself through the steering. Anyways..,check all steering joints and rack mounting points. You did not mention going through steering.

 

[78-FJ40]

Sounds like your going down the right path....I had a jeep once that had a similar issue...everything was tight and looked good sitting still....one day I was under neath it and noticed that the steering box had a loose bolt. I tightened it up and it was like I rebuilt the front end. That 1/4 inch of flex magnified itself through the steering. Anyways..,check all steering joints and rack mounting points. You did not mention going through steering.

That's worth a try, however, I can feel the repetitive thump, thump, thump, which leads me to believe it has to be a rotational issue. I will slide under tomorrow and figure out where the steering wheel box is and take a peek.

 

[lewdog998]

That's worth a try, however, I can feel the repetitive thump, thump, thump, which leads me to believe it has to be a rotational issue. I will slide under tomorrow and figure out where the steering wheel box is and take a peek.

Agreed, but its always good to eliminate every possibility no matter how unlikely. Logically you feel it in the steering wheel, work from there to the source.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Does the noise get worse or better if you're in 4Hi?

 

[78-FJ40]

Agreed, but its always good to eliminate every possibility no matter how unlikely. Logically you feel it in the steering wheel, work from there to the source.

Good logic. I've done a little research but am not finding a specific reference to what you are mentioning. Can you guide me to something that will point me in the direction I need to go?

 

[2021nightshade4x4]

Does it follow speed or RPM?

It may take disconnecting the driveshaft and being towed flat to really see where this is coming from.

I’m all for extreme experiments.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[78-FJ40]

Does it follow speed or RPM?

It may take disconnecting the driveshaft and being towed flat to really see where this is coming from.

I’m all for extreme experiments.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As I mentioned in the initial post there is no rhyme or reason nor have I found any correlating circumstances. At times it is not present and then I come to a stop or just slow down and upon acceleration it appears again.

I can shut the engine off, park, go inside and get back in and start up and drive off with no steering wheel shake or feeling and then it will magically just start up again. Most bizarre thing I've ever encountered in a vehicle.

 

[78-FJ40]

Does the noise get worse or better if you're in 4Hi?

Anytime I am in 4WD it is unnoticeable because I am off road and feeling everything else so while I am sure the issue is still present the uneven terrain I am on drowns out the steering wheel shake and thumping feeling.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Anytime I am in 4WD it is unnoticeable because I am off road and feeling everything else so while I am sure the issue is still present the uneven terrain I am on drowns out the steering wheel shake and thumping feeling.

Have you tried just driving on some pavement in 4Hi? This way you can maybe narrow down if the issue is related to the axles/differential, it's one way we check the needle bearing noise because it tends to go away when loaded.

 

[2021nightshade4x4]

As I mentioned in the initial post there is no rhyme or reason nor have I found any correlating circumstances. At times it is not present and then I come to a stop or just slow down and upon acceleration it appears again.

I can shut the engine off, park, go inside and get back in and start up and drive off with no steering wheel shake or feeling and then it will magically just start up again. Most bizarre thing I've ever encountered in a vehicle.

It sounds like when I ever so slightly bent a CV axle in a FWD car. No shake or shimmy but a very distant and remote feeling that just barely was felt through the steering wheel and heard in the normal highway drone if the radio was off.

Has it ever occurred to you that the previous owner may not have flipped it for profit but was offloading the vehicle because he “sent it a little too hard” or got high centered on something and now has this mysterious issue no one can fix?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fkheath]

RIG: 2017 TRD Pro - has around 61K miles on it and the issue has been persistent since I purchased it with 17K miles.

ISSUE: At any speed there is a slight wobble to the steering wheel and a sound that sounds like a dull nail is in a tire or a wheel weight is missing or perhaps a wheel bearing is out.

Sometimes there is ZERO wobble but there is a distant sound of a very distant thump, thump, thump. You can feel it in the steering wheel but there is no steering wheel wobble.

There are times when I will be driving down the road at 40ish and there is no sound or wobble then I come to a stop at a stop light and upon acceleration the wobble returns as does the distant thump, thump, thump sound as if there is a missing wheel weight or even a dull nail in the tire.

At speeds of 60+ on the highway the sound and steering wheel vibration are less pronounced but the issue is still there.

WORK I HAVE DONE TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE

SOLUTION: New tires and alignment.

RESULT: Steering wheel wobble and sound still present.

SOLUTION: New wheels and new tires.

RESULT: Steering wheel wobble and sound still present.

SOLUTION: New brake pads (all around), new rotors (all around) new front left and right CV axles.

RESULT: Steering wheel wobble and sound still present.

I have checked the wheel hubs, however, there is absolutely no play in the wheels. If this is the issue I would be blown away because as I mentioned in the beginning of the post when I purchased the rig with 17K miles on it the issue was present the day I drove it off the lot and for wheel hubs to be bad at that mileage would be very rare.

Bottom line is I have no idea what to do next or what the issue is. The last rotational item I can address are the wheel hubs but before I go spend more money on chasing this issue I wanted to know if anyone here has any ideas what they think might be causing this.

Thanks.

Check for the front differential needle bearing issue. There is a TSB on that:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10154805-9999.pdf

 

[78-FJ40]

Have you tried just driving on some pavement in 4Hi? This way you can maybe narrow down if the issue is related to the axles/differential, it's one way we check the needle bearing noise because it tends to go away when loaded.

No, I haven't. Are you asking me if the noise, wobble, and thumping feel is present in 4HI or if it all goes away?

Thanks.

 

[78-FJ40]

It sounds like when I ever so slightly bent a CV axle in a FWD car. No shake or shimmy but a very distant and remote feeling that just barely was felt through the steering wheel and heard in the normal highway drone if the radio was off.

Has it ever occurred to you that the previous owner may not have flipped it for profit but was offloading the vehicle because he “sent it a little too hard” or got high centered on something and now has this mysterious issue no one can fix?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I already replaced both front CV axles.

 

[78-FJ40]

Check for the front differential needle bearing issue. There is a TSB on that:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10154805-9999.pdf

Hmmm...interesting. Seems to be similar to what BlackWrksInc recommended above. I will find some flat pavement and put it into 4HI and see if the noise and wobble is present.

Will update shortly.

Thanks for this notice.

 

[78-FJ40]

Have you tried just driving on some pavement in 4Hi? This way you can maybe narrow down if the issue is related to the axles/differential, it's one way we check the needle bearing noise because it tends to go away when loaded.

I found a flat piece of pavement and drove it in 4HI and the sound and vibration are still present.

 

[78-FJ40]

Check for the front differential needle bearing issue. There is a TSB on that:
https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10154805-9999.pdf

Thanks for this. I found some flat pavement to test out and the noise and steering wheel vibration are still present so according to this document it is not the front differential.

 

[lewdog998]

Good logic. I've done a little research but am not finding a specific reference to what you are mentioning. Can you guide me to something that will point me in the direction I need to go?

No particular reference, just my process through the years of working one end to the other. I deal with a lot of electrical and controls systems at work and we always test every point through process of elimination. Whenever you skip something that it "cannot" be, that is usually the problem.

That being said the needle bearing issue sounds plausible.

 

[78-FJ40]

No particular reference, just my process through the years of working one end to the other. I deal with a lot of electrical and controls systems at work and we always test every point through process of elimination. Whenever you skip something that it "cannot" be, that is usually the problem.

That being said the needle bearing issue sounds plausible.

I took it out onto a flat road today and ran it in 4HI but the problem with the steering wheel shake and the distant thumping sound is still there.

Do you think it might be a wheel hub issue? It's the last of the rotational parts I can think of.

 

[lewdog998]

I took it out onto a flat road today and ran it in 4HI but the problem with the steering wheel shake and the distant thumping sound is still there.

Do you think it might be a wheel hub issue? It's the last of the rotational parts I can think of.

Your gonna have to do some major MacGyver type trouble shooting.
Not sure of the answer, but some things to test to MAYBE help find the issue...
I would be doing every "test" I can think of and write down the results. As an example.
1 when it wobbles, downshift and maintain same speed....does change anything?
2. Does the wobble frequency change with speed changes?
3. What happens if you shift into neutral and coast?
4. Have jacked up the front and spun the wheel by hand and listened. Touch an automotive stethoscope to hubs and see if both sides sound the same?
5. Check runout on wheels with dial indicator while up on stand.
6. Are all balljoints tight and not worn out.
7. Could be the hubs/bearings, even though you can't feel by tugging on wheel.