Question about shaking steering wheel etc.

[4RunnerAZ05]

Hi, I'm new here. Have a quick question about my 2005 4R. I've replaced the tires, had them balanced and just had the alignment done on Friday and the steering wheel still shakes, along with the headrests, etc. at about 50 mph and above. The mechanic said to get the tires balanced and that should take care of it, but they were just balanced when I got them on there in November. We got it used last year and it's had the shaking no matter what we do with the tires, balancing, etc. Any ideas? I'm planning on a long trip at the end of May and don't want any problems with it. I'm not sure why the mechanic wouldn't have seen any other problems in his safety check if it's something more....

 

[Ducmonsta]

Hi, I'm new here. Have a quick question about my 2005 4R. I've replaced the tires, had them balanced and just had the alignment done on Friday and the steering wheel still shakes, along with the headrests, etc. at about 50 mph and above. The mechanic said to get the tires balanced and that should take care of it, but they were just balanced when I got them on there in November. We got it used last year and it's had the shaking no matter what we do with the tires, balancing, etc. Any ideas? I'm planning on a long trip at the end of May and don't want any problems with it. I'm not sure why the mechanic wouldn't have seen any other problems in his safety check if it's something more....

I would take it to another tire shop preferably one with a Hunter Road Force balancer. Just ask to see if they have that. If they don't, walk away. If they do, ask to see if the have the lugcentric adapter. If they can legitimately say yes to both of those questions, get them to rebalance your tires. At the very least, they can tell you if you have a problem tire.

 

[KSWAY]

Rotate wheel/tires front to back, See if you still get the shake.

 

[whbrittain]

Hi, I'm new here. Have a quick question about my 2005 4R. I've replaced the tires, had them balanced and just had the alignment done on Friday and the steering wheel still shakes, along with the headrests, etc. at about 50 mph and above. The mechanic said to get the tires balanced and that should take care of it, but they were just balanced when I got them on there in November. We got it used last year and it's had the shaking no matter what we do with the tires, balancing, etc. Any ideas? I'm planning on a long trip at the end of May and don't want any problems with it. I'm not sure why the mechanic wouldn't have seen any other problems in his safety check if it's something more....

It's a balance problem. Find another shop to get you tires balanced!

 

[gm350reratliff]

I would take it to another tire shop preferably one with a Hunter Road Force balancer. Just ask to see if they have that. If they don't, walk away. If they do, ask to see if the have the lugcentric adapter. If they can legitimately say yes to both of those questions, get them to rebalance your tires. At the very least, they can tell you if you have a problem tire.

This^^^


Sometimes a tire has a wobble in it from the factory. It will balance fine but will still have a shake because the tire just wobbles. The other issue is sometimes a tire will have weak or busted belts from the factory. This is where a Road Force balancer comes into play. It can detect those defective tires.

 

[toyo]

I just had this issue and it was corrected yesterday. Butler Tire in Atlanta is without a doubt the best in Atlanta when it comes to tires, wheels and suspension. I was having this exact problem. I watched the guy balance them twice to perfection and I was still getting the steering wheel shimmy. I had them do a high speed/on car balance and now it is smooth as silk.

When they do this type of balance they are balancing the tire, wheel and hub assembly all as one unit. I ran it yesterday on the freeway up to about 85 and the entire vehicle is smooth as glass.

Mine has POS Cooper tires on it. Previous owner installed them. Very rarely will you have to do this on a good, high quality tire.

Any Atlanta peeps here, Check out Butler Tire in Atlanta GA - Tires and Wheels for all Cars Trucks and SUV's

 

[Grenvilleter]

Speaking of balancing, I intended to ask if anyone else has ever used tire balancing beads? They are used in large tires found on transport trucks etc.

A couple months ago I purchased new tires, Grabber AT2's 265/70/16 and the tire shop could not balance them so they told me they would put in the balancing beads instead.
I'm impressed so far !

 

[Ducmonsta]

Balance beads are intended for over the road trucks or shops that can't balance tires properly. Or shops that can't determine if a tire is defective or not.

The only other scenario I've ever used beads is on really oversized tires (37"+) or tires such as Super Swampers. And if someone is complaining about highway vibration on an off-road tire, you've got the wrong priorities.

 

[Grenvilleter]

What is the down side to using beads ? As you seem to not approve of them except in special circumstances. From all reports I have found, they do not work well with smaller tires or low profile tires but they seem to work well on my runner . So far anyhow.......