Rear wheel wobble

[iAlex684]

I would try to check for wheel bearing play- when your wheel is tight, try to move a tire side to side and bottom up ( not turning your tire)see if there is any movement in comparison to other side's. Also if you are able to jack up your vehicle and keep it in gear freespining your tires in the air. Use a stethoscope or a large screwdriver as close as possible to a wheel bearing. If noise is louder on wobbly side that on the other, I would fault that wheel bearing. Oh and use common sense in regards of safety with vehicle jacked and with tires spinning.
Hope this helps.

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Thanks for the recommendation. It ended up being my axle being bent from an accident way way long time ago.. The truck was sent to the repair shop after the accident and was believed they fixed something in the rear end since a trailer got detached and barely hit the rear wheel. I remember them telling me after they got it back from the repair shop someone was following them to tell them that same side was wobbling and they took it to kwik Kar and they said it was some sort of spacer clip that was missing. Well here I am years later and had to paying out my pocket to fix the rear end.. Had to replace the bent axle, both axle bearing, and parking brake kit. Then after they test drove it they also notice the caliper on that side was starting to seize due to the inward and outward motion of the axle being bent.

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[benztech82]

Thanks for the recommendation. It ended up being my axle being bent from an accident way way long time ago.. The truck was sent to the repair shop after the accident and was believed they fixed something in the rear end since a trailer got detached and barely hit the rear wheel. I remember them telling me after they got it back from the repair shop someone was following them to tell them that same side was wobbling and they took it to kwik Kar and they said it was some sort of spacer clip that was missing. Well here I am years later and had to paying out my pocket to fix the rear end.. Had to replace the bent axle, both axle bearing, and parking brake kit. Then after they test drove it they also notice the caliper on that side was starting to seize due to the inward and outward motion of the axle being bent.

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Wow, that must have been some serious bill to fix everything.

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[catrains]

could be the brake on that side ... check that the rear wheels both ,are the same temp after driving vehicle ... if the issue wheel side is hotter then the brakes could be it.

 

[TechWrench]

Thanks for helping out so fast. I should have noted that I swapped my front right with left rear wheels, and the wobble stayed in the left rear. I did notice the problem when I bumped up to 32" tires on some aftermarket 17" FJ steelies last month, but I had them balanced 3 different times at 3 different shops (That was a fun couple of weeks). Two out of round wheels were replaced for free, and here we are! I'm determined to get this fixed, and I'll definitely try the methods you recommended tomorrow night.

Anything else you can think of that might be causing the wobble, if not the axle/flange? It definitely starts happening at higher speeds, and is there most of the time, but not all.

It used to happen pretty badly on the right side. I replaced the shocks, which fixed the right side wobble, but now something is wonky on the left. I put the old "good" shock back on that side, and it minimizes the wobble some, but it's still there for sure. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills at this point.

There is a tiny bit of lateral flange movement on both sides, but my local mechanic says it's normal? Video of that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztQh7W0rC1Y

:ybrick:

Ok, I think your use of the term 'wobble' isn't making a lot of sense, given the way you are describing the symptoms. A tire/wheel wobble, in my understanding, means that the tread of the tire is moving laterally (side to side) when it turns. In my experience, one can usually feel a wobble at slow speeds, but it tends to even out at higher speeds. If you are feeling something at higher speeds, you are probably feeling a 'vibration', which is usually associated with a wheel/tire balance problem. I am suspecting that you have at least one, or more tires/wheels out of balance. Even though you had them 'balanced' at several different shops, it all boils down to how well trained the 'tech' who did the balancing was. You also mentioned that you went to 32" tires, with aftermarket steel wheels. As you go to larger size tires, they can tend to be more difficult to get balanced properly. As you should know, the stock alloy 4runner wheels use a shank type lug nut for the alloy wheels, and most steel wheels use some type of acorn lug nut. If by chance, you used the original factory shank lug nuts on the steel wheels, that may very well be the source of your problems. The wheels must be mounted to the hubs correctly, in order for them to turn true.

 

[Markp21]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I have had the extended thread gorilla lug nuts on there (correct lug for steel wheels), and did just about every other thing to cure a wobble/vibration that I could find on this site. I also got the Dial indicator this week and didn't notice anything unusual when comparing both sides of the rear. Great suggestion btw. That brought some peace of mind that my wheel isn't going to fall off.

My final attempt to solve the problem was to put some Counteract Balancing beads in-- 6 oz for each tire as recommend by their website for a 32" tire. So far that seems to have solved the problem, but I'll know better after driving it all over Maryland this week for work.

 

[Markp21]

Update

Still wobbling. The best way I can describe it is that most of the time it's smooth up to and around 50mph, but feels like I'm driving over those small bumps before a toll booth at around 60mph. Maybe not that bad, but definite up/down movement that never seems to stop at higher speeds. This leads me to believe it's shock related. I'll be installing Bilstein 5100s this weekend to see if that helps. I'm a little worried that it'll just hide the real issue a bit more than the current shock, but we'll see.

At slower speeds, it can either be totally smooth, OR it'll feel like the wheel is wobbling as if it's loose. I've pulled over to check the lugs with a torque wrench to be sure they're on tight.

I had a full size spare mounted today, another KO2, and everything still feels the same even with that new wheel on, so I don't think it's a balancing issue.

Here are some videos I took to try to narrow down the problem. At this point I'm thinking either bad shock, or wheel bearing, but I'm trying to avoid throwing money at a wheel bearing replacement unless it's the last thing I try. This is my DD, and I need it for work. Shops around here (all of them) keep your car for days, regardless of the level of difficulty. They're all crazy busy.

Videos:
Pulling the flange in and out-- both sides had similar range of movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yBVx3Dpl0o

Rotating the flange on the wobbly side: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLWGM4efa6Y

Rotating on the good side for comparison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omC6_7Z68BI

Tire spinning while jacked up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK99f73Hqlw

Tire spinning while driving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWLpSq7XbnE

 

[DJDV1]

haven't slid into curbs and no pulsating brakes. This sides been acting up lately i had to resurface the rotor about a onto month ago because it got warped and yesterday i notice that the last brake job before i started owning it someone put in a incorrect brake pad because i can move it up and down.

are you mechanically gifted?
If not

just take it to a shop if you have a brake issue and wobble

your life is worth it

 

[Markp21]

Wobble solved!

After 5 months of maddening, incurable wobble, the problem has been fixed. The wobble was so bad at times, it felt like wheels were about to fall off. I thought about selling the truck on many occasions, for fear it would kill me, my wife, or both of us. It was that bad.

Short Answer - Get your wheels/tires balanced by someone that knows what they're doing (NOT THE DEALER, in my experience).

Long Answer:
A little background:
-220,000 miles
-Aftermarket (knockoff) 17" FJ steelies
-BFG KO2s
-new Bilstein shocks
-Moog springs/Firestone airbags
-Tundra brake upgrade

I had a wobble that happened around 50 and up, and 50-35ish once it started...it wouldn't go away. Sometimes it'd shake the steering wheel, sometimes it shook the entire truck. I had the tires balanced four times, different shops, and I mentioned the "toyota/haweka adapter" each time, or at least that they had to be perfectly balanced. Some looked at me like I was crazy, some told me tires "that big" are hard to balance but "we know how." Each time, no success. I looked at tie-rods, steering rack, bushings, control arms, sway bar links, axle, everything under the truck. I even had my driveshaft completely rebuilt and balanced by a racing shop. Nothing was damaged or worn, and the dealer confirmed it on two different visits. They wouldn't take my money, regardless of how much I insisted a suspension component had to be bad somewhere.

Every shop said the tires were balanced. "These tires just have more feel to them since they're so big." They are only 32" tires... I called the place I got the wheels from, and they sent me two free replacements thinking one of them might be bent.

I tried Counteract Beads. They were terrible.

I bought a different set of wheels and tires. Factory 5 star wheels, Duratrac tires. Balanced at the dealer. Same wobble... though better than the KO2s/steelies.

By this point I was convinced it was the truck and not wheels/tires. Right about when I lost my mind from shaking all over the highways for half the year, I took my original KO2s and steelies to a small shop I never heard of that got great Google reviews. Balance job #5, and the problem is solved. Months of insanity fixed by one competent technician that knew how to operate a road force balancer.

If you have a wobble/vibration/shimmy and the suspension looks fine... keep getting your tires balanced by different shops. When I picked the tires up, the service desk guy told me all they had to do was use THE RIGHT ADAPTER. He said most shops have no idea but they think the wheels are mounted on the machine properly, and in reality they're spinning a loose wheel. It's maddening that so few shops know about it, but it is definitely the solution.

Don't sell your truck.

 

[noscgag]

iAlex684:

If you don't mind my asking, how much did the repair cost?