Replaced Rotors but still bad shake at 40mph+

[kosmo101]

Have a 2000 4runner sr5 4wd with 95k miles. Brought to dealer and they did timing belt/water pump and asked them to check the front end as it has a horrible highway ride. After 40 mph I get a good shake up to 70 mph where it gets worse..basically making me nuts. This is my third 4runner and cannot ever remember a ride like this....

So the dealer says nothing more than the front tires are bubbled or something...not very technical. Of course they suggested the replacement of all four. I thought it was something more than the tires..maybe the rims bent or balance off or something more with the front end. Tires to my eye look fine.. plenty of tread...worn very evenly.

Anyone have suggestions? I will replace tires if I know it will fix this but to dump 800-1000 and find out it doesnt help is not where I am financially. Could use some ideas.. thanks!

Kevin

 

[Baja Runner]

Most common fix is just to get your tires rotated and balanced...

So pretty much what the dealer said. Bring it to a mom and pop style place, and they should get you covered.

 

[kosmo101]

but

Thanks.. so what sized tire on 16 inch wheels could i go to ...as i want it to have a mean look... only do street driving..mainly highway. Any brand/model suggestions/

Thanks Kevin

 

[JT3HN86R]

Have a 2000 4runner sr5 4wd with 95k miles. Brought to dealer and they did timing belt/water pump and asked them to check the front end as it has a horrible highway ride. After 40 mph I get a good shake up to 70 mph where it gets worse..basically making me nuts. This is my third 4runner and cannot ever remember a ride like this....

So the dealer says nothing more than the front tires are bubbled or something...not very technical. Of course they suggested the replacement of all four. I thought it was something more than the tires..maybe the rims bent or balance off or something more with the front end. Tires to my eye look fine.. plenty of tread...worn very evenly.

Anyone have suggestions? I will replace tires if I know it will fix this but to dump 800-1000 and find out it doesnt help is not where I am financially. Could use some ideas.. thanks!

Kevin

I have owned at least six 4Runners. These are definitely not highway trucks. Everyone I have owned had a pretty bad highway ride. If not play in the steering, it is the sway from side to side. I have replaced the steering rack bushings, done the steering column weld, checked LBJ and uppers. I have replaced the tie rods also. The steering is much improved but still not what I would call a good highway ride. It's a shame I never have had a Runner with less than 90K miles, but they all seem to drive much much better in the city than on the interstate highways. My two cents.

Joe

 

[kosmo101]

..

I understand they are not highway rides.. but i should not have constant shaking making it almost unbearable to drive. Guess i will go the route to check balance...

 

[jdmaccord6]

check the u-joints on the rear drive shaft. More then likely this is causing the extreme vibrations. Same thing happened to me. I thought it was the tires but after numerous rotations and balancing, it turned out to be a bad rear u-joint.

 

[cj80cruiser]

I understand they are not highway rides.. but i should not have constant shaking making it almost unbearable to drive. Guess i will go the route to check balance...

If your tires are out of round you won't see it from just looking at the tires. Only if you spin them will you see the problem. I bought a set of 4 goodyear duratracs that looked absolutely perfect but when on the balancer I could see the wobble. Couldn't go over 75 or truck felt like it was going to fall apart. Put the worst 2 on the back and the best 2 on the front and could get up to 85.

I would take the truck to another shop and let them see if the tires are out of round. If they say no, then get them balanced. If that doesn't work then I'd just make sure the alignment is ok. I don't think a bad alignment would cause a vibration but more of a darting, wandering feel. It would be good to check though and see if you have any weird, crazy, out of spec numbers though. Ask for the alignment print out and post it here if you have to go that far to find the problem.

 

[Volley]

Concur with cj80, rotate the front tires to the rear. If that is the culprit then the truck should ride better after the rotation.

 

[Singtoe]

I second the bad tires. Replace one tire at a time with your spare till vibration goes away and that would be your problem.

 

[GoTigersGo]

check the u-joints on the rear drive shaft. More then likely this is causing the extreme vibrations. Same thing happened to me. I thought it was the tires but after numerous rotations and balancing, it turned out to be a bad rear u-joint.

I second this. Had my u-joints replaced at a shop for $140. They also said my drivetrain may be an issue, but weren't sure that retubing it would fix the issue. Shop owner told me to go to a junkyard and get a drivetrain if I cared enough about the wobble between 65-70 mph.

 

[TheDurk]

I had bad shaking over 50 m.p.h. I found that it took a combination of fixes to get it back to how it was when I bought it new. Each fix seemed to raise the speed at which it would start to shake. Now it's pretty smooth up to about 95, which is more that I want to drive at, anyway.

I did:
New tires and Hunter Road Force balancing (these were bad)
Alignment (also on Hunter equip.)--(way out, too)
New Tokico Trekmasters all around (stockers were shot)
Rack Bushings (definite play)
Sway bar bushings and links(bushings shot and one link broken)

Checked the rest of the suspension and all seemed fine. Just saying you may not have ONE problem. After 10 or 12 years, it may take a few things to get it right but it can be done.

 

[johnny c]

Just a quick note when balancing wheels, make sure the shop has a "LUG" centric machine and not a "hub" centric! These wheels need to be balanced using the lug nut circle as a centre point, not the hole in the centre!