Steering Vibration--Tried Obvious Fix

[Maritimer]

After my first tire rotation after owning my 4Runner the steering/vehicle vibrates at about 65-75mph. After the first time this happened I got the wheels balanced. A tire shop thinks alignment wouldn't do anything. It definitely didn't do it before the rotation.

The tires are are all worn on the outside more than the inside. Maybe 1/8 to 1/16 of an inch. I assume that the insides wore first, and now they have the insides out, and the tire areas closer to the frame are less worn. Would this in itself, uneven tire wear, cause vibration like this? These are General Grabber AT2, so the tread is fairly aggressive.

 

[NDZ]

Just went through this

I just bought a 98 with steering vibration, had tires re-balanced on a Road Force Balance via the required lug-centric balancing with the proper adapter and an alignment done, its all better now!.

My truck vibrated bad at speed, now there is nothing. search the forum for info on the proper balance and alignment, you will find a great writeup on it!

It really helped my situation!

 

[Maritimer]

Cool, I think I'm going to take it in to get an alignment and full balancing done today. I hope the slight outside wear each tire is exhibiting can be corrected by proper alignment. I don't want to spring for new tires since they have tons of tread left.

 

[Maritimer]

Awesome--I had alignment and balancing done. I got all four tires stripped of their weights and balanced fresh. And, my right front toe was bad. Anyway, it rides like a dream now.

When I buy new tires next summer should I get my wheels aligned again?

 

[denverunner]

Awesome--I had alignment and balancing done. I got all four tires stripped of their weights and balanced fresh. And, my right front toe was bad. Anyway, it rides like a dream now.

When I buy new tires next summer should I get my wheels aligned again?

yes, you should, to ensure they will wear evenly.

 

[bpatten0416]

Same issue I faced with 5 new Firestone Destination AT's - steering vibration at 60 - 70 mph. My mechanic whom I trust doesn't have the flange plate adapter that mounts the wheel to the balancer true center every time. Toyota truck wheels are notoriously hard to balance - I know there's a major ongoing debate "lug vs. hub centric" (no OEM has made a true lug centric wheel for years). The real problem is that the Toyo wheels are milled and if you look closely at the center hub you'll notice ridges in the aluminum - when you mount this wheel on a cone balancer, it's impossible to get an accurate center - the center will change if you rotate the tire. My mechanic sent me to a shop that has the flange plate adapter and a rebalance made my 4runner smooth as silk......

 

[Maritimer]

I'll have to shop around to see if there's a place that'll offer the alignment for free with the purchase of tires. Up here in Nova Scotia everything is half-assed and expensive.