Steering wheel shake at 70. Need thoughts

[4RunnerMexico]

Hey y'all,
Have a slight shake in the steering wheel around 70mph. Comes and goes on varying road conditions and surfaces...

The front end feels tight, no play in Inner/Outer TRE. Ball joints feel fine, no play in steering rack/ steering rack bushings. Had some new Michelins put on 10k ago and a recent alignment.

Maybe thinking tire rebalance?
Rotated tires recently and the shake seems more prevalent.

Ive just never had tires that needed to be balanced more than once, so Im hesitant to do this... All the wheel weights are still attached.

Thanks for any advice

 

[yjmedek]

Hey y'all,
Have a slight shake in the steering wheel around 70mph. Comes and goes on varying road conditions and surfaces...

The front end feels tight, no play in Inner/Outer TRE. Ball joints feel fine, no play in steering rack/ steering rack bushings. Had some new Michelins put on 10k ago and a recent alignment.

Maybe thinking tire rebalance?
Rotated tires recently and the shake seems more prevalent.

Ive just never had tires that needed to be balanced more than once, so Im hesitant to do this... All the wheel weights are still attached.

Thanks for any advice

Mine does the same thing. It's done it since day one, but it's not all of the time. I'm interested to find out what people have to say about this. I even still have the factory tires on it, and they've been rotated every time that they were supposed to be rotated. IDK

 

[Spriter]

I have noticed this behavior on my 05 4wd v6 as well regardless of if i have 4hi or 2hi engaged.

There are two theories I feel may be the likely root of this.

1) there is a TSB (which ill try to find and link) regarding some nut that tightens the steering shaft to the rest of the steering assembly and it can become loose over time, causing a "fluttering" steering wheel sensation at high speeds.

2) For the 4th gen t4r, the power steering system changes its behavior at around 50-ish MPH, which leads me to believe that if you have air, water, or really anything that isnt the proper Power steering fluid, could make it unable to maintain the intend amount of hydraulic pressure to prevent the steering wheel from fluttering.


The first option takes quite some time to get to the part and tighten it as i recall, but the second option can be tested by dong a power steering flush, which i am targeting to do soon and hopefully resolve this same issue.

Hopefully this info could lead you in the right direction!

 

[Formidable]

This may or may not apply dependent on the model 4Runner you have.

I have a 2008 V8 4.7L AWD. Prominent shake at 70 MPH occurred right after 3” lift went in and greased U joints and slip yokes. Apparently it is possible to overgrease which will impede compression of the driveshaft. Anyways, I did the following and it completely resolved. I can’t reproduce the shake at any speed.

Find a 5” curb. Pull up perpendicular to it. Reverse over the curb with slight throttle. Repeat five times over. This will gently force the driveshaft to compress. Relatively simple solution for a problem that has plagued many on this forum.

 

[Fern]

This may or may not apply dependent on the model 4Runner you have.

I have a 2008 V8 4.7L AWD. Prominent shake at 70 MPH occurred right after 3” lift went in and greased U joints and slip yokes. Apparently it is possible to overgrease which will impede compression of the driveshaft. Anyways, I did the following and it completely resolved. I can’t reproduce the shake at any speed.

Find a 5” curb. Pull up perpendicular to it. Reverse over the curb with slight throttle. Repeat five times over. This will gently force the driveshaft to compress. Relatively simple solution for a problem that has plagued many on this forum.

So you are saying to back up over the curb?

 

[Formidable]

Yep. Pull up perpendicular with rear wheels within a few feet of the curb. Reverse over it at around 2-5mph. Repeat x 5. Problem gone. It may or may not work depending on your model. But for the v8 AWD this did the trick.

So you are saying to back up over the curb?

 

[4RunnerMexico]

I have noticed this behavior on my 05 4wd v6 as well regardless of if i have 4hi or 2hi engaged.

There are two theories I feel may be the likely root of this.

1) there is a TSB (which ill try to find and link) regarding some nut that tightens the steering shaft to the rest of the steering assembly and it can become loose over time, causing a "fluttering" steering wheel sensation at high speeds.

2) For the 4th gen t4r, the power steering system changes its behavior at around 50-ish MPH, which leads me to believe that if you have air, water, or really anything that isnt the proper Power steering fluid, could make it unable to maintain the intend amount of hydraulic pressure to prevent the steering wheel from fluttering.


The first option takes quite some time to get to the part and tighten it as i recall, but the second option can be tested by dong a power steering flush, which i am targeting to do soon and hopefully resolve this same issue.

Hopefully this info could lead you in the right direction!

Yeah I've been meaning to do a power steering flush for awhile...
Maybe its the steering column U-Joint as you mentioned, its weird, truck drives fine, tracks perfectly straight, alignment is good, when steering wheel shales it doesn't wander at all

 

[81runner]

Weak ball joints maybe? Maybe low caster as well. You mentioned the alignment was recently done. It's entirely possible the tech didn't tighten something or over tightened and broke it. I'd start there, take it back and have them go over their work

 

[aaronmjr]

If it hasn't been a super long time since the tires were balanced, maybe you can take them back to the place that did it and have them re-checked. That would be the most logical place to start.

 

[nevada]

a vibration due to tire imbalance will happen every time. usually at higher speeds, and then go away above that speed. if its not there every time, I would look for something loose, or worn.

 

[Derek]

I had similar problems where it would come and go and it was with brand new tires. I had them balanced 3 separate times thinking it was a balancing issue. With each balancing it seemed to get better but really it just changed the speed at which I would feel the vibration. I finally took it back to the dealer where I purchased it since they put the new tires on and they determined two of the tires were 'out of spec' for proper balancing. They replaced those two tires and I haven't had a single issue since then.

 

[That_Titanium_4RNR]

I had similar problems where it would come and go and it was with brand new tires. I had them balanced 3 separate times thinking it was a balancing issue. With each balancing it seemed to get better but really it just changed the speed at which I would feel the vibration. I finally took it back to the dealer where I purchased it since they put the new tires on and they determined two of the tires were 'out of spec' for proper balancing. They replaced those two tires and I haven't had a single issue since then.

Ive heard this happening with BFG KO2s alot recently

 

[TowMeOut]

I've been fighting vibrations since about 4 months after putting my BFG KMs (Jeep Rubicon new takeoffs) on my truck. One in particular takes quite a bit more weight than the others but is supposedly "balanced" according to the shop. The vibration at one point was about 45-55 then over time has gone as high as 55-65 but normally smooths out by 70. Each time they're rotated/balanced its been a crap shoot as far as what the new vibration range will be. Once these tires are shot I'll move on to a different shop.

I'll definitely take a look at some of the other items mentioned though. My truck is sitting at 160K and I'm pretty sure on all the original suspension components (other than springs/shocks).

 

[4RunnerMexico]

Thinking it might be the steering rack

Little more info, truck is pushing 220k. I replaced inner/outer TRE about 25k ago. This feels basically like it did when the drivers side outer tie rod end was bad. With the truck on jack stands there’s is no play in the wheels.

But I tightened the steering rack at the adjustment bolt to a level of a bit over tightened. Rack feels too tight everywhere but dead on center and play still exists and steering wheel shakes a bit. It’s such a small amount of play I’ll probably keep driving it for awhile... it’s just going to drive my slightly OCD self crazy

 

[Rayh78]

I had what I was sure was a front end vibration.
But did not happen all the time.
Just noticed it at high speeds.

Ended up being the brake calipers were sticking and had to replace.

Happened on my 2003 4Runner and Tundra.

 

[That_Titanium_4RNR]

[MENTION=172297]4RunnerMexico[/MENTION] sometimes I get really bad shake when my wheels don't have enough air. Have you check psi recently? Also what is the condition of your cv shafts? I was driving a 2008 Honda Odyssey one time on a vacation and during the drive there (about 4 hours) and half way through I got a really bad vibration kind of like a "death wobble" if you've ever been in a jeep with that issue. Limped it into town and it turned out that the CV shafts were bad. Maybe it could be early signs of a cv shaft getting worn?

 

[ARunner]

FWIW, if you have a lot of miles and especially if you're lifted, the bushings in the lower control arms up front are probably shot - especially the rear bushings. This can allow for movement, leading to some wobble felt in the steering wheel. I recently replaced mine and no wobble felt since - although I will say i could feel slight wobble before that would come and go anytime over 45mph. Kind of like a slightly unbalanced tire. Noticeable, but not offensive-level wobble.