Steering wheel shimmy diagnosis help (with video!)

[WeakSauz]

2000 SR5 4x4
230k on the clock

Trying to chase down an annoying steering wheel shake that occurs from 60-75mph. I am beginning to wonder if it’s a tire balance issue, or even a bent rim. I am not sure if the shop I had balance these did it correctly (road force?)

Here is a video of the steering wheel itself.

YouTube

The video doesn’t really do this justice- you’ve really got to look hard to see the shake. But, in person is a different story. It’ll rattle ya pretty good.

New parts on the truck front end:
- New oem LBJs, outer tie rods, new oem steering rack with poly bushings, new sway bar end links and bushings, diff drop, new eibach struts/coils, tires are now 1 yr old (KM2s), rotors are new and not warped, alignment is in spec

Given all the new parts, it’s pretty much gotta be a tire balance issue right?

 

[mtbtim]

9 times out of 10, it's wheel balancing. I'd seek out a place that does Road Force Balancing.

 

[BoomerBob]

A quick way to find out if it's a wheel balance issue like it normally is; is to do a tire rotation if you have a couple of jackstands and a large hydraulic jack that will lift one end up at a time. I suppose you could lift one side up at a time using one jackstand and a smaller jack.

Could even put your spare on one of the fronts then swap it to the other side if you still had the vibration. Of course that assumes the spare is balanced well.

I chased my vibration problem for a long time until I did a rotation and I had the wheels balanced first. The road balance is a good option but a good balance guy can do a good job if they want to. A lot of the time they will get within 1/4 oz and call it good but it isn't. Tell the balance guy is has to be right on the money because the fronts are very sensitive to being even a little off.

If you get into mud sometimes; check the inside of your wheels for a clump of dried mud. That'll throw it off too. I cleaned the inside of my wheels while I had them off at home and was surprised at all the build-up of dirt and brake dust. I expected the brake dust but not that much dirt. It was uniform but still more than I expected.

 

[Bad Luck]

[MENTION=279370]WeakSauz[/MENTION] Like others have said it's likely a tire balance issue. I would try rotating your tires and test driving, and also making sure there isn't any mud or debris buildup on the rim causing the balance to change.

Do you have any slop/play in the steering wheel?