Vibration at 65+ mph

[diverscale]

I've been wondering about that thing, the t-case harmonic balancer dynamic dampener... and also wondering how a passive chunk of metal and rubber goes bad... I guess the rubber hardens?

Anyone seen transmission mount causing highway vibes?

mine didn't harden, the rubber went too soft, and the weight was hitting the ''stops'' of the dampener, rendering the dampener worthless.

Before getting a scrap replacement part, I repaired mine using some rubber grommets on the sides of the weight to compensate for the rubber that was too soft, so it does not hit the stops and still dampens. That also worked to fix my vibrations.

 

[reelamin]

what concerns me is this vibration started immediately after I picked it up from the shop after the suspension and u-joints were replaced. so I can narrow it down to the work done there, or the alignment getting knocked out after replacing suspension. I would think..

No question it was something they did wrong. Make them fix it...I'm betting something in U'joints or drive shaft is not correct.

 

[fourfive]

Here's the timeline -

bought car June 2016
LBJ July
-no vibrations still-
Suspension/U-joints done October
-vibration starts right after I pick up-
the entire LCA replaced & THEN alignment one week ago
-vibration still there-

Just wondering why you replaced the U-joints if there weren't any vibrations to begin with?

 

[jreask]

Road force balance. This will solve. your. problem.
No question about it.

 

[Scramble]

Was hoping you wouldn't say that since after u-joint replacement I still have highway vibes. Was planning on replacing steering rack bushings and rebalance shaft as next steps.

My double cardan should be fine since it was before the whole u-joint replacement saga began... but the shop could have mishandled the shaft and/or the crappy Matsuba u-joint (and missing c-clip issue) may have introduced enough new vibes for long enough to upset the previously OK double cardan. I hope not cause otherwise I've got a date with Tom Woods... $$$

You should be looking forward to that date with Tom Woods! It's like dating a super model! LOL

My truck was running fine before hitting the trail (Fall of 2014) driving home on the highway I had a nasty vibration running through the floor board. I checked the DS in my driveway & found no play. It was too cold to mess (no garage) with so I brought it to my mechanic & when he took the DS off it showed play in the DC. I did my research & found that the DC wasn't rebuildable. A new DS from Toyota was over $600, ef that! I didnt want a used one from the junk yard & have the same problem in a few months. Someone on here recommended Tom Woods & it was a great decision. Bigger, stronger & cheaper than Toyota. 3" shaft, 1310 u-joints, rebuildable DC a total no brainer. Cost around $420.

I replaced my steering rack bushings & all they did was get rid of the vibrations in my steering wheel. They wont get rid of vibrations in the floor board. That's the DS or joints or worse the trans.

 

[duke808]

If the u-joints parts cost on your receipt is around $30-35 each they are aftermarket. If it's around $65-75 each they are Toyota.

They were aftermarket he said. I stopped by the shop on the way home and told him that after he worked on the car the vibrations began. I told him to please focus his efforts on that area.

I know correlation doesn't imply causation... but in this case..... -__-

 

[duke808]

Just wondering why you replaced the U-joints if there weren't any vibrations to begin with?

Fair question. Guy said they were nearly shot, and could leave me stranded. I said to replace them. I don't know enough about these things. Haha

 

[Scramble]

Fair question. @ 135,000 miles was in the shop for having leaking inner axle seals done along with rebuild for noisy rear diff. While all that was dropped/disconnected they took a look at the ujoints and said they were all notchy. I went back looked at them myself (a driveline noob at the time) felt the notchiness in all 3 of them, got a very fair cost estimate to replace 3 u-joints on top of the work already being done and said go for it. It was the shops recommendation... I trusted their judgement... and I was already in for other major stuff & figured I'd do some PM and save on labor since was already taken apart anyway.

What did I come away with?

Loads of new vibration. Had to revisit for them to discover missing c-clip which was apparently slapped back on and gave me my 4Runner back. Still vibrating like mofo.

What other gifts did they give me?

Rear driveshaft put back together 180 out of phase.
Front driveshaft re-installed backwards.
No matchmarks anywhere on flanges/yokes or driveshaft sections. Complete and utter loss of trouble-free previous factory assembly orientations.
Yoke damage from vice. Now transferred to my flanges.

Tons of time and money later (this is also my daily driver), two driveshaft balances later, and I'm still battling highway vibration, the OEM u-joint replacement last week was the single biggest reduction in driveline vibes so far, with balancing the rear shaft also helped some. I can actually bear to drive it on the highway again, so that's progress.

Never had any highway vibrations before, even tapping the speed limiter as a test.

That sucks! I've been pretty lucky my whole life with quality mechanics. If my gut feels something wrong I'll leave or never go back. I've lived in a few different towns so I've had to shop around or ask neighbors for recommendations.

 

[Scramble]

Fair question. Guy said they were nearly shot, and could leave me stranded. I said to replace them. I don't know enough about these things. Haha

its ok, you're learning the hard way! LOL stays in your brain better.
Dont let a shop up-sell you anything! Just have them fix what you asked for. If you have doubts, come here & ask us. There's a lot of smart friendly people here. Unlike most websites! LOL 4Runner people rule!
These truck are very reliable. Look at the mileage some of these guys have. 300-400,000 miles. Yes old trucks will need parts replaced.

 

[reelamin]

Fair question. Guy said they were nearly shot, and could leave me stranded. I said to replace them. I don't know enough about these things. Haha

I think you got duped!! I guess the new term is sold. LOL....no worry as long as he fixes what he caused. Good luck with it.

 

[Scramble]

Thanks Scramble.. If I told you what large well known shop created this mess I guarantee you'd s#!t a brick. Based on my location and other comments I've made you could probably figure it out.

Anyway, the shop never admitted any fault or damage to my vehicle but did refund the entire bill I'd paid for all the work listed. If I put a dollar value on the now 'free' work I got done, inner axle seals and rear diff refresh (but the big unknown - will that work hold up), then I'm positive $$ for those two items right? Wrong. Even if we value my troubleshooting and wrenching time at $0.00/hr and my lost work time and frustration of hosing up my 4Runner at $0.00... I'm now in the hole on this because of rental cars, a long trip taking my driveshafts for balancing, overnight in a motel, the cost of the balancing job, and now replacing the rear u-joint again, also the front driveshaft has two of the same vibrating cancer u-joints in it. Now my 4WD is acting up and wont engage sometimes (related or coincidence: you decide). The whole thing in a word, sucks. Good thing I really love 3rd gen 4Runners. Anything else and I would have given up and taken a big loss. Then again maybe I never had a choice, who's going to pay any real money for a 3rd gen that vibrates on the highway?

LOL, I'd buy a vibrating 4runner for cheap! I'd just replace the DS with a Tom Woods! :jump:

 

[Scramble]

I think Scramble might be on commission with Tom Woods sales haha jk :wof:

Haha! Its a great product that will out live me & my truck. My Doug Thorley headers were another $400 no brainer upgrade over a stock manifold after it cracked.
Fix it once, fix it right & fix it to last...

 

[1985taylor1925]

Road force balance. This will solve. your. problem.
No question about it.

Ive had three road force balances. They solved nothing. A wheel/tire balance doesn't change the drivetrain

 

[jkeith.w]

Haha! Its a great product that will out live me & my truck. My Doug Thorley headers were another $400 no brainer upgrade over a stock manifold after it cracked.
Fix it once, fix it right & fix it to last...

Woods does the custom shafts, right? Who is it that rebuilds the Cardan joint with Toyota parts from a different model? High-Angle Driveline?

 

[duke808]

I think you got duped!! I guess the new term is sold. LOL....no worry as long as he fixes what he caused. Good luck with it.

Luckily it was only $260 or so, not the end of the world. Not much $ to pay in terms of learning a valuable lesson. I'm usually pretty good with telling the shops NO when it comes to extras, but I figured since this car is 16 going on 17 years old it probably needs it, and I'm going to be taking a long road trip, then Fvck it.

The vibrating is not horrible, but rather feels like I'm riding on large off road tires. If it cannot be fixed I'll manage.

 

[duke808]

Thanks Scramble.. If I told you what large well known shop created this mess I guarantee you'd s#!t a brick. Based on my location and other comments I've made you could probably figure it out.

Anyway, the shop never admitted any fault or damage to my vehicle but did refund the entire bill I'd paid for all the work listed. If I put a dollar value on the now 'free' work I got done, inner axle seals and rear diff refresh (but the big unknown - will that work hold up), then I'm positive $$ for those two items right? Wrong. Even if we value my troubleshooting and wrenching time at $0.00/hr and my lost work time and frustration of hosing up my 4Runner at $0.00... I'm now in the hole on this because of rental cars, a long trip taking my driveshafts for balancing, overnight in a motel, the cost of the balancing job, and now replacing the rear u-joint again, also the front driveshaft has two of the same vibrating cancer u-joints in it. Now my 4WD is acting up and wont engage sometimes (related or coincidence: you decide). The whole thing in a word, sucks. Good thing I really love 3rd gen 4Runners. Anything else and I would have given up and taken a big loss. Then again maybe I never had a choice, who's going to pay any real money for a 3rd gen that vibrates on the highway?

What a nightmare man. I hope you are able to get it figured out.

These trucks are too awesome. I love the looks and the fact I can sleep in it when on the road. that's why I bought it. Oh and how it won't really depreciate much more at this point. win win.

 

[Scramble]

Woods does the custom shafts, right? Who is it that rebuilds the Cardan joint with Toyota parts from a different model? High-Angle Driveline?

Yes, I think that's their name. [MENTION=50342]JayRolla[/MENTION] always recommends them.

 

[JayRolla]

Woods does the custom shafts, right? Who is it that rebuilds the Cardan joint with Toyota parts from a different model? High-Angle Driveline?

Yeah call them up. Jesse I believe is his name and he knows his toyota driveline. They quoted me $150 worst case scenerio. If the ball and cap of the CV in the cardan looks fine he will keep it installed and replace the parts around it. This was years ago, I always planned to send him my old shaft when the junk yard one starts to make some noises.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Haha! Its a great product that will out live me & my truck. My Doug Thorley headers were another $400 no brainer upgrade over a stock manifold after it cracked.
Fix it once, fix it right & fix it to last...

Man I would love to get a Tom wood driveshaft. Just can't afford it right now. I need to replace my rear axle first

 

[GangsterOfLove]

Luckily it was only $260 or so, not the end of the world. Not much $ to pay in terms of learning a valuable lesson. I'm usually pretty good with telling the shops NO when it comes to extras, but I figured since this car is 16 going on 17 years old it probably needs it, and I'm going to be taking a long road trip, then Fvck it.

The vibrating is not horrible, but rather feels like I'm riding on large off road tires. If it cannot be fixed I'll manage.

I'd have it checked out a local shop that only does drivelines. They see nothing but drivelines all day long and I'll bet they can fix it. Just another day in the office for those guys.

I used OC Driveline but there is sure to be one closer to you.