Vibration

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stever1000

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My 2000 limited has a vibration every 3-4 seconds. I feel it through the gas pedal and the heels of my feet resting on the floor. I feel it the strongest at 30mph while coasting. I think it’s still there while accelerating but it’s less obvious.

What could this be?? I always grease the driveline.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
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Getting a little shake and shimmy on mine. narrowed it down to front end. looks like tie rod bearings. keep and eye on driveshaft. if it is out of balance it can kill even greased u joints
 
I rebuilt my front end recently with new tie rods (inner and outer), lower control arm bushings, lower ball joints, steering rack bushings, etc so I am surprised there's a vibration.

The vibration isn't constant, it's oscillating/varies in magnitude between nothing and vibration every 3-4 seconds.

How do I know if the drive shafts are out of balance?
 
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I searched some more and most threads indicate it is most noticable above 60mph.

I can feel it the most while coasting at 30mph. Above this it seems to go away or hide...
 
stever1000 said:
My 2000 limited has a vibration every 3-4 seconds. I feel it through the gas pedal and the heels of my feet resting on the floor. I feel it the strongest at 30mph while coasting. I think it’s still there while accelerating but it’s less obvious.

What could this be?? I always grease the driveline.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

Is your runner a 4x4? If so check out this thread. I know for a fact our 3rd gens have a needle bearing on the drivers side front diff. I am going to do this mod when I switch out my CV axles. If you get under your rig your driver's side CV axle has much more play than the passenger's side.

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-14472912-toyota-7-5-clamshell-bushingeliminates-needle-bearing.html
 
cbr900boy said:
Is your runner a 4x4? If so check out this thread. I know for a fact our 3rd gens have a needle bearing on the drivers side front diff. I am going to do this mod when I switch out my CV axles. If you get under your rig your driver's side CV axle has much more play than the passenger's side.

https://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-14472912-toyota-7-5-clamshell-bushingeliminates-needle-bearing.html
Click to expand...


Yeah it's 4x4. I will check out that thread...and crawl under and wiggle the CV axle for play

Would this be true for a stock vehicle as well? The beginning of the thread mentioned a lifted truck
 
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ECGS says the vibration should go away if you are in 4WD/AWD. I just did this bushing swap last weekend and it's not much fun. It's not difficult, but it's a lot of work. Definitely worth doing if you've got a lot of radial play in your CV axle though. I had almost 1/4" of play and the bushing totally eliminated that.

Did it just all of a sudden start after you did all that work to your front end or has it been getting progressively worse? Does the frequency change with speed also or is it constant?

If you didn't remove your driveshafts then I'd be surprised if that's the culprit unless you somehow lost a balance weight.


Then again I've been chasing a vibration of my own for like 3 months and had no success, so maybe don't listen to me haha.
 
thezentree said:
ECGS says the vibration should go away if you are in 4WD/AWD. I just did this bushing swap last weekend and it's not much fun. It's not difficult, but it's a lot of work. Definitely worth doing if you've got a lot of radial play in your CV axle though. I had almost 1/4" of play and the bushing totally eliminated that.

Did it just all of a sudden start after you did all that work to your front end or has it been getting progressively worse? Does the frequency change with speed also or is it constant?

If you didn't remove your driveshafts then I'd be surprised if that's the culprit unless you somehow lost a balance weight.


Then again I've been chasing a vibration of my own for like 3 months and had no success, so maybe don't listen to me haha.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's related but I changed all my diff fluids recently

The frequency is most notable at 30mph. Below that its hard to distinguish if its also ~3second intervals. Above 40mph it's also hard to distinguish
 
So I took it for another test drive yesterday to narrow down the vibration.

I noticed it only occurs around 30mph plus/minus a few mph. It only happens when I am coasting (low rpm). As soon as I accelerate toward 40mph it nearly disappears.

What would cause an intermittent vibration at this speed while coasting at low RPM?
 
stever1000 said:
So I took it for another test drive yesterday to narrow down the vibration.

I noticed it only occurs around 30mph plus/minus a few mph. It only happens when I am coasting (low rpm). As soon as I accelerate toward 40mph it nearly disappears.

What would cause an intermittent vibration at this speed while coasting at low RPM?
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Definitely the needle bearing inside of the front diff on the drivers side. Mine does this as well but I've learned to live with it. You can also hear it kinda do a rotational 'thump thump' sound around that speed.
 
thecole1098 said:
Definitely the needle bearing inside of the front diff on the drivers side. Mine does this as well but I've learned to live with it. You can also hear it kinda do a rotational 'thump thump' sound around that speed.
Click to expand...

Would that cause vibrations at highway speeds as well? I always wondered about the front diff on my truck before I sold it
 
1985taylor1925 said:
Would that cause vibrations at highway speeds as well? I always wondered about the front diff on my truck before I sold it
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I honestly don't know. If there's enough play in the cv axle where it meets into the diff I suppose it could. I do have a vibration at around 65mph+ but I don't know if I should contribute that to the MT tires I have, that or a rear DS issue. Or perhaps its all of that. My vibrations at highway speed don't seem to be in the front, I feel it in the rear mostly.
 
Is the vibration rpm dependent or speed dependent? If you get up to 30 mph then pop it in neutral does the vibration persist? If you keep it in 2nd and drive 30mph is it still there? Doesn't sound suspension, diff, axle or driveline related to me. Check for loose exhaust hangers.
 
thecole1098 said:
Definitely the needle bearing inside of the front diff on the drivers side. Mine does this as well but I've learned to live with it. You can also hear it kinda do a rotational 'thump thump' sound around that speed.
Click to expand...

Interesting as that was also mentioned above. Is your truck lifted? Everything I read on the Tacoma forum mentioned they noticed it after lifting there truck. Mine is bone stock.

Nate_GB said:
Is the vibration rpm dependent or speed dependent? If you get up to 30 mph then pop it in neutral does the vibration persist? If you keep it in 2nd and drive 30mph is it still there? Doesn't sound suspension, diff, axle or driveline related to me. Check for loose exhaust hangers.
Click to expand...

Interesting idea. I will pop the trans into neutral around 30mph and see if that makes a difference.
 
stever1000 said:
This makes me think I may not have the same problem? But maybe mine is worse so it shows up without a lift
Click to expand...

If you are going straight, pop the truck into 4WD and see if the vibration is still there. If it stays, the culprit is likely not the needle bearing.
 
I actually have an interesting problem that is somewhat similar...I have a vibration that feels like a very slight rhythmic "tapping" on the driver side floor board at about 20-30 mph, but it only happens when AWD/4WD is engaged and I'm coasting.

Maybe drive shaft u joints? or CV axles?
 
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