Will a 3rd gen ever be smooth on the highway?

[Climber]

Alright guys im a little disappointed right now. I just took a trip to California, About 6 hours from where I live. I averaged 70-85 miles an hour on the interstate and im just very disappointed in the ride. I just had my tires road force balanced, Alighnment done, Bilstein hds on all 4 corners, and have my driveshaft properly lubed and im still getting a weird vibration past 60mph. Sometimes it will go away for a second but then comes right back. It made for a very annoying trip. Its not your typical tire balance problem I don't think but im tempted to throw some dynabeads in all 4 just to see. Any ideas to resolve this issue?

 

[Valkyrie]

I've had vibration so long I now have become one with the vibration. I tried to rid it but cant.

 

[mattjm321]

Check your tires for a bulge and for worn out bushings. You could try adjusting your tire inflation. Both of mine never rode as smooth as my 100 series. They didn't weigh as much either.

 

[02SE]

Without driving or riding in your 4Runner, there is no way to tell what the problem is.

They certainly can run smoothly. My own 4Runner drives down the road as smooth as can be.

I would suggest finding a Tech that specializes in NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) issues.

 

[slapdappy]

lug centric

road force does not = lug centric. Need the road force with the lug centric adapter. road force alone does not get it done.
lug centric. lug centric. so many tire places and toyota dealers still have no idea. bizarre. my local les schwab knows.

 

[MVP]

I just had my tires road force balanced, Alighnment done, Bilstein hds on all 4 corners, and have my driveshaft properly lubed and im still getting a weird vibration past 60mph.

I had the same issue, and it ended up being that the u-joints were bad (part of the issue) and that my driveline was out of balance (most likely caused in the long run by the bad u-joints).

I went through the same analysis and then action steps:
- are tires bulging, wearing funny, not balanced, etc?
- replaced tires, and issue still was around at 60MPH to 70MPH
- replaced the u-joints and the issue subsided but was still there, just not as pronounced
- brought the truck to a driveline shop (they have the balancer needed), and had them balance the driveline and 2x check the u-joints
- problem resolved, and truck rides down the road without vibration/humming that I used to get at 60-70MPH

Short version of story:
- go to a shop that has the right tools to check if your driveline is balanced
- be prepared to drop $$$ on u-joints and a balancing, since u-joints are relatively cheap. Buy the higher quality ones, not the cheapies, or else your problem could recur within a year when the cheap ones give out

Hope this helps you, or someone else on the boards!

:guitar2:

 

[the great him]

Alright guys im a little disappointed right now. I just took a trip to California, About 6 hours from where I live. I averaged 70-85 miles an hour on the interstate and im just very disappointed in the ride. I just had my tires road force balanced, Alighnment done, Bilstein hds on all 4 corners, and have my driveshaft properly lubed and im still getting a weird vibration past 60mph. Sometimes it will go away for a second but then comes right back. It made for a very annoying trip. Its not your typical tire balance problem I don't think but im tempted to throw some dynabeads in all 4 just to see. Any ideas to resolve this issue?

your gonna complain about vibrations on recaps.... please come on. you cheap out and then ***** about what you got? am i the only one seeing this?

 

[BrianSD_42]

Did you try moving the front 2 tires to the back? (& vice versa)

I say this because I had a bent wheel and it wasn't noticeable on the back. If you did this and the problem was solved might indicate the issue is 1 wheel or tire related. Usually wheel vibrations are felt much stronger on the front than the rear.

 

[NateMob]

If you wanted a smooth ride you should have bought a street tire made by Michelin, not a semi-aggressive retread. What is your tire pressure set at? That will also play a huge role. Like others have said check u-joints and have your driveshaft re-balanced.

Realistic expectations of a body on frame truck goes a long way also.


[MENTION=60147]the kid[/MENTION] it was the first thing i saw. I had my WTF?! moment right then.

 

[02SE]

your gonna complain about vibrations on recaps.... please come on. you cheap out and then ***** about what you got? am i the only one seeing this?

No, but I'm trying to be a kinder and gentler board member.

 

[the great him]

No, but I'm trying to be a kinder and gentler board member.

i hear ya, but some times enough is enough, i tend to call things as i see them... get offended easily, not my problem, i ment no offence i just called it as i saw it.

i hope the OP does not take offence to my sometimes brashness, but yeah sometimes i feel we would be doing the world a service by removing all the warning labels on things and letting nature take its course...

 

[MyHigh]

R. Lee Ermey Geico Commerical - YouTube

 

[MyHigh]

i hear ya, but some times enough is enough, i tend to call things as i see them... get offended easily, not my problem, i ment no offence i just called it as i saw it.

i hope the OP does not take offence to my sometimes brashness, but yeah sometimes i feel we would be doing the world a service by removing all the warning labels on things and letting nature take its course...

This coming from a search and rescue cronie...lol
We go and take from the hands of god, the lost, the wounded, the pool of natural selection!

jK!

OP, I'm have a similar issue, it sometimes shakes around that speed. What's funny is I speed up, then drop back to original speed and it's gone. Still, it's not happening enough for me to start a list of fixes but if it does, I will PM you and see what you've done to mend the problem.

 

[D Farms]

If you wanted a smooth ride you should have bought a street tire made by Michelin, not a semi-aggressive retread. What is your tire pressure set at? That will also play a huge role. Like others have said check u-joints and have your driveshaft re-balanced.

Realistic expectations of a body on frame truck goes a long way also.


[MENTION=60147]the kid[/MENTION] it was the first thing i saw. I had my WTF?! moment right then.

yeah i run michelin ltx m/s and they are super smooth, no vibrations, im using the stock 5 stars too. i have really bad play in the steering though and warped rotors.

 

[Climber]

your gonna complain about vibrations on recaps.... please come on. you cheap out and then ***** about what you got? am i the only one seeing this?

Ive had the same problem with three other tires(BFG rugged fails and another micheline tire), Its not a tire problem and this is not a thread about retreads. Seems as though anytime i post something no matter the subject someone makes a comment about my "crappy" tires. Im not offended but it gets really old really fast. You can run whatever you want and so will i. They work well for what i need them for.

 

[Climber]

Did you try moving the front 2 tires to the back? (& vice versa)

I say this because I had a bent wheel and it wasn't noticeable on the back. If you did this and the problem was solved might indicate the issue is 1 wheel or tire related. Usually wheel vibrations are felt much stronger on the front than the rear.

I did try that, No change... I understand that factory rims are very difficult to balance correctly so im almost ready to buy some different rims but we will see.

 

[the great him]

how are your control arm bushings? sway bar end links, and or bushings, how about the drive shaft? when was the last time you lubed it up? are you sure you do not have a bent wheel? i have never had any issues with toyota factory wheels balancing, and i have run 4 different sets of OE wheels. have you checked to make sure that you dont have a bent rear axle? has your truck ever been in a crash or anything like that? hit a curb hard, slid into anything ect. i know its a lot of questions but to answer your first question, no they ride great for a truck. and yes our 4runners are trucks. its a body on frame design and its 20yo technology, so dont expect it to ride like a new lexus. but it should ride very well compared to most other vehicles of style and era.

 

[Climber]

how are your control arm bushings? sway bar end links, and or bushings, how about the drive shaft? when was the last time you lubed it up? are you sure you do not have a bent wheel? i have never had any issues with toyota factory wheels balancing, and i have run 4 different sets of OE wheels. have you checked to make sure that you dont have a bent rear axle? has your truck ever been in a crash or anything like that? hit a curb hard, slid into anything ect. i know its a lot of questions but to answer your first question, no they ride great for a truck. and yes our 4runners are trucks. its a body on frame design and its 20yo technology, so dont expect it to ride like a new lexus. but it should ride very well compared to most other vehicles of style and era.

I just replaced my LCA bushings 3 weeks ago before my alignment. My next step is to Try a driveline shop for them to inspect my u-joints, I cant see any play but id like to et it checked out anyway. It very well coukd be my rims, I do offroad as often as i can and Arizona Is alot of high speed desert running and i very well could have bent one. Yeah im not expecting it to be butter smooth but what im expierencing there is something wrong, Im just trying to narrow down the problem. Thank you for your suggestions when i get home the fun will begin.

 

[DeathCougar]

I see "lube the driveshaft" over and over. Some of us need to take a course on hydraulics.

Packing grease into a driveshaft over and over will cause a massive vibration. Either the grease has to squeeze out the sides, or the driveshaft has to move out. And if its not out the sides (and spun all over the bottom of the truck) its pushing (see also forcing) the end of the driveline out. Being up against the diff, it has no where to go so you are impacting the U-joint bushings.

Long story short, if you are over-greasing your driveline you are doing yourself a disservice. The slip joint doesn't move much anyways, so it doesn't need massive amounts of grease in there.

 

[BrianSD_42]

I understand that factory rims are very difficult to balance correctly

Actually the factory wheels are more accurate or TRUE than most after market wheels.