Vibration due to Uneven Coated Shaft?++Famous Clunk Solved (2 Viewers)

[hakanerdogan]

Hello everyone,

I've almost read every thread about vibration stuff, which I'm dealing with.

It's a 2001 LC100 2UZ-FE 115.000 kms (72.000 miles) on the clock. (ARB OME instead AHC) Vehicle is equipped heavier then factory weight I think, but I think it should not be a related issue.

Over 60 kph (35 mph) I am feeling a deep vibration which is hitting from the chassis, nothing felt on the steering wheel.

So first I got tyres changed, brand news installed, balanced, alignment done with a proper machine (Hunter) for twice. Nothing seems unusual about that. Then I maybe thought it's my U-Joints. Inspected them, no gap, no play, no clunk from there. I actually do have a small clunk but its from transfer case or diff back lash, which is OK I think. Then I jacked vehicle up and searched for play in the wheel bearings. They are rock solid. All my effort was in vain, still vibrating and I do not know why.

New brake pads and brake discs (4 of them) changed with OEM ones at dealer. U-joints are also greased there.

Then I took it to mates repair shop to inspect further. He just sneaked under the vehicle and immediately came out and said, hey look at the shafts, they are painted. (he also looked for other things that I did before)
In fact, previous owner did a underbody rust and chip protection to vehicle, but the guy who did it, didn't take good care of his business I think, just sprayed it and is's done. He didn't even turned the shaft, only facing surface got coated.

So what I want to ask, does unevenly coated shaft cause that type of vibration? I know many people painted their shafts but this type of coating material maybe heavier then paint, is it? Or may someone experienced something like this before?

Some pictures. Thanks in advance.

 

[waitdontshoot]

I can share my experience even though it is quite silly. 99 lc with vibration mostly under acceleration. There was no MIL so i never bothered hooking up my laptop and it cost me a great deal of money for this mistake. Although there was no light there was several misfire codes that were active and that ended up being the issue. I only bothered hooking up my laptop after taking out the tranny twice to replace the torque converter. So moral of the story is just check for codes just in case. Good luck

 

[hakanerdogan]

Sure I will check. But I never gave chance to engine cuz its obvious that I am having the vibration from drivetrain. And few days ago it had a major maintenance at dealer. But it worth to try I have OBD scanner. And yes, engine is running silk smooth... knock on wood.

 

[waitdontshoot]

yeah ive not found anyone else that was in my stupid situation but hopefully i can prevent someone from ending up in it. btw does it vibrate when the vehicle is still and reving?

 

[hakanerdogan]

yeah ive not found anyone else that was in my stupid situation but hopefully i can prevent someone from ending up in it. btw does it vibrate when the vehicle is still and reving?

Nope, only when driving. When stationary, at idle, hard to hear that it's running. No shake.

 

[waitdontshoot]

Well if I were in your position i would try isolating the vibration as best i can. (im sure youve done a lot of this already) First do you hear or feel the vibration. Second while driving listen/feel if the vibration increases during acceleration, braking, bearing right or left. and then combine these tests in order to further isolate. My LC was only distinguishable while driving for some reason but again i think it was a rare scenario. If it increases under acceleration than there is a good chance it is in the driveshafts/diffs. If it increases during turns than it can reliably narrowed to wheels/tires/cv axle. Good luck.

 

[hakanerdogan]

Well if I were in your position i would try isolating the vibration as best i can. (im sure youve done a lot of this already) First do you hear or feel the vibration. Second while driving listen/feel if the vibration increases during acceleration, braking, bearing right or left. and then combine these tests in order to further isolate. My LC was only distinguishable while driving for some reason but again i think it was a rare scenario. If it increases under acceleration than there is a good chance it is in the driveshafts/diffs. If it increases during turns than it can reliably narrowed to wheels/tires/cv axle. Good luck.

Well, I hear nothing, no noises depending on vibration, only vibrates. And starts after 35 mph and increases depending on speed. Turnings are fine, no problem. Brakes are brand new all four corner, new pads and discs, no shake at braking as well.

And also, after I reach vibrating speed range, even if I let off throttle, still vibrates...

What I really wonder that uneven POR15 type of coating can really cause that type of vibration. If I can not end up with narrowed ideas, probably I will start spending much unnecessarily till we find it.

 

[abuck99]

For sure that little bit can affect propeller shaft balance- even a small dent or scrape will do the same. You might be able to clean it off with diesel, toluene, or actetone. If not, then remove from the truck take to a drive shaft shop to have it put on their balance machine where they will spin it, sand off the undercoating then respray it with fresh paint and balance it.

 

[hakanerdogan]

For sure that little bit can affect propeller shaft balance- even a small dent or scrape will do the same. You might be able to clean it off with diesel, toluene, or actetone. If not, then remove from the truck take to a drive shaft shop to have it put on their balance machine where they will spin it, sand off the undercoating then respray it with fresh paint and balance it.

Allright then, I won't risk it and remove both shafts to send them get cleaned, new U-joints and rebalanced. Hope it solves.

Everything is perfect about my Land Cruiser, front locker, dual battery setup, awning, fridge etc long list to enjoy the vehicle but that vibe is disgusting, killing me, so unhappy with that...

 

[I Lean]

Remove the rear shaft and drive in front-wheel-drive. That will confirm or eliminate the rear shaft as the source of the vibes.

 

[waitdontshoot]

Allright then, I won't risk it and remove both shafts to send them get cleaned, new U-joints and rebalanced. Hope it solves.

Everything is perfect about my Land Cruiser, front locker, dual battery setup, awning, fridge etc long list to enjoy the vehicle but that vibe is disgusting, killing me, so unhappy with that...

what do u have for your auxiliary battery

 

[hakanerdogan]

Remove the rear shaft and drive in front-wheel-drive. That will confirm or eliminate the rear shaft as the source of the vibes.

I actually suggested the mechanic mate to do that, but he said he won't take risk like that. The reason it's a heavy vehicle and with independant front axles, he just didn't want to load that much of weight/stress to half and weak part of the drivetrain. In my opinion I don't think that it's not gonna hurt anything for short ride.

Anyway, here in Istanbul it's not gonna cost that much to renovate and balance shafts. Estimated cost of re-doing both front and rear shafts (new U-Joints for both ends, 4 piece, cleaning and balancing) will be around something 60 USD, and pay to mechanic to remove-reassamble shafts gonna charge like 15 USD of labor. So total will be less then 100 USD. So I thought OK stop diagnosing, does worth to try. Even if it won't solve my problem I'll have redone shafts...

 

[hakanerdogan]

what do u have for your auxiliary battery

Well, main reason for that it's my 47 liter ARB fridge, which can keep cool down to -8C (i think it's around 17 Fahrenheit) I also may use it for lights, at night. Also sometimes for the compressor, in addition to front locker can also be used for to inflate stuff like boat, bed etc... And when your main battery dies for some reason, it will crank the engine like champ. The safe feeling of it just makes happy.

That setup is simply, 110 Ah Varta main battery, redarc isolator in between the secondary battery. The one in the back is Optima Gel Battery which is very very strong. And the vehicle has a high output alternator. And in my future plans I will fit a diesel heater. Here in TR, Eberspacher and Webasto is very popular and easy to install.

 

[abuck99]

You stated in your first post the truck has 115,000km- theres no reason to replace ujoints at this low mileage- maybe replace at 250,000Km.

I dont know what ujoints you can find for $60, but chances are they wont be toyota and will cause more problems than you have now. Toyota 100 series drive line is really sensitive to precise set up and installing aftermarket ujoints will very likely make things worse- even incorrectly installing toyota ujoints can cause vibration issues.

I would first try to clean off the undercoating with chemical before removing propshaft. If that doesnt work, only then remove- spin on balancer with some sandpaper, repaint and balance. Leave the ujoints alone.

If there is no undercoat spray on front prop shaft leave it alone.

 

[hakanerdogan]

You stated in your first post the truck has 115,000km- theres no reason to replace ujoints at this low mileage- maybe replace at 250,000Km.

I dont know what ujoints you can find for $60, but chances are they wont be toyota and will cause more problems than you have now. Toyota 100 series drive line is really sensitive to precise set up and installing aftermarket ujoints will very likely make things worse- even incorrectly installing toyota ujoints can cause vibration issues.

I would first try to clean off the undercoating with chemical before removing propshaft. If that doesnt work, only then remove- spin on balancer with some sandpaper, repaint and balance. Leave the ujoints alone.

If there is no undercoat spray on front prop shaft leave it alone.

Yup its pretty low mileage.

First I wanted to clean it at home as a weekend lockdown activity but I don't think I can do it under the vehicle.

So your advice sounds good, I go back there and remove the shaft to clean it and give a try. Didn't know that they are sensitive to OEM U-Joints.

 

[hakanerdogan]

Now I took both shafts out and will take them do driveshaft shop to clean, rebalance and inspect them. What surprised that rear shaft telescopic slider is stuck. We could not move it, two person pulling.

Keep posted, thx.

 

[hakanerdogan]

Well, driveshafts are back from the shop, nicely cleaned and balanced. Shafts are fine now, but vehicle still vibrates.

And I also have now regardless of balance issue, sticky brake pedal, famous clunk while shifting from D to R or vice versa. Also what feels like as you touch the brake pedal right sided brakes catch first and then it centralizes. Thats a feeling.

After I done the timing belt, water pump, 4 discs+brake pads all the liquids/filters (engine oil, diffs, ATF etc...) and driveshafts done now I started doing many other extras....


I am now rebuilding all 4 brake calipers, changing front CV axles, hub caps all the bushings underneath the vehicle, all four corner bearings, and brand new upper control arms and some other small things such like the pin in which the brake pad slides(I dont know the right word to call it). Seemingly I now spent a small fortune to vehicle, I may get finished with it in two days, and will keep posted again.

 

[2001LC]

Interesting. First time I've seen the front caliper two halves split apart. Any type of seal or sealant in-between the halves?

"touch the brake pedal right sided brakes catch first and then it centralizes. Thats a feeling." This could be a wobbling wheel hub (loose wheel bearings) and or TRE (tie rod end inner or outer). These have been report to produce vibration also!

BTW: FSM recommends marking position of propeller-shaft flange to diffs and transfer cases flanges prior to removal, with match markets.

 

[hakanerdogan]

Interesting. First time I've seen the front caliper two halves split apart. Any type of seal or sealant in-between the halves?

"touch the brake pedal right sided brakes catch first and then it centralizes. Thats a feeling." This could be a wobbling wheel hub (loose wheel bearings) and or TRE (tie rod end inner or outer). These have been report to produce vibration also!

BTW: FSM recommends marking position of propeller-shaft flange to diffs and transfer cases flanges prior to removal, with match markets.

Shafts are loaded back as the position way they were before. We are pretty sure they are fine.

And the brake feeling is, when you touch the brake pedal, vehicle leans a bit right, steering wheel tends to turn right tiny, maybe half centimeter, and as the brake force increases then it corrects. The rubber dust sealers in between the caliper and pistons (don't know the right word sorry) are not in good shape. So we rebuilding them. I actually didn't understand the seal or sealant in between halves thing I am sorry for that.

Back to vibration, it appears after a certain speed and never decreases. I never get it on the steering wheel but yea that does not mean everythings fine with steering components such like TRE. And tie rod ends are changed couple of months ago, they are new. But tomorrow I will check them again. Thanks for that input.

We are also get suspected from CV axles, we have clunk which started a week ago. I got new couple of CV's they are mounted but not yet finished with the brakes.

Hope I can finish them tomorrow.

 

[94SRUNNER]

Out of curiosity does yours have the frame weight on it?