I had KOs on my '96 Cherokee and KO2s on my Jeep CJ7. I will never buy them again. Had vibrations and kept taking them to different tire shops to get them balanced correctly but none could resolve it. Was very frustrating. I finally got new tires, Milestar Patagonia MT02, and all of my problems went away.
Pulsing/droning vibration at highway speeds
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I had KOs on my '96 Cherokee and KO2s on my Jeep CJ7. I will never buy them again. Had vibrations and kept taking them to different tire shops to get them balanced correctly but none could resolve it. Was very frustrating. I finally got new tires, Milestar Patagonia MT02, and all of my problems went away.
Hey all, thanks for the responses!
Yeah, that is a great post that @abuck99 made there. According to that it should be axle or U-joint related. While I've got brand new OEM driveshafts + OEM CVs in, I haven't done the diffs or TC themselves. The reason I keep coming back to driveshafts is just that it feels so speed related.
Yeah, I've done the rear TC pinon bearing a few posts back. The one I took out was fine. I put in a new one anyway. I was wondering about the input pinon bearing into the rear diff. I see a few 60 and 80 series folks have done it, but don't recall seeing any 100 series people having issues. But still a good call out about them potentially being more sensitive to angles if they are going out.
All OEM for everything. I even bought two different OEM rear driveshafts. Maybe I should try a third? haha. No spacers either. I really am super boring bone stock.
The flex plate one is new to me. Just did a search and see it happens but is rare. I might have to look into this one more.
Yeah, I should try a different set of tires. I've got a buddy close by with a set that I could try with. The only reason I haven't is just because when I take out the rear driveshaft and lock the center diff, it is very smooth on the highway. No vibes. That is why I keep focusing on that area so much.
@abuck99 , I read with great interest this thread that you were active in 8 years ago. Many of the things in that thread sound very similar to what I'm dealing with. The only issue is again, I'm bone stock. So in theory, pinon angle issues really shouldn't apply to me.
I adjusted the AHC sensors a bit to bring the rear down (even though I know you are supposed to have a rake). The slightly changed the rear pinon a bit. Seems to be around 0.0%. I might be having wishful thinking again, but this might have helped? Just like @LJE has said, part of the issue is that it is often variable. One day it isn't too bad and other days it is worse.
I'm tempted to install some washers on the transmission support cross brace to bring down the TC angle a bit. Just to see what that might do.
Yeah, that is a great post that @abuck99 made there. According to that it should be axle or U-joint related. While I've got brand new OEM driveshafts + OEM CVs in, I haven't done the diffs or TC themselves. The reason I keep coming back to driveshafts is just that it feels so speed related.
Yeah, I've done the rear TC pinon bearing a few posts back. The one I took out was fine. I put in a new one anyway. I was wondering about the input pinon bearing into the rear diff. I see a few 60 and 80 series folks have done it, but don't recall seeing any 100 series people having issues. But still a good call out about them potentially being more sensitive to angles if they are going out.
All OEM for everything. I even bought two different OEM rear driveshafts. Maybe I should try a third? haha. No spacers either. I really am super boring bone stock.
The flex plate one is new to me. Just did a search and see it happens but is rare. I might have to look into this one more.
FYI installing a set of mud terrain tires fixes (drowns out) most of the perceived noise and vibration issues - (lol)
Yeah, I should try a different set of tires. I've got a buddy close by with a set that I could try with. The only reason I haven't is just because when I take out the rear driveshaft and lock the center diff, it is very smooth on the highway. No vibes. That is why I keep focusing on that area so much.
@abuck99 , I read with great interest this thread that you were active in 8 years ago. Many of the things in that thread sound very similar to what I'm dealing with. The only issue is again, I'm bone stock. So in theory, pinon angle issues really shouldn't apply to me.
I adjusted the AHC sensors a bit to bring the rear down (even though I know you are supposed to have a rake). The slightly changed the rear pinon a bit. Seems to be around 0.0%. I might be having wishful thinking again, but this might have helped? Just like @LJE has said, part of the issue is that it is often variable. One day it isn't too bad and other days it is worse.
I'm tempted to install some washers on the transmission support cross brace to bring down the TC angle a bit. Just to see what that might do.
Don’t mess with the TC mount- you might create a problem where there isn’t one.Hey all, thanks for the responses!
Yeah, that is a great post that @abuck99 made there. According to that it should be axle or U-joint related. While I've got brand new OEM driveshafts + OEM CVs in, I haven't done the diffs or TC themselves. The reason I keep coming back to driveshafts is just that it feels so speed related.
Yeah, I've done the rear TC pinon bearing a few posts back. The one I took out was fine. I put in a new one anyway. I was wondering about the input pinon bearing into the rear diff. I see a few 60 and 80 series folks have done it, but don't recall seeing any 100 series people having issues. But still a good call out about them potentially being more sensitive to angles if they are going out.
All OEM for everything. I even bought two different OEM rear driveshafts. Maybe I should try a third? haha. No spacers either. I really am super boring bone stock.
The flex plate one is new to me. Just did a search and see it happens but is rare. I might have to look into this one more.
Yeah, I should try a different set of tires. I've got a buddy close by with a set that I could try with. The only reason I haven't is just because when I take out the rear driveshaft and lock the center diff, it is very smooth on the highway. No vibes. That is why I keep focusing on that area so much.
@abuck99 , I read with great interest this thread that you were active in 8 years ago. Many of the things in that thread sound very similar to what I'm dealing with. The only issue is again, I'm bone stock. So in theory, pinon angle issues really shouldn't apply to me.
I adjusted the AHC sensors a bit to bring the rear down (even though I know you are supposed to have a rake). The slightly changed the rear pinon a bit. Seems to be around 0.0%. I might be having wishful thinking again, but this might have helped? Just like @LJE has said, part of the issue is that it is often variable. One day it isn't too bad and other days it is worse.
I'm tempted to install some washers on the transmission support cross brace to bring down the TC angle a bit. Just to see what that might do.
You practically a new driveline- and operating angles are well with in the acceptable range. $2k more for a decent set of AT tires and your noises will be mitigated.
I’ve been following this, as I sorted out the same type of issue with my 100. I rebuilt my driveshafts, and the problem was solved.
I know this may be a stupid question, and may have already been addressed…. but I have to ask as I’ve been through this before with another non-Toyota vehicle. Has this one been in an accident, or any other situation that might have tweaked the frame?
I know this may be a stupid question, and may have already been addressed…. but I have to ask as I’ve been through this before with another non-Toyota vehicle. Has this one been in an accident, or any other situation that might have tweaked the frame?
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@fussychicken curious to know if you ever got to the bottom of this? Experiencing something similar on my 100% stock '06 LX470. New front and rear OE drive shafts did not rectify the issue. Noise is loudest at 75mph and isn't dependent on throttle input and is still present even if the trans is in neutral. Tires are 1 year old Michelin LTX M/S with 8k miles.
On the plus side, I'll no longer need to visit the Boardroom after pulling all of my hair out.
On the plus side, I'll no longer need to visit the Boardroom after pulling all of my hair out.
FWIW, what worked for me was re-indexing the front drive shaft (prop shaft) by 1 spline. I find that this drivetrain is super finicky when it comes to vibrations. I also made sure to properly lube the prop shaft splines by hand, when I had them on the workbench -- even though they were brand-new. Not sure if the spline index was indeed off by 1 spline, or somehow this slight adjustment satisfied some natural imbalance my truck had. For the past 2 years, I've been replacing every drivetrain and suspension component: UCA's, LCA's, Steering Rack, Outer Tie Rods, CV Axles + flanges, Prop Shafts, Front wheel hub bearings. ALL of the rear control arm & panhard bushings w/ the SuperPro poly set, front/rear stabilizers, pretty much everything outside of the big heavy stuff.
That is a good data point. To confirm, the drive shaft you re-indexed was a brand new, unused unit from Toyota? I find it hard to believe (but not impossible I suppose) that my brand new shafts are somehow out of balance. Thanks!
Correct, OEM shafts from Toyota, brand-new. I was experimenting with the orientation of the driveshafts and how they affected that vibration at highway speeds that I was trying to get rid of -- I knew it was speed dependent and had nothing to do with any specific gear that I was in -- neutral also vibrated at 70+mph. I found that my vibes quieted down when I had both shafts in a specific orientation. Just by rotating the shaft 180deg so that end that was previously attached to the Transfer Case was now at the Front Diff flange made a difference. So it might be good to see if slight position changes make a difference for your truck. Also, not sure if you have AHC, I do, and adjusting the height sensors and effectively the height of the vehicle, affected the driveshaft angles and vibes. So yeah, before you separate the two halves of your driveshaft and try re-indexing, you could experiment with removing one shaft, rotating it 180deg and seeing if there's any change. Just be sure to mark the orientation of everything.
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Some good nuggets in here, thank you for the assistance. I wanted to update that I pulled the rear driveshaft (which is also brand new) and the noise I was hearing at 75mph is completely gone. I think the rest of what I'm hearing are some very perished 250k mile bushings in the rear arms, but we'll save that for another day.
I'm going to rotate the driveshaft 180 degrees to see if that changes things. Also, I noticed my slip yoke is closest to the transfer case and not the rear diff, unlike your diagram. Did that change for later years? Does the orientation truly matter?
I don't think that driveshaft orientation changed across the 100 Series. I believe the 80 Series had different phasing, but orientation of the slip yoke shouldn't matter -- but for me I have it like the diagram and that helped eliminate the intensity / frequency of some of my highway vibes. The slight re-indexing took care of the rest. I have to add that I had severe vibrations prior to installing new OEM CV's + front wheel bearings & hub flanges. The remaining high speed vibes were fixed by messing around with the drive shafts. Replacing the bushings made my cornering feel more solid, especially on windy roads with changing grades. It tightened up the handling, but I don't think it would affect high speed vibrations.
Tried the new OE driveshaft in a different orientation and no dice. Put my original that I suspect has worn u-joints and it's quieter and doesn't have that vibration at 75mph. HUH?!
Could this new driveshaft be out of balance? Going to attempt to return/warranty it. Wish me luck.
Shoutout to Bell Lexus for a warranty replacement. Fingers crossed the next one is balanced properly.
I had the exact same thing. Just replaced the inner and outer tie rods along with axles. Had it aligned and it feels brand new. I had play at the 3 and 9 position moving the front driver wheel for what it’s worth.