Vibration at highway speeds (1 Viewer)

[CABubblehead]

Hello all.

I recently have been experiencing a pretty bad vibration in my 85 FJ60 at 55mph+. It will do it all above speeds above 55 mph (I've only been brave enough to take it up to 70) both while accelerating, coasting, engine braking, and in neutral. The shaking feels like its coming from the front of the car, not the seat, and the whole dashboard vibrates.

I tried getting the tires balances to see if that would fix it but the vibration is still present. Any ideas on what else might be causing it? Some google research suggested it might be a tie rod. Unfortunately I'm in the process of moving and don't have any tools or a garage to start taking things apart and investigating.

 

[kevos37]

Find a reputable front end shop for an assessment since you are strapped for time. Better safe than sorry.

 

[AllLC]

Ujoints?

 

[CharlesHS]

Does the steering wheel shake ? Tie rods, axle hub bearings, birfield joint bearings
Do the vibrations get steadily louder? driveshaft U joints or pinion bearings
As previously posted... IF you donot have the time to troubleshoot; bring the vehicle to a reputable front end shop.

 

[CABubblehead]

I asked the owner of the shop who balanced the tires and he said he thought it's unlikely to be the u joints since it still vibrates even in neutral.

 

[CharlesHS]

I asked the owner of the shop who balanced the tires and he said he thought it's unlikely to be the u joints since it still vibrates even in neutral.

Guess I missed your post about the vibrations in neutral....

 

[AllLC]

Yeah that makes sense, Let us know what you find out. Good Luck!

 

[Seth S]

Wheel bearings getting loose. Alignment issues really don’t cause vibration. Try rotating the tires front to back.....possible you have a bad tire....sometimes they balance fine but still have problems. Otherwise maybe something broken up front.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

1. Is your truck accidentally in 4WD? Did that once and it vibrated like hell on the freeway at 70mph.
2. Loose driveshaft bolts gave me a vibration once which I could not tell until I torque checked them.
3. As said above, front end inspection of wheel bearings, leaf spring bushings, and knuckle trunnion bearings.
4. Even worse would be Tcase issues. In Neutral can you go under truck and move the driveshaft? Output bearing and Pinion bearing feel solid?

 

[dbenke]

My bet is a bad tire or bent rim. get a radial run out gauge and check them. They should have one at the tire shop

 

[pandasfj]

A while back I had a vibration similar to yours and it was one of the motor mounts. after replacement I still have a slight vib but my springs are shot.

 

[cruisermatt]

You can still have a driveline vibration in neutral... The wheels still spin the driveshaft.

But since this is coming from the front I would start with a checking the wheel bearings.

 

[Zjohnsonua]

Find out how the tires were balanced - were they road force checked or traditional? Road force will find a bad tire that a traditional balancing will miss. Shop around for the road force balancing. I myself recently got 5 tires done for under $50. Money well spent - my death wobble was coming from a tire that was WAY out on road force spec but had balanced fine on a traditional machine.

Wheel bearing adjustment is easy to check. Jack the tire up, and feel for play by pushing/pulling the top and bottom of the tire back and forth. You should be able to feel a little movement, but not a lot.

 

[CABubblehead]

Hmm. Have a bit to digest here. I think I'll take the following steps, stopping when the issue is resolve.

1) Ensure I'm not in 4WD, Check to see if driveshaft is loose or if driveshaft bolts need torquing.
2) Jack up car and check wheel bearings for excessive movement
3) Rotate wheels front to back.
4) Have a tire shop do a road force balancing of the tires.

Is there any way to see if its the motor mounts besides having them replaced and it going away?

Thanks for all the replies! I appreciate all the help I can get.

 

[cruisermatt]

Don’t worry about your motor mounts yet.

 

[lovetoski]

You can check motor mounts by jacking up the motor from the oil pan. You don't need to push it up much - if there's a crack you'll see it quickly. That said, I've had two motor mounts fail, and in neither case did it result in vibration on the freeway. I am not denying panda's experience, but think other things are more likely.

 

[nutop]

just curious if you ever found resolution to this? took my FJ62 on the highway today for the first time and as soon as I hit 60, it started vibrating like crazy. plan on taking it to the alignment shop down the street to get that checked first.