Vibration Issue - Not wheel balance

[Sloth Cruiser]

My 98 100 has developed a vibration between approximately 55-70 mph. It starts off relatively low and then gets increasingly worse to the point it almost feels like the truck is shaking apart. Does not appear RPM related, only speed. There is no shaking in the wheel. I had the wheels balanced as there was minor shaking before, but this did not fix the issue. I'm ruling out anything attached to the front end suspension/ steering (wheel bearings, cv's, wheel balance, control arms) because there is 0 shaking in the wheel, especially now after getting the wheels re-balanced.

Upon searching the next possible culprit seems to be u-joints. But i would imagine that those would be more RPM related than speed. But i'll check them anyways. Anything else I should look at?

Truck is stock besides 275/70R18 Falken Wildpeak At3/w on tundra wheels.

 

[KershZ71]

U-joints would be my guess. It makes sense because it doesn't seem to be an engine RPM issue. I had a similar issue with my 4runner.

 

[gregnash]

Have something very similar and currently attempting to hunt down on my 98 LC. I am running the same tires but on stock wheels in Load E rating (so could potentially be the tires).
I do have a lift on my truck and have found that I have a few things that need remedy...
- Standard R-D clunk that is indicative of the front diff bushings being shot (see my build thread for videos)
- Drive train clunk that is associated with hub flange play (see my build thread for videos)
- Upper ball joints are shot and need replacement (see my build thread for pics)
- Just greased driveshafts so will see if that helped (haven't jumped on the freeway since last night)

I have heard others mention things like checking bushings for everything up front, shocks, etc. So as I go through my baseline of the truck I will be checking everything.

 

[cmck]

Driveshaft ujoints or a bent driveshaft is the 1st thing I would check. I have had 2 bent rear shafts and you feel it in your seat. I bent them off road but a shaft that can’t turn it’s ujoint would feel similar. The ujoint is a wear part and needs lube and replacement. It’s easy to check, do the rear 1st since it get more road spray and such.

 

[gregnash]

So was able to jump on the freeway last night and first few miles it seemed to have no impact with greasing the slip yokes and u-joints. I was unable to get the head to seat on the grease gun for the u-joints at the center diff so have a different head coming in the mail to see if that will help, not sure if it is just odd angle or what.

However, on the way home I did notice a reduction in the vibration when accelerating from about 50mph to 70mph. The vibration is still here but not near as present as it was previously. I got to do another freeway run this evening so we will see if things feel any different. Once I get the new head for my grease gun I will go through and re-grease everything again as I am pretty sure it had been a LONG time since that had happened. Slip yokes each took at least a dozen pumps and the u-joints I could get to took a good handful before it seemed all old grease was pushed out. My grease is pretty close to the same color as the dirty grease on there (standard dark colored moly bearing grease) so that makes it a bit difficult to see what is truly new stuff and what isn't. Soon as this tube is done I will switch over to a red Mobil 1 or Lucas bearing grease to make things a bit easier.

 

[Ryan5255]

Tie rod ends.

 

[gregnash]

Tie rod ends.

For me it is not a vibration that would indicate TREs. Looking at mine they seem to be in good order, no major leaks or anything, boots aren't cracked, caked with dirt/grease, etc.
My upper ball joints are toast so that may have something to do with it.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

I had that issue as the same speeds. Mine is lifted though, so it went away when I installed a diff drop.

 

[DTCsk8er]

For me it is not a vibration that would indicate TREs. Looking at mine they seem to be in good order, no major leaks or anything, boots aren't cracked, caked with dirt/grease, etc.
My upper ball joints are toast so that may have something to do with it.

Outer rod ends are pretty easy to inspect, however the inner rod ends are a little tricky to visually inspect; you have to jack up the front and and see if there is movement between the rod end and steering rack.

I've had a CV axle that was going bad vibrate at these speeds under load.

 

[Poncherelli]

I’d second CV axel.

 

[Poncherelli]

By the way...how do you know it’s not wheel balance / bent rim? Sorry if I missed your explanation already

 

[gregnash]

I've had a CV axle that was going bad vibrate at these speeds under load.

This is what I am hoping it is NOT. CV Axles on DS was replaced in 2018 but done by 4WheelParts whom, at least our local shop, I don't trust to do quality work. I do have quite a bit of play in mine (see vids in my build thread of axle shift when shifting from R-D) so I know that the hub flanges are worn. I question whether or not the preload and everything was done properly on the axle nuts and c-clips were gapped properly on the axles so when I do the hubs I will go through that stuff.

 

[DTCsk8er]

By the way...how do you know it’s not wheel balance / bent rim? Sorry if I missed your explanation already

This. Many people who are tracking down vibrations on these rigs have the wheels/tires road force balanced. Is this what was done in your case?

 

[gregnash]

This. Many people who are tracking down vibrations on these rigs have the wheels/tires road force balanced. Is this what was done in your case?

I can't guarantee that it is but does not have the normal "feel" that a badly balanced wheel does. I will be having the wheels balanced and rotated soon (and have info/warranty transferred to me). I will ask them to road force balance them when I do.

Bit of an odd question... I went to have Discount Tire check the pressures on the tires earlier this week (just was out and about and near them) and they are who the PO purchased tires through. When the guy filled up he said that because they were "larger than stock" and higher load rating that pressures were not what the door side applique would say. He inflated fronts to 35psi and rear to 45psi? Stock is 33/38 (I think), I can see a few psi difference between front and rear but 10psi????

 

[l3n0x]

It’s hard to balance these wheels, especially if you have large and agressive ones. I had the same issue with an old set of MT tires, and replacing them with new Ko2’s solved the problem

 

[ERMB]

I had my 295 75 16's Toyo's mounted on my taco a few years ago at Discount tire. They always seemed a bit off and I could never tell if the problem was mounting or it was just the tires themselves. Within a few months they got progressively louder with more and more vibration. I finally sold the taco and kept the tires and had them mounted on the cruiser since they were relatively new. I went to an independent shop and the same tires once installed were 100x better, no noise and no vibes. It just proved the incompetence of the installers at Discount tire.

 

[Timaverage]

I have a vibration/noise that starts at 50ish MPH and gets worse with speed. My local Land Cruiser shop said it was an aftermarket CV axle on the passenger side. They said that they've had issues with balance/noise with non OEM axles. Its not something that sounds like the truck is going to rattle itself to pieces, just doesn't sound 'right'. They suggested that it'll go away with replacement, when the time comes.

 

[gregnash]

I have a vibration/noise that starts at 50ish MPH and gets worse with speed. My local Land Cruiser shop said it was an aftermarket CV axle on the passenger side. They said that they've had issues with balance/noise with non OEM axles. Its not something that sounds like the truck is going to rattle itself to pieces, just doesn't sound 'right'. They suggested that it'll go away with replacement, when the time comes.

Interesting... Have no clue whether the DS axle is OE or aftermarket so that could be an issue as well. One thing that may be contributing is that on my rig there is no diff drop yet I have a 1.5" (i believe) lift on it with the larger tires. Part of me wants to grab a diff drop bracket just for "safety sake" to ensure that lifted cv angles are appropriate for the truck, but that will come further down the line. I know that my clunk I have is because of the hub flanges and diff bushings. I will handle those first, along with having the tires balanced and rotated by my local shop (I like my DiscountTire and have always done good work for me in the past). If after all that the vibration is still there then I will move on to axles, ball joints and the diff drop bracket.

 

[cmck]

Interesting... Have no clue whether the DS axle is OE or aftermarket so that could be an issue as well. One thing that may be contributing is that on my rig there is no diff drop yet I have a 1.5" (i believe) lift on it with the larger tires. Part of me wants to grab a diff drop bracket just for "safety sake" to ensure that lifted cv angles are appropriate for the truck, but that will come further down the line. I know that my clunk I have is because of the hub flanges and diff bushings. I will handle those first, along with having the tires balanced and rotated by my local shop (I like my DiscountTire and have always done good work for me in the past). If after all that the vibration is still there then I will move on to axles, ball joints and the diff drop bracket.

What is your lift in the rear? I have a 3” rear lift and a minor vibration above 65mph which I used adjustable rear upper control arms to smooth right out. I stress minor.

 

[DTCsk8er]

I have 1.5-2in of lift in the front; no diff drop, and running aftermaket CVs. No vibrations. Been running for probably 15k so far.

Vibration issues I was having were resolved partially by changing out CVs (the old were vibrating under load), and new wheels/tires.