My wife's 04 4 runner sport has 38k on it at highway speeds it has a shake in the front end. I thought it was a tire problem so I took it to tire a shop they said everything looked good. Well oem tires were pretty worn now so I bought new tires (toyo's) and the shake is still there. The problem starts at about 60mph till about 85mph then goes away. Steering wheel shakes like a tire is out of balance. Also when you turn the wheel all the way left or right there is a loud popping sound. At least two different shops have told me everything looks good with the front end. Has anyone had this problem? Thanks
It is fairly common that shops have trouble trying to properly balance toyota wheels. They either need to use the cone that is specifically designed for toyotas or back cone the wheel and use a bolt plate adapter. The problem is that if they don't do either of these the wheels don't center on the balancer properly and they will not properly balance.
The OEM tires were balanced at the dealer at least twice same problem. Thanks for the info I'm going to call the shop that installed the new tires and see how they do it. I'm just worried there maybe something the dealer and shops are missing, being my wife and kids are in it daily.
Last edited by BEEFCAKE24; 12-29-2008 at 05:30 PM.
You need to make sure that they use a LUG -centric adapter when balencing the wheels, like the haweka adapter. The Toyota service manual even states to use the lug-centric adapter when balancing wheels. If I can find the pdf I'll post it.
That loud popping noise needs to be found before you worry to much about tire balance. That could be dangerous and if fixed, might be related to the vibration. Or, you may indeed have two seperate issues. Good luck and let us know what you find. My friend swears he had a vibration problem like yours that went away when he had the rotors turned. I always thought you had to be appling the brakes for rotor warp to cause a problem.
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That loud popping noise needs to be found before you worry to much about tire balance. That could be dangerous and if fixed, might be related to the vibration. Or, you may indeed have two seperate issues. Good luck and let us know what you find. My friend swears he had a vibration problem like yours that went away when he had the rotors turned. I always thought you had to be appling the brakes for rotor warp to cause a problem.
Thanks for the info and I see you have a 04 runner when you turn the wheel all the way and tap the gas do you hear a popping sound. Dealer checked front end out and said anything looks good. Only happens when wheel are fully locked left or right, maybe tire rub just doesn;t sound like it to me. Thanks again.
The poping noise could be the slides. When it it at full lock there are stops that slid up and down. If they are not lubricated they will make a popping noise.
Also when you turn the wheel all the way left or right there is a loud popping sound
I know EXACTLY what you mean. If you make a tight U-Turn at any speed, but I see it at very low speed (<1MPH) you get this Bang or POP that you call it. It happens mostly on tight left hand U-Turns, with the passenger wheel slightly dipping into a driveway. I don't think I've every had it happen on a right U-Turn, but that's hard to make in the US.
My 04 4runner with a V6 did it, and my current 07 4runner with a V8 does it. My 07 did it after only 500 miles when I bought it new (of course it didn't do it when I test drove it). I guess there is no fix for it, but I would say it's "normal".
Also when you turn the wheel all the way left or right there is a loud popping sound
I know EXACTLY what you mean. If you make a tight U-Turn at any speed, but I see it at very low speed (<1MPH) you get this Bang or POP that you call it. It happens mostly on tight left hand U-Turns, with the passenger wheel slightly dipping into a driveway. I don't think I've every had it happen on a right U-Turn, but that's hard to make in the US.
My 04 4runner with a V6 did it, and my current 07 4runner with a V8 does it. My 07 did it after only 500 miles when I bought it new (of course it didn't do it when I test drove it). I guess there is no fix for it, but I would say it's "normal".
Sounds like we have the same problem, thanks for the post. I'm going to the dealer tomorrow for an oil change (17.99 coupon) and have the tires looked at. Well see what they say this time!
Thanks for the info and I see you have a 04 runner when you turn the wheel all the way and tap the gas do you hear a popping sound. Dealer checked front end out and said anything looks good. Only happens when wheel are fully locked left or right, maybe tire rub just doesn;t sound like it to me. Thanks again.
I tried it tonight. There is no popping noise at all.
__________________
03 Stratosphere Mica Stepside, 4.7 L, Supercharger, TRD Package, TRD Exhaust,
Scion Head Unit 08600-21802,
Custom leather heated seats 2 tone with TRD LOGO, Moonroof, ARE LID, ZR3 Laser Shifter, Denso IK22 .4mm Iridium Plugs, Scan Gauge 2,
Rhino Liner, Die Hard Platinum P5 battery 5.7 Killer
04 4 runner front end problems!
Re: 04 4 runner front end problems!
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