... I've had her for about 6 months. When I got her, she had the stock 16's with 265/70/16 Michelins. Initially, I had swapped in some 4-Runner 17's (and 1" spacers/adapters) with 275/65/17 Hankook's... And had the vibration then. 2 weeks ago, I bought a set of the Sequoia "limited" 17's (same tires) thinking it was the spacers... the vibration is still there. It's bad enough to shake the wheel, and there's more vibration while braking.

Points:

The tires were mounted/balanced by two different reputable shops.

When I took off the 16's, they were rusted/fused to the hubs pretty good, and I had to kick the crap out of them to break them free.

275/65/17 is nearly identical to 265/70/16

-----
So... do I need new rotors? alignment? something else? Thanks in advance!

-Sent from my PHOTON with AutoGuide for Android

when you said the vibrations where getting worse when breaking, that could mean that the rotor are warped. it also means that the both could be freezing up and causing the vibration. the shop that did the work probably over torqued the lugs and thats why it was hard to get the tires off. the were crushed and rusted to the hub. that over torquing can cause warping of the rotors. So i would suggest having the rotors and calipers checked my a trustworthy shop. most likely they both will need replacing on either or both sides.

and to clarify, there or no grinding or growling noises, just vibrations. correct?

No grinding or other noises... she could probably use a new set of brakes anyhow, so maybe I'll just replace all the rotors & c what happens

-Sent from my PHOTON with AutoGuide for Android

ok and i would make sure that the calipers are freezing up and rubbing the rotor because that will cause the vibration off the warped rotors.

also when you say that is happens at 65+. if its a 4WD or AWD a bent or out of balance driveshaft or front axle can cause the continuous vibration. my tundra will vibrate only when in 4WD over 45 mph because the front driveshaft is missing a few balance weights.

[...]

When I took off the 16's, they were rusted/fused to the hubs pretty good, and I had to kick the crap out of them to break them free.

275/65/17 is nearly identical to 265/70/16

[...]This raises the hair on the back of my neck.

A possible cause of the vibration is that the wheels are not properly centered on the hubs, which is due to the combination of three things: 1) hubs that are severely rusted; 2) hubs that are slightly boogered up where the wheels mate to them, both the flat surface which the wheel is mounted against and the surface which the center hole of the wheel locates against; and, 3) the fact that the wheels came from a different vehicle, and so might not properly fit the hub.

#1 and #2 are very likely the problem. #3 is simply a possibility that might make it worse.

This is a bit subtle and needs a thorough understanding.

When a wheel/tire assembly is balanced on an off-the-car balancer, it is mounted on a shaft, where it rotates while the imbalance is being measured. Weights are then added so that the whole assembly is balanced. Being "in balance" means that the center of mass of the wheel/tire assembly is on the axis about which it rotates. (It's a bit more subtle than that, but that'll do for the moment.)

When the balanced wheel/tire assembly is then mounted to a hub on the vehicle, it will still be "in balance" if and only if it rotates about the same axis of rotation (relative to the wheel) while on the hub that it rotated about while on the balancer. The problem here is that a very tiny error in the mounting of the wheel on the hub is no different from a wheel/tire assembly being out of balance while on the balancer.

Before going further, it would be a good idea to read this whole thread:



http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/1gen-tundra/107149-lug-centric-hub-centric-issue-what/


The problem in your case is that the rust on the hubs, coupled with any burrs or other such things caused by forcefully removing the old wheels, can cause the wheels to be mismounted by a small but very significant amount, which results in wheel/tire assemblies that were in balance while on an off-the-car balancer being out of balance while on the vehicle. The point here is that, if there is rust between the wheel and the hub, then the wheel doesn't rotate about the same axis while on the hub that it rotates about while on the balancer. The discussion found at that link shows just how sensitive this can be. The wheel can be radially offset, or it can be "cocked" such that it appears to wobble. The wheel/tire assembly is a three dimensional object, and both types of offsets are significant.

I suggest cleaning up these mountings to make sure they aren't a problem.

I would begin by removing each wheel from its hub, cleaning off all rust from the hub and the wheel using a wire wheel with a drill or die grinder, followed by erasing any further rust with naval jelly. Then I would remove all burrs and other deformities using a file. Then I would make sure the wheel mounts properly to the hub, that the wheel center hole properly centers the wheel on the hub, and that the back of the wheel properly mates with the flat face of the hub.

Fortunately, all this is cheap. It's just work, and the results might surprise you.

Dj... would the issue self correct with new rotors then?

-Sent from my PHOTON with AutoGuide for Android

Not necessarily. The whole point is that small dimensional errors in that mounting are part of what determines the relationship between the wheel and the axis of rotation of the hub. If the wheel doesn't mount properly to the hub, then it will be out of balance as it rotates. So, if you intend to replace the rotors, it would be a very good idea to clean up the hubs, wheels, and so on, so that everything mounts without rust, dings, burrs, and so on. This is one of those cases where there is no substitute for getting it right.