[Spencer]

I have been trying all sorts of things lately to remedy what I felt was a driveline vibration. My tundra is at approximatly 128k miles and has wobbled off a set of Terra Grapplers which I was running at way too high 45-50 psi (e-rated with bad outboard wear patterns). I purchased a carrier bearing drop kit. This smoothed out my take-off vibration a little. I lowered my air pressure to "door panel" recommendations and eye-balled them even lower until I saw the very edges of my new DuraTracs contact the floor of my garage. That actually helped more. I replaced all of my lugs (and a few studs in the process) with ET-Ultra shank lugs (By the way summit racing's website overnighted my lugs for free super quick - I just happen to live close). I am not sure if that helped at all.

Here is what I was feeling:

-Tire rotational vibration seemed to like to resonate exactly at 68-70 miles per hour.
-Steering wheel wobbled back and forth 2-3 degrees at freeway speed.
-Initial depression of brakes created vibrations through the brake pedal and steering wheel.
-Braking on exit ramps and through mild curves = vibration and "wub-wub-wub" noises.

Inspection of rotors. No signs of any trauma. They seamed uniformly worn.
Road-forced on with lug-centric adapter. Check!
Ball joints, rod ends, etc... no play.

Monday:
Mr. OCD here lifts up the front end to take another look at the brakes and rotors. What's this? Inner CV boot exploded and grease all over the place.

I should have done this job myself because I got raped on the parts (internet has CV kits for $70 each)... Local shop pounded out the job in under two hours.

I was totally ready to drive down the street and feel the same vibration, because I have gotten accustomed to being disappointed by my hair-brained intuitions about mechanical problems being incorrect.

Smooth as silk. WTF. I don't think I have smiled so big since I drove my truck off the lot or when I crossed the Mojave River in Afton Canyon the first time in 4wd.

Though it is difficult to diagnose a CV failure as a layman, I just want to write this experience up incase someone is ignoring the signs of trauma for too long. I have had my truck since August of 2002, and the CVs have been through a lot. To me, it was a worthwhile investment and I hope I keep driving my Tundra until the next time the CVs fail. No brake vibration under light or curving braking. The CVs must have been slowly binding up over time. Don't ignore these signs!

EDIT:

:sad3d:
I got on the freeway today and the vibration was there again sixty-five to seventy. More pronounced than before. I am getting really irritated with this. In the defense of the cv replacement, the front end is much more smooth, grippy, and articulates better under steering. The brake vibration has smoothed out below forty-five mph. Around town the experience was pleasing. Highway? It is like the truck is punishing me for going the speed limit. If I cruise with traffic I am rewarded with an irritating vibration. If I punch it past seventy-five... smooths out. Braking though the speed ranges of the vibration result in brake pedal vibration. I may have more going on here than I originally expected. I found a local drive line shop in Rancho Cordova to hopefully diagnose the vibration tomorrow.

Has anyone replaced the two piece driveshaft with a one-piece with any vibration elimination success?
Anyone solved this with a bearing repair in the front differential?
Perhaps the carrier bearing for the rear drive shaft?

I swear on something important, I will keep this updated and will post when and how I get this bleeping thing fixed. I have searched around for a write-up on the solution to this issue and everyone conveniently fails to post if they have succeeded... Perhaps nobody has....

 

[Spencer]

Update:

I have removed my rear driveline and took it to Driveline Services in West Sacramento.

Their opinion on visual inspection: The lift angles for a 2 inch rear lift were not significant enough to cause a vibration. Pinion angle for departure shudder was a distinct possibility. He gave me a brief lesson in axle angles... no different from what is already available online. He recommended angling 1 degree lower from whatever your reference point was (transfer case yoke or prior to the cv position for my two-piece axle) to compensate for axle wrap. Carrier bearing replacement and balance = $200. Same day.

My drive to the driveline shop was NOT as pleasant as I had imagined it would be. Take-off vibration gone. But the rotational vibration slowly reared its head. Brake applications shuddered, but not as significantly as before. Probably because it was not being sent to the rear by the absent rear driveline.

I eye-balled my front end... It sure looked like my right tire was pointed outward. My left tire was spot-on parallel with the prolongation of the body. I Yelped an alignment specialist and front-wheel drove over to Alignment Specialties in North Highlands. "John" inspected my front end and found everything to be sound. I asked him to align the front end on a whim, based on my hunch about the alignment. (See attached numbers) $62 bucks later... the front end alignment seemed better. No more pulling to the left. Vibration still present.

Here is where I am at:

Driveline seems to not be an issue....
Alignment seems to not be an issue....
Front end components (bearings, tie rods, cv's replaced) seem fine...
Tires are one month old and the vibe was there with the old tires....
Tires roadforced twice....

I am starting to see write-ups from Tundra owners without lifts complaining of the same issue. Some claim a full front differential replacement solved the problem. IF I drop the front driveline would that isolate a front diff wobble? OR would I have to disconnect/remove the cv's I just spent hundreds of dollars on to see if the vibe persists. Some claim a simple brake pad replacement solves this?

I noticed some weeping on the steering rack? Is weeping indicative of something related to the wobble? I have noticed before when the truck's front was lifted up I could turn the tires by hand left and right slightly and hear a thud/clunk. When I moved the tires I was checking for bearing play in the hub... but I found the tires turned left and right on both sides a little when I manipulated them. Could I have an internal problem with the rack/pinion?

Wife just texted me: "More money into that truck?"

As much as I want to get this solved and avoid a payment... a Ford Raptor Crewcab looks real nice right now.

Stay tuned.

 

[Spencer]

My opinion, and I'm not trying to be sarcastic......

Worst case a couple thousand to diagnose and fix the problem in the existing truck that should last you 300+ thousand miles easy or....

Payments on a $60,000 truck.

But that's just me. :happy3d:

Not helpful. Your statement about the 300K miles is inaccurate, because I am at 128k and things are failing/wobbling. And convincing the "commander and chief" (wife) this repair is worth it and will last to 300k is becoming more and more difficult.

I just hope some poor bastard like me benefits from this or provides some guidance.

 

[Spencer]

Tomorrow the rear is going back on. Gonna yank the front shaft off.

I do have the smaller brakes. I thought the brake upgrade was not possible on my 2003. The door says August 2002 production date...

Just watched some dudes do out tie rods on YouTube. Looks pretty easy...

 

[Spencer]

Installed 4-degree shims. I don't know why or how I did my math incorrect... what ever. Sooo... I got so far into the disassembly of the rear suspension (my first time) and my leaf springs went sprOng. I bought longer Toytec U-bolts, but didn't have the massive 22mm bit required. You would think aftermarket companies would use the same size bolts... WTF....

My preliminary calculations were I needed to lower the pinion angle 3 degrees and I had 4 degree shims. What the hell, I figured it was close enough. Smooth acceleration, HORRIBLE deceleration. Take off shudder present. Thud going into first gear. Idling RPMs down created a horrible groan at 45 mph. Drove directly home. Funny thing was the rear end felt really planted... secure. New U-bolts? Dunno.

Now being a shim installation veteran, I yanked those things off and I measured angles again. Yes, using my Iphone level... Which I am sure is the most accurate and precise measuring tool in the UNIVERSE. Zeroed the iPhone on the pinion yoke. Zero degrees. Measured the first driveshaft angle (between the carrier bearing and transmission). The iphone wobbled between 1.8 and 2.0 degrees.

Toytec.com, here I come. I'll get back to you all on my next installation of the two degree UP shims. I know they can go down too.

The front end vibration was still present in the freeway. I next month: OEM rotors and ... which pads are the coolest? Ceramic? I am not so sure about that brake upgrade.... Don't you need 17-inch wheels for that? Steep$.

 

[Spencer]

I saw oil under my engine today. Found diff fluid drip hanging from where the passenger side cv joins the front differential. Grease was sprayed all around from the passenger side inner cv boot. I gripped the inner boots on both sides and found left-right sliding play as well as up-down around play.

What is this indicative of? Do I need a front diff rebuild or should bearings and seals solve this vibration problem finally?

Please someone chime in on this. I find a ton of wisdom on Tacoma groups about this and it seems this 7.5 front diff is identical (or at least very similar) to the Tacoma diff... and should have similar weaknesses.

East Coast Gear Supply has a replacement widget which might help all this out. See below. Anyone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P68OCu_ZeI

 

[Spencer]

Driveshaft angle calculations/measurements made based on the numerous "Driveline 101" articles on the web led me down the path of needing to raise the pinion angle up 2 degrees. I installed 2 degree shims and new U-bolts. This actually did a decent job smoothing out the rear end under acceleration. My after installation measurements made me wish I actually bought the 3 degree shims instead. My pinion angle was off from the "zero" (lead portion of the rear driveshaft) by .8 degrees down. So, I might have preferred a 2.5 degree if one was available.

Wife looked at me disapprovingly after I came back from my test drive. Front end still likes to shimmy around at 65-70 miles per hour. My pride seemed to make me think the shake was lessened in some way. I felt like the rear brakes were doing a lot of the work tonight. May have to revisit the brake proportioning valve setting.

I have noticed on photos of Tundra brakes how the springs pushing the pads away from the rotor surface are set up. It seems there is only one spring, yet it looks like you could double up these springs top and bottom. Perhaps an extra set of springs could encourage the springs to push the pads equally away from the rotor surface?

I am going to try this next weekend with OEM smooth rotors with that wizz-bang black e-coating next week. Anyone tried the extra spring experiment?

 

[Spencer]

I have 16x8 alloy wheels like in my signature. Aftermarket. I also have a weepy steering rack. I sold my oem wheels a long time ago. They just look so horrible. The stock size was 16x7 if I remember correctly. Perhaps less mass might translate into more stability....

 

[Spencer]

This is an interesting theory. I wish my truck was not in the shop with a collapsed Bilstein 5100 retaining/snap ring and a left differential axle seal issue. My upper control arms are all nicely greased with zerks from Camburg. Upper ball joints are nice and quiet. I lifted and pried on the lower ball joint (replaced during the recall) and found no play. I have no front sway bar anymore. The lower control arm bushings seem like a likely place to move to next for tinkering. when I looked at them it seemed if you drop them you have to start over from scratch to realign. I don't think it will be an easy fix at home.... If anyone finds the "holy grail" please post your success story!

I apologize if I hijacked this thread and what I'm about to say has been said in a previous post months ago, but I am too lazy to search for it...

Something I just thought of this morning--I'm wondering if the LCA bushings could be causing my problem. To bring you up to speed, my problem (steering wheel oscillating left/right) is intermittent, but happens more times than not. When lifting my truck (2" Bilstein 5100 lift in front), I noticed that the LCAs were very stiff and I had to wedge a floor jack in between the LCA and strut in order to get enough clearance to install the Bilsteins. The LCAs were completely disconnected from the spindles/knuckles so I expected them to drop to the ground but they did not. I could actually stand on them and they would hold me up. They did move an inch or so, but would immediately spring right back (as if the rubber was sticking and springing the LCA back into position). I'm not sure if this is normal or not, but if not then it seems like the control arm bushings may be seized up and not allowing the LCAs to move freely, thereby causing issues with the alignment and steering. Does this make sense? A couple more reasons I feel this is possible is the tech that did the last alignment said "things were getting a little tight" when trying to increase the caster to DJs spec, and I had the front end jacked up for a couple hours a month or so ago while replacing the brake pads and when I went for a test drive afterwards, the oscillating in the steering wheel was completely gone. However, on my way home, it started again. This behavior is indicative of something seizing/sticking (causing the oscillation) and freeing itself at times (no oscillation). When seized up, the alignment would be out of whack and cause issues, but when the bushing frees itself, the alignment is back in spec. Or maybe its a combination of worn bushings and seized bushings. Thoughts?

 

[Spencer]

What's the recommended grease for the driveline? White stuff? Virgin blood? Synthetic? Anyone?

I am gonna remove the front half-shaft, grease the poop out of the rear, and inspect the transmission mount tomorrow morning.

Oh... and what the hell is with the front half-shaft? My grease gun works great on the rear, but the front seems to have smaller zerks and I cannot get a good seal. My needle adapter can't push grease in.

I lowered my front bilsteins from highest to one-down-from-highest and re aligned. I removed my brake proportioning valve relocation bracket and discovered the bite in my front brakes again. I just wonder if I have tinkered way too much....

 

[Spencer]

Visual inspection of transmission mount. It was clear the rubber was collapsing. There were embossed serial numbers which had become all distorted and squished on the side of the rubber. I took a prybar to the middle and found 1/4 to 1/2 inch of vertical slop. Very little pressure. No cracking or clear failure in the rubber, but it sure seemed easy to manipulate.

I have a mount coming overnight. This makes me question the engine mounts as well. they appear to be made of similar materials and should have the same amount of age. I am going to do the trans mount first and wait on the engine mount. That seems beyond my skill set.

 

[Spencer]

Removed front half shaft. Articulation smooth.

Replaced the transmission mount. It was clearly collapsed 1/2 inch. Recommendation for those doing this job. Floorjack on the transfer case skidplate. Don't bother jacking it up. Just support it. Remove the crossmember. I just took off three bolts and the 4 lower mount bolts and let it swing out of the way. The removal and installation was cake afterward.

Definitely smoother on the freeway. The vibration seemed to want to come back at higher speeds 68-70, but diminshed effect on the steering wheel and overall seat-of-pants shaking. Braking was much smoother.

I feel I am finally on the correct path. Anyone have a write up on the replacement of the front mounts? Grand-master Internet makes it seems like... lift the engine unbolt and replace. There's always a trick. Anyone?

 

[Spencer]

Dealership? HA! Because I really trust those guys.

I just hate how every time I look at my truck there is some sort of torx bit or crazy large diameter metric bit I need to buy because the designers specifically wanted me to not make my own repairs.

I am not seeing this rack tensioning bolt. I see something which needs a huge hexagonal bit of some sort facing rearward on the drivers side and a drivers side bolt which is larger than 24mm (my biggest socket) that points downward and leftward outboard from the first I mentioned. I have looked up diagrams and cannot find anything labled as the steering rack preload nut. I have found plenty of references to it on Toyota bulletin boards but nobody actually describes where it is on the Tundra. Help!?

 

[Spencer]

Oh yes... I am back. So the vibration is still happening. The transmission mount replacement was somewhat effective. I have noticed my vibrations are more distinct on banked/crowned roads. I was thinking the motor mounts were next, but then I looked at my front differential again. I asked: "Self, how is the front diff attached to the frame....?" Right here by my differential drop kit which is hidden behind my skid plate. I took my prybar to the mounts. I was not happy with the movement 1/8 inch. I wonder if there is just a general theme of rubber degradation due to age throughout my truck. Like with most parts searches, this particular washer/mount/thingy had a particular name.

Redirect Notice

41653b and 41654a called "stoppers"... ridiculous, but perhaps they will stop my shaking? In a few weeks perhaps. I'm gonna try to add a few foot-pounds tomorrow.

 

[Spencer]

Did you just have to perform a full rack replacement? What was the end result? Successful smooth sailing? Do tell!

On my 03 2wd I've had really bad steering issues but thanks to all here...
Not exactly violent shaking but on rough roads highways approaching 70 the truck was a sketchy handful.
Replaced rack bushings with poly helped lots but not total fix.
Dj's specs huge improvement but still had odd wandering on straight smooth roads. Cop pulled me over 6 am in Colorado straight away, was watching me from miles away on top of a bridge, he thought I was drunk.
So further investigation led me to the big nut on the steering rack. Truck had 90k btw. I thought maybe it was too loose but turned out it was too tight and wasn't returning to center smoothly... Ok so I loosened it exactly 1/4 turn that's it no more solved the wander but now I think that the rack was assembled too tight and after all the miles the rack is just sloppy.
So all the adjstments helped improve the steering but in the end the rack just crapped out.

 

[Spencer]

The front differential passenger side mounting bolt and spacer... What a mess. The whole thing is siezed or cross threaded or something. I cannot turn it any direction. Securing the top nut is a *****. The bottom was 21 mm and the top 22mm. Irritating. The actual drop spacer donut is seized to the bolt. 3-4 mm of vertical play. I can push up on the mount by hand and alter the angles of the passenger CV. I am going to have to cut out the bolt, buy new hardware, and hope for the best. Moving soon. This will have to wait. I hate knowing its all down there rattling around, but at least it is seized on...

Sorry to say, after all this, I am certain the stupid wobble will still persist. Steering sounds ... knocking ... sounds like its coming from the right (consistent with the front diff perhaps) or maybe a bad coilover mount. Delightful.

 

[Spencer]

My surgery on the two bolts which mount the front differential to the frame was successful. I happened to have the old hardware prior to installing the differential lowering kit. One of the bolts was seized. The lowering donut was stuck to the bolt on both sides. My impact made short work of the drivers side. I had to hacksaw the passenger side one out. Not fun. Took me thirty minutes of sawing.... More like flossing. Angle grinder did not fit. The top nut was crossthreaded and donut seized with rust. Old hardware went in fine. Driveline vibration gone at freeway speed. Aaaah! Still getting a clunk as the steering cycles around forty five degrees to the right. Anyone got any wisdom on that?

I have poly rack bushings on and already disassembled greased and reassembled. I have no swaybar.

I must have never put the differential lowering kit on correctly or somehow got deluded into thinking that bolt was torqued down sufficiently. Regardless of blame... Watching the differential schooch back into a natural position at the end of the job was satisfying.

Still have a mild pulsing while braking. I am probably going to have to replace the rotors and pads. They must have been traumatized by the differential being loose.


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