[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.

 

[kaosv1]

You are one persistent bugger......

My new brakes from ebay work excellent ..very happy. Harmonically balanced. (drt_motorsportsllc -ebay name)

I had a car years ago that shook we tried everything under the sun. I finally took it to a cars shop that set up track cars he balanced the tires on the car - problem solved.

I did an experiment after that experience^ about fifteen/twenty years ago after getting tires balanced. I took my car to a friends shop first he balanced them using a fancy up to date machine at the time. I then went to another tire shop and they said they were off.....had them rebalanced.....went to a third shop ....and they too said they were off.

How can tires be balanced three times - three different shops - and the tires were off. Last time they were only off a little.
Cost me like 50.00 back then......seeing one was free. I've always wondered about tire balancing. Machines seem out of spec ...

moral of the story you might want to try another shop-

 

[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.


Sent from AutoGuide.com App

 

[jack mccarthy]

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!

So the vibration thread mini-series has ended? Damn, it's about time!

 

[mossman77]

He said "driveline vibration gone", not steering wheel vibration. Don't stop investigating Spencer. I have been following this thread for quite some time and am waiting for you to make a break through in hopes that I can finally rid my '04 of the shaking wheel. I'm sure there are countless others.

 

[jack mccarthy]

He said "driveline vibration gone", not steering wheel vibration. Don't stop investigating Spencer. I have been following this thread for quite some time and am waiting for you to make a break through in hopes that I can finally rid my '04 of the shaking wheel. I'm sure there are countless others.

Oh, bummer; although I can certainly relate after having dealing with the issue for 2 years getting it diagnosed and parts replaced under the extended warranty.

I definitely like the idea of "on car" wheel balancing; just need to find a place here in New England that does it.

Even when test driving a lot of the new trucks/cars today I noticed wheel vibration at highway speeds with the low profile tires today. I've test driven 3 different Honda Accords 4 years back and ALL 3 had highway wheel vibration. Only one, the stick shift you had to take over 80mph to feel it and it was worse than the others when it did shake.

 

[mossman77]

Only problem with on-car balancing is that it has to be done every time you rotate the tires. Not a big deal I guess, as long as you can always take it back to a shop that offers this service (likely far and few between).

 

[mossman77]

I know very little abou racks, but there's usually this big 'ole flat nut opposite where the steering shaft comes in. It's usually very flat. It's also one of those things that we are not supposed to ever touch! But from what I understand, it has something to so with rack tension. Might be worth a READ to see if it could have something to do with this. It certainly sounds like it might, since there's more vibration on decel.

Exactly why do you say "since there's more vibration on decel"? That is when I experience a vibration. More like a gentle hop/bounce actually.

 

[SuckersWalk]

Didn't all your problems start when you put on those wheels? Maybe they are junk and you should go back to quality built OEM wheels. Find a local Gen1 owner and swap wheels/tires for a few hours and you will at least be able to confirm or rule that out.

 

[mossman77]

Find a local Gen1 owner and swap wheels/tires for a few hours and you will at least be able to confirm or rule that out.

Tried that. Nobody responded. My steering wheel shimmy is gone now, so I'm pretty happy. I can still feel the out-of-roundness of the tires, but at least I know what it is now, and with a proper alignment it no longer affects my steering wheel. I'm going to drive a couple thousand more miles to be sure my camber setting is spot on, then upgrade to some Michelin LTX AT2s. BTW, I had the bare rims measured on a GSP9700 and virtually no measurable runout. I think one was off by 0.004".

 

[Goforth720]

I have the same "wobble/shimmy" problem at speeds between 50 and 75mph peaking at 50-60mph. And I am hoping and praying that it's some sort of easy fix like a bushing. But after reading the replies on here...it's not looking good. Unfortunately I'm still making payments on my 2001 Tundra with 95k miles...first 4x4 I've had, and can't get rid of the wobble and shimmy at high speeds. I haven't got into replacing front end or drivetrain components, and I'd like to avoid replacing unnecessary parts. So your posts have opened a whole new prospective on what the problem could be. With the exception of tires, I still have stock wheels and tire size on.

 

[Remmy700P]

1. Alignment
2. Wheel/tire out of balance
3. Wheel/tire out of round
4. Warped front rotors
5. Worn/loose steering rack bushings
6. Worn/loose outer tie rod ends
7. Driveshaft out of balance
8. Failing center carrier bearing and/or bushing
9. Loose leaf packs

 

[onirakkiss]

^^ Don't forget worn out universal joints @ propellershaft

 

[mossman77]

^...and worn lower control arm bolt and/or bushing--that is what caused my shimmy.

 

[reddiesel]

^...and worn lower control arm bolt and/or bushing--that is what caused my shimmy.

My steering wheel vibrations were similar to mossman77. Vibrations varied...Sometimes not at all.....sometimes enough to make the dash rattle. I sprayed a penetrant (liquid wrench penetrant with teflon) on all four bushings on both upper and lower control arm. I sprayed liberally to allow capillary action to draw penetrant into the bushing surfaces. So far the the shimmy of my steering wheel has stopped! Perhaps the bushings were occasionally binding. This is on a stock front end on a 2010 Tundra 2wd 4.6l at 108,000 miles. I will monitor and report any changes.