Hi
My 1996 Tacoma (94k, V6, ext. cab, LX, 2 wheel drive) seems to vibrate excessively (truck and steering wheel) at exactly 65mph. On city roads it is not noticeable and at about 75mph it does not really seem that bad. The tires were replaced about eighteen months ago and have about 10k miles on them with very little but even wear.
What should I have checked out when I take it into the shop??
Thanks, Martin
Front tire balance for starters and if it good, check for broken belts in tires (tire will be out of round)
----------------- The SnoMan
If you have larger tires, they may vibrate. Even if they are balanced etc, larger tires are harder to get a perfect balance on install. I have 31s on my truck and around 100kph (60mph) they vibrate slightly. At 110kph, its not as bad. I guess there's a frequency at 100kph that makes it worse. But where I have balancing sand in my tires, the vibration subsides as the sand balances the tire.
Martin,
I had a similiar problem with my '98 taco 4x4. Occasionally at 70 mph it would start vibrating and get quite violent, I would have to slow the vehicle almost to a stop to alleviate the vibrations. Tire balance and allignment did nothing. Tire rotation solved the problem, hasn't happened since (over a year).
Matt
You have a tire out of round or a broken belt. I had a 91 Camary that I used to use Firestone "T" rated tires on it because I liked the handling and traction but after about 35 or 40K I would have problems with belts in tires breaking and one of more tires going out of round and causing problem. Firestone was could about replacing them with a fair adjustment in price for a new set of 4 so I continued to use them for over 150K miles.
----------------- The SnoMan
This happened to me with a 4runner. As it turns out, 4runner and at tacoma (at least some tacoma) have 'lug-centric' wheels. This means that any balancing has to be done with the wheel centering based on the lugs, not the hub. To balance a lug-centric wheel, the wheel has to be mounted on a jig, then the wheel/jig assembly balanced in a standard hub-centric balancer. One such jig is made by Haweka. Also, look for a shop with a Hunter GSP-9700 Road Force Balancer
Google on 'tacoma lug-centric' for more info.
Sorry Brad, but large tires can be balanced if done properly, and they can be balanced to .09 grams, anything under 19 grams is not noticable, (not transferred to hub center)
Searcher
Finally, someone who knows what they are talking about!
Searcher
Check your driveshaft and make sure all is tight where it connects at the knuckles. I had a similar problem that balancing and alignment would not take care of and turned out to be one of the knuckles was very loose causing it to shake.
Good luck,
Scott..
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