az984Runner

I have been having the same issues. I had the brakes replaced, rotor machined, new tires and I still get vibrations. I brought the 4Runner in for a free brake inspection a month ago and they showed me that my rack & pinion were too loose and that my shocks & struts were way past due on mileage. I am planning on having all of this replaced mid November. We will see how it goes.

CJM

It really sounds like an out of round wheel and it does happen more than we like to think. If you swap we will know..good luck!

az984Runner

I did take it to another mechanic that I have used for a few years now and he agreed with the diagnosis. It all needs to be replaced anyway so if it fixes it then it's all good.

KyleT

when I bought my truck, it vibrated and had a ton of play, so i replaced:
all upper and lower control arm bushings,
all upper and lower ball joints,
rebuilt steering rack,
new steering endlinks.
poly sterring rack bushings.
along with the Lift wich included new shocks and springs front and rear.
had it aligned,

also did the wheels and tires 1k miles later and had the alignment checked.

i dont have any crazy vibrations, sometimes different road surfaces are bumpy, but all in all it rides niice.

mt_goat

Yes the Road Force balancer (if run to it's full capacity) will detect an out of round tire or rim. The problem is it takes time and knowledge for the tech to run those tests so if he is lacking in either it doesn't show up.

As I watched the tech balance my last set of new tires, I saw on the RF balancer computer screen that the tire was defective. Who knows if the tech would have told me if I hadn't seen it myself. I always watch to see if they zero them out or not.

By rotating the tires front to back one at a time I can usually ID which tire is causing a shimmy in the steering wheel.

texsurfer

i'd go back to the toyota dealer (i think i remember reading that you had them balanced there) and see if they will swap all 4 out with a used truck or runner on the lot. do your highway test and see if it still vibes. This would be last resort if you can't find any Yota members or other Toyota owners local to you to help sort it out. these things are maddening I know. persistence pays off though.

LSUMatt1514

Well, I've got a friend who has a 97 or 98 4Runner and he too has 265/75/16 Cross Terrains on his. We did do a swap once, about a year or so ago. I took both trucks into the dealership and put his tires/wheels on my truck and then went and drove it for about twenty minutes. Too be perfectly honest with you, I remember it being better but I can't say for certain how much better. Not to mention, he hasn't been as meticulous as me about getting them rotated, the front end aligned, etc. Also....he's rather anal and probably won't let me have his truck again, maybe so if I beg him.

My best bet is him because he has the same size tire and the same brand for that matter. Too bad my memory is such that I can't remember how much better it made it. I do remember the tech that rode with me getting rather testy because they didn't want me in there doing what I was doing. That's why I was only out on the interstate for about 20 minutes or so. If I can talk him into it again, I'll be driving for at least 45 minutes-1 hour to get a true feel, but then again if his tires are worn irregularly it may not help me out much. We'll see. Thanks for the help guys. I really appreciate it.

Matt

Nic

I would be willing to bet he would have said nothing. I had to replace the new Dunlops that were just put on by the previous owner of my truck because they were all out of round. Before I bought the Michelin LTXs I have now, I even replaced one Dunlop tire because the belts had seperated-and that new one had a higher Road Force number than the others. I found that out after taking it to a second shop to have them balanced because the vibrations were so bad. Bad tires are the norm in my opinion. Some brands more so than others.

Also, it may be bad to say, but most of the people that use the Hunter machine aren't very bright. I am sure most people on this forum know more about the capabilities of the Hunter machine than the people using them. Also, to avoid having to replace bad tires, you will be outright lied to at tire shops. I know from experience.

LSUMatt1514

Well, the reason that I don't think that it's a tire issue is because I had the same problem with the Bridgestone Revos that were initially put on that I'm having now with the Cross Terrains. The only common denominator is that both are/were 75/16s as opposed to the 70/16 Bridgestone Dueler HLs that were on there before.

I'm sure from your experience that you have run into folks that will our right lie, but the place that has done the road force balancing on both the Revos and the Cross Terrains know that machine inside and out and it's capabilities. It's not a chain, it's a ma and pa shop next to the plant I used to work at and they are very honest, hard working people. It's a family owned business. They are rather reputable as well. Even though they are in the middle of no where, the service manager at Limbaugh knew exactly where it was. They do good work. Road force numbers on the Revos were all below 10. Michelins were a little higher, but still acceptable. Bottom line is that the vibration was there with both tires. Again the only common denominator is the increase in tire size, which should have no affect at all.

Matt

QSVeilside

Before you spend more money on a brand new car, I would seriously consider finding a new shop to balance your wheels, OR go with brand new rims. Either way you save money.

www.discounttiredirect.com - cheap and free shipping.

4RunnerBuddha

Matt,

Your not the only one that is still having issues with vibration. I've been dealing with this for the past 3 years!

Even with a brand new set of BFG AT's (265/70/16), I'm still getting a slight vibration in the wheel. My dealership (which supposedly uses the Haweka and Hunter machine) states that the slight vibration is the best they can do. Its something I can live with, but I tell ya, this will probably be the first and last Toyota truck/suv that I own.

I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars on this problem, I refuse to fix an issue that Toyota should be addressing.

Question: Toyota uses "Lug-Centric" wheels right? Are they the only ones that do so?

mt_goat

I don't know but the first time I replaced my tires I also put on aftermarket wheels.

Simon

Whew, I found this thread about 1 hour before I was going to get some 265/75/16 BF A/T's on and I was all parinoid that I was going to get some vibrations, but everything is running smooth. Sorry to everyone have troubles.

-Simon

xcmountain80

I ended up with 2 whole sets of BFG AT's 10-20k and spent all day driving all on different ones until i figured out which ones were the best. I also got an alignment worth a ˟˟˟˟, no computers just strings. and that helped but yeah these tires take more weight than my 285 SSR's

BennyTRD

I never read the whole post but, did you ever have the truck alligned after changing tires?? Going from a 265/70/16 to a 265/75/16 isn't that much of a difference in diameter, but it is enough to throw you camber and caster angles out. A freind of mine did my allignment for me after I went to 265/75/16 BFG's, and I watched him do it. There was a .47 deg difference on the left and a .22 deg difference on the right, Just in that camber angles. Caster was a difference of .21 deg on the left and .27 deg on the right.

So having your truck alligned after any suspension work is a must. No matter how small it may be, it will still throw the geometry of your suspension out.

vegaskurt

He had the truck aligned.

My guess is one or more rims are messed up. Or he is using non toyota lug nuts and the rim is not centering on the hub.

LSUMatt1514

Man, I am very meticulous when it comes to my alignment. I've got a lifetime alignment package at Firestone so every time I have my oil changed, I have the front end aligned and the tires rotated. It's definitely NOT an alignment issue. Good try though...

Matt

LSUMatt1514

Chickened out on the new wheels off Ebay. I guess I've got to be patient and wait for some more to show up.

Matt

khaug

Wow, what a saga. Yet I don't see that the following basic tests have ever been done:

-Jack truck up, put it on 4 jackstands.

-Using a dial indicator, check all 4 tires and wheels for lateral and radial runout. .003" is a reasonable working maximum for runout.

-When rotating the wheels/tires, look at the tread head-on to see if it wobbles (i.e., has a broken belt or other carcass damage).

And, you and your multiple shops do use a torque wrench to mount wheels, right?

www.harborfreight.com carries all tools needed to do these basic checks for resonable prices. The quality will be well short of Snap-On, but will be good enough! Torque wrench, dial indicator, dial indicator mounting base and shipping all should be ~$40 total.

Best of luck. I feel for you, having gone through something similar with my '98.

LSUMatt1514

No, I have not used a dial indicator on them. Quite frankly, the thought has never even crossed my mind. My understanding of the operation of the Hunter GSP9700 is that it takes both radial and lateral runout readings as it is balancing the tires. Two things point to it being a problem with the wheels though...

First, the vibration did get better (although not absolutely smooth) when I swapped wheels/tires with a friend in town about a year ago. He too has Cross Terrains in size 265/75/16. I attribute it not going away completely to the fact that he did not maintain his tires as well as I do by having them rotated every 5k or so and also maintaining the front end alignment. Also, he was getting close to needing new tires at the time. I'd like to do this experiment again, but he is rather anal and wasn't so willing the first time. I doubt he'll let me do it again.

Second, the vibration is worse depending on what configuration the wheels are on the truck. What I mean is that I can have them rotated and the vibration will get better (although still bad) but then when they are cross rotated again 5k miles later, it gets 5x worse. That tells me that I've got a problem in a wheel or more than one for that matter.

It is not in the tires. The Bridgestone Revos did this and they were all road force balanced at or below 10 and my current Cross Terrains although not that good, were road force balanced rather low as well.

You are correct that this is a freakin saga. And btw....I am using Toyota lug nuts. As for the torque wrench.....I did request that the first time the Cross Terrains were mounted on the truck and watched them as they did it. This is at the shop that I truly trust and that knows the Hunter machine inside and out. Their comment when I left....the tires should ride smooth with no vibration. That did not help or turn out to be the case. All the other shops or dealerships have used an impact I'm sure.

Matt