hi. Im new to online forums. I have a 90 4runner that I love. I havent done anything to it to really warrant being in the same company as all of you.

I have never had a problem with my truck except for a broken power antennae. However it has come to my attention over the past 4 years or so that my truck has a intermittent vibration between 80-85 MPH. It rides smooth and then has a 10 second vibration that will gradually increase in intensity then decreases then quiet and smooth for a few minutes and then the vibration cycles again..this will just continue if the speed is locked in at cruise control between 77-85. The vibration seems worse in the back of the truck however that just might be because of the tailgate rattling.

I have lived with this figuring it was just how things were. Although I searched on the web and found sites like this and others that attempt to solve similiar vibration problems. i read gadgets webpage and i cant find a single haweka adaptor in chicago that people use. lots of places have the gsp 9700 without the haweka flange.

should i even attempt to fix this problem or learn to live with it. the tires were changed around 3 years ago and the truck only has 67000 miles on it. while looking thru this forum i saw the speed posting. I frequently go over 80 with my 90 4runner...maybe i shouldnt be???

any chicago help or suggestion would be appreicated...thanks
dorian

 

Hey! Welcome to the forums! It's a great place. I also have a '90 4Runner. I had to replace my power antennae too. (seems like a lot of people have) I hadn't noticed any vibrations like what you've described. But, then again, I don't usually drive that fast. Does your steering wheel vibrate? Mine does that a little at any speed. Don't know why though. Haven't looked into it very hard.

Well, I suppose that wasn't much help, but welcome anyways.
Have fun.
DH6twinotter

 

Welcome,

Have a look at your universal joints. See if there is looseness in them. Repair or Replace as necessary.

Jay

 

thanks for the replies.

my steering wheel does shake during this vibration cycle...but not otherwise. i dont have a problem with the truck pulling to one side or the other either. in addition to vibrating at high speeds 80+. the truck goes through a slight similiar vibration when declerating from higer speeds 70+.

also when reversing into my parking space the truck vibrates in the rear when just starting to reverse. its like its going over a series of little bumps. perhaps theres something loose in the drive train or something??

i will take my truck to the non dealer mechanic to check on the universal joints and also the the wheel balncing on the gsp9700

...any other suggestions or thoughts ?

thanks, dorian

 

...just for additional info my 90 4runner is a 5 speed manual, v6 sr5...

 

I had my wheels alligned and the tireds rotated and balanced. While the truck was on the rack I asked the mechanic to check if the U joints were ok. He checked them out and told me they were "dry" and that he could lube them for me. But otherwise they looked fine.

After all that the truck still has an odd vibration at around 77+ mph. And it seems to only be in the rear end of the truck. Does anyone else have this problem. Do you just live with it or is the fix just to drive slower?

 

Welcome,

Have a look at your universal joints. See if there is looseness in them. Repair or Replace as necessary.

Jay


UPDATE
In the last month I took my 4runner to 4(thats FOUR) different shops here in Chicago. 2 of which were Toyota Dealers. I described exactly my problem with the high speed intermitant vibration in EXTREME detail. Adding that my internet research yielded the following checklist of probable causes:

1. bad wheel balance
2. bad wheel alignment
3. worn U-joints.
4. loose engine , trans mounts.

What I got in return was 3 different wheel balancing , (1 on a hunter machine)4 wheel alignments, 3 ujoint lube jobs, reassurance that the ujoints worked fine and a wallet reduction. The result...a shakey truck.

I finally took my truck out of the city in an attempt to get another Hunter wheel balancing...this was my last attempt before taking it to a driveline shop. This place was awesome. The tech diagnosed my problem and gave me the usual suspect list before I had a chance to dazzle him with my internet research. Upon inspection he told me that my rear ujoint was binding on 1 of the joints and should be replaced. I asked him how 4 places could over look that when I requested specificly that they check the ujoints. His reply was that they just turned the shaft and saw there was no play but didnt disengage the axle to see if the range of motion of the entire joint was correct.

Long story short (too late) 1 day later I skepticly picked up my truck and drove it 80+mph without noticing a single vibration.

Thanks for listening,
shakeless in chicago
Dorian

Jay, thanks for your correct call on my problem. I should have immediately replied that I didnt know what a ujoint was and asked how to check one. I did net research and learned a ton. I guess I trusted the previous mechanics to do their jobs and actually check what I asked them to check.

 

Awesome
Glad it's fixed, and you are feeling no vibes motoring down the highway.

It's amazing those other shops were not as thorough.
I'd contact all of them and tell them what the problem was, and that maybe they need to get on the ball.

 

Dorian: I'm glad that it's fixed. One thing that you learned with this experience is that Jay's diagnosis was correct. He is able to do this because he is a TOYOTA Master Tech! He is one of this Forum's most valuable assets.

Jay: What I find amazing is that you can make very accurate diagnoses over the Net......my brother is a high paid Physician and he can't do that!!! It tells me that you know what you are doing......and he doesn't!!

David