Stupid rear wheel still shaking, please advise

[Camry LE 94]

I changed the rear bearing for the wheel which I knew for a fact was shaking. The shaking occurred at highway speeds (55mph+), and only when I turned the steering wheel slightly to the left, making the car drift to the left.

After this, the drum brake on that side started to drag, so I bought new drums. Now the shaking is still prevalent at highway speeds, however it's not as forceful as it was prior to the bearing change. It toned down A LOT, but I can still feel it.

The wheel was and still is able to move a bit by hand (left & right) while off the ground, but this isn't the case on the opposite side.

What now...

[BMR]

Could be the suspension's lateral control arm has some slop in it. When you rock the wheel left and right, watch the arm joints behind the tire to see if you can see some play in them. If you're not sure which arms I'm talking about, do a search on "lateral arms"; I know there are a few threads with good pix in 'em.

I'm not so sure they would cause the shaking you've got, but maybe?

[Camry LE 94]

Originally Posted by BMR

Could be the suspension's lateral control arm has some slop in it. When you rock the wheel left and right, watch the arm joints behind the tire to see if you can see some play in them. If you're not sure which arms I'm talking about, do a search on "lateral arms"; I know there are a few threads with good pix in 'em.

I'm not so sure they would cause the shaking you've got, but maybe?

okay ill give it a shot. thanks for the tip.

[73sport]

OK - lets take a look. . .

- Have you rotated the tires?
- Had the tires balanced?
- Moved the tire to the front to see if the problem follows it?
- Spun the tire by hand and checked it for roundness?
- Spun the tire/wheel by hand and checked the wheel for runout or lateral movment?

Just my 2cents but when tire/wheel combinations cause vibrations, its almost always because its:
- not round
- not balanced
- not concentric
- has flat spots
- has broken or slipped belts internal to the tires structure
- defective tire, broken belts, bulges, separation ect. . .
- not seated correctly
- bent wheel
- bent hub
- wheel doesn't seat over hub correctly

Bad shocks keep the boat from swaying in rough seas. However, a shaky tires will still want to shake! Can you mask the shake with a dampening device? Sure you can but don't let someone sell you shocks when you need a replacement tire. The same is true of slightly loose suspension components. Yes, for control tighter is better, but worn ball joints are not the cause of the shake!!!

Suspension parts being in good shape will mask shakes because it forces the cars suspension and body to absorb them. Bad wheel bearings, well they don't seem to happen to often on these cars, but like the TOP in the post below, the top needs good bearings or it will self destruct by means of shaking IF IT HAS AN IMBALANCE! Now that Does Not mean everyone buy new bearings. I am not sayin that.

** Its a given that New parts can hide the real problem. **

Why are there flowers at the funeral home? Ah, dead people don't smell like daisy's, flowers mask the real issue. . .


Take a look at this; kinda the same issue Camry vibrates hard at 90mph...why?

EDIT:}} Another on the same type of issue: steering wheel shakin..irritating
EDIT:}} steering wheel shakin..irritating

EVEN BETER YET, this thread does not have my opinion in it: Read it, LOOK AT WHAT FIXED the problems for each user. . .>>\\: Steering wheel shaking driving me nuts... .
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http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh...04#post2902704

Originally Posted by 73sport

On the topic of Wheel Alignment causing vibrations; think about this.

You’re all familiar with a childs play toy called a “top” yes? >>


So how does a top spin there with no shocks, no suspension, no springs and just hang out like it does after pushing the plunger or pulling the string?

What will keep a top from functioning properly? Yep, balance. When the top is out of balance it ceases to function. It shakes, it vibrates it looses speed, it wears out and basically destroys itself.

A top which is balanced properly needs nothing to keep it under control like shock or holding fixture! You car is the same – Shocks and suspension components act to control the body motion and dampen wheel vibrations from imperfections in the road. . . blah blah

Alignment will impact a tires balance but only after the “bad” alignment has worn the tire unevenly! Now it needs re-balanced or replaced to correct what the bad alignment did to it. Alignment imperfections do not make the car shake! Period!

Think about this: Lets say a 26” diameter tire set on the rear of your car has a toe out condition of +¼”. If the tires were not constrained by the cars axle, how far apart would the tires be 1 mile down the road? With the circumference around 81” that’ll be about 780 revolutions per mile. I’ll venture to guess that the ¼” toe out would put them 600 to 800 feet apart! Yea I’m too lazy to do the math but you get the idea. This is tire scuff and it wears the tire over time which could wear it unevenly and could impact the balance, but it does NOT directly impact or create a vibration in itself.

Look elsewhere for vibration issues as a wheel alignment may fix OTHER problems but not this one.

73

Yes, I made several assumptions above; it excludes wheel alignment conditions at the Extremes (like when johny lowered his car 7 inches and did nothing to correct the bad toe & camber and drove it on the bump stops, or there is no bushing in the control arm because grandpa ran the car into the curb to park it at 9 mph everyday for 9years).

No offense to anyone but i hope this helps clear things up a tad . . .
Let us know if you have any more questions after you check things out.

[Mike Gerber]

"Could be the suspension's lateral control arm has some slop in it. When you rock the wheel left and right, watch the arm joints behind the tire to see if you can see some play in them. If you're not sure which arms I'm talking about, do a search on "lateral arms"; "

If you can move that wheel left to right, then you have a problem with the rear lateral control rod(s). These are the 2 rods on each side in the rear of the car that go from the center of the car out to each rear wheel. When you moved the wheel side to side with the car off the ground did you hear a slight clunk? Toyota refers to them in their manuals as rear lateral control rod number 1, which is the one closer to the front of the car; and rear lateral control rod number 2, which is the rear most one with the sleeve for the rear wheel adjustment. It's usually that rear one (number 2) that goes out. The rubber bushing goes and the entire rod has to be replaced and the 4 wheel alignment must be redone.

Do a search on this forum for rear lateral control rod. This used to be a dealer only part at around $160, but someone recently came up with some aftermarket source for them.

Mike

[Camry LE 94]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

"Could be the suspension's lateral control arm has some slop in it. When you rock the wheel left and right, watch the arm joints behind the tire to see if you can see some play in them. If you're not sure which arms I'm talking about, do a search on "lateral arms"; "

If you can move that wheel left to right, then you have a problem with the rear lateral control rod(s). These are the 2 rods on each side in the rear of the car that go from the center of the car out to each rear wheel. When you moved the wheel side to side with the car off the ground did you hear a slight clunk? Toyota refers to them in their manuals as rear lateral control rod number 1, which is the one closer to the front of the car; and rear lateral control rod number 2, which is the rear most one with the sleeve for the rear wheel adjustment. It's usually that rear one (number 2) that goes out. The rubber bushing goes and the entire rod has to be replaced and the 4 wheel alignment must be redone.

This is exactly what the problem is. The rear lateral control rod bushing is busted. When I first noticed the problem from the noise, I put it on a jack and by moving that bar with my hand, it had some play in it. I thought it was just loose, so I tightened it. The violent shaking went away, however I was left with a small amount of shaking that you could barely feel. I once again put it on a jack and watched that bushing move back and forth as I moved the left side of the tire with my hand. Thank you guys for your help, I will be taking care of this soon.

[73sport]

Even though the bushing is toast, you still have an issue with that tire/wheel/hub combination that get it in motion. Firm parts simply dampen, absorb, and displace it into the body. Don't discount a bad tire probability if it balances OK.