Vibrating at 65mph ???

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

wheel alignment, tire balance, tire pressure and steering arms. Those
are the most likley culprits.
steve
[url]www.mydreamwheels.com[/url]

"marspinball" <martinhirschREMOVEtheSPAM@cox.net> wrote in message
news:1iT2g.5361$Jk2.3371@fed1read03...[color=blue]
> 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
>[/color]
Whenever you take your vehicle to a shop, you should describe the condition
you're trying to remedy as completely as possible, as you have done above.
It is never a good ideal to ask the shop to check a specific component
unless you're sure that is the problem. Otherwise, if you ask them to check
the driveshaft balance and the problem is the wheels, the shop will charge
you to check the driveshaft balance. Let the shop experience, diagnose, and
repair the condition.

That said, most vibrations that occur at a specific speed range are
tire-related. My guess is that the shop will re-balance the wheels.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

"Ray O" <rokigawa@tristarassociatesDOTcomn> wrote in message
news:c97fa$444c5822$180fead6$30713@msgid.meganewsservers.com...[color=blue]
>
> "marspinball" <martinhirschREMOVEtheSPAM@cox.net> wrote in message
> news:1iT2g.5361$Jk2.3371@fed1read03...[color=green]
>> 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
>>[/color]
> Whenever you take your vehicle to a shop, you should describe the
> condition you're trying to remedy as completely as possible, as you have
> done above. It is never a good ideal to ask the shop to check a specific
> component unless you're sure that is the problem. Otherwise, if you ask
> them to check the driveshaft balance and the problem is the wheels, the
> shop will charge you to check the driveshaft balance. Let the shop
> experience, diagnose, and repair the condition.
>
> That said, most vibrations that occur at a specific speed range are
> tire-related. My guess is that the shop will re-balance the wheels.[/color]


I agree 100%. I have also had problems with vibration only at certain
speeds, and getting the wheels balanced always did the trick. If the
vibration seemed to start suddenly, then one of those weights from the last
balancing may have fallen off. If you ever have a weight fall off one of
the front wheels while you're driving at highway speeds and hits the
underside of the car it'll give you a good scare, because it sounds
surprisingly like a gunshot.

"Ernie Sty" <fake_email@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:eKidnXencK7P49PZRVn-ug@giganews.com...[color=blue]
>
> "Ray O" <rokigawa@tristarassociatesDOTcomn> wrote in message
> news:c97fa$444c5822$180fead6$30713@msgid.meganewsservers.com...[color=green]
>>
>> "marspinball" <martinhirschREMOVEtheSPAM@cox.net> wrote in message
>> news:1iT2g.5361$Jk2.3371@fed1read03...[color=darkred]
>>> 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
>>>[/color]
>> Whenever you take your vehicle to a shop, you should describe the
>> condition you're trying to remedy as completely as possible, as you have
>> done above. It is never a good ideal to ask the shop to check a specific
>> component unless you're sure that is the problem. Otherwise, if you ask
>> them to check the driveshaft balance and the problem is the wheels, the
>> shop will charge you to check the driveshaft balance. Let the shop
>> experience, diagnose, and repair the condition.
>>
>> That said, most vibrations that occur at a specific speed range are
>> tire-related. My guess is that the shop will re-balance the wheels.[/color]
>
>
> I agree 100%. I have also had problems with vibration only at certain
> speeds, and getting the wheels balanced always did the trick. If the
> vibration seemed to start suddenly, then one of those weights from the
> last balancing may have fallen off. If you ever have a weight fall off
> one of the front wheels while you're driving at highway speeds and hits
> the underside of the car it'll give you a good scare, because it sounds
> surprisingly like a gunshot.[/color]

The part about the scare is probably especially true in urban areas where
the sound of gunshots is more common than the sound of wheel weights hitting
the underside of the car!
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

Ray O wrote:[color=blue]
>
> "marspinball" <martinhirschREMOVEtheSPAM@cox.net> wrote in message
> news:1iT2g.5361$Jk2.3371@fed1read03...[color=green]
> > 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
> >[/color]
> Whenever you take your vehicle to a shop, you should describe the condition
> you're trying to remedy as completely as possible, as you have done above.
> It is never a good ideal to ask the shop to check a specific component
> unless you're sure that is the problem. Otherwise, if you ask them to check
> the driveshaft balance and the problem is the wheels, the shop will charge
> you to check the driveshaft balance. Let the shop experience, diagnose, and
> repair the condition.
>
> That said, most vibrations that occur at a specific speed range are
> tire-related. My guess is that the shop will re-balance the wheels.
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]

I had a problem with this. I had an automatic transmission leak at the
output shaft bearing, so I had a shop replace the transmission output
shaft seal, which they did. It still leaked. It still does; that's on
my list of things to fix. I think the bearing itself is bad (too much
lateral play), which immediately damaged the new seal. Learned my
lesson about ordering specific work; you better be darned sure of your
own diagnosis before ordering work, or you'll be disappointed with the
result. Of course, if I'm right about the remaining problem, they could
have told me, "You have a bad bearing in there, too." But I certainly
don't think I should count on that.

(Incidentally, I think this was the same shop that replaced the exhaust
and dropped the back axle to do it, and here's another instance where
they were working with the "propeller shaft". I can look for the
receipts to see which was done first.)

Stephen

"Stephen Bendzick" <stephenb@catholicexchange.com> wrote in message
news:44556758.D43CCF9E@catholicexchange.com...
[color=blue][color=green]
>>
>> Ray O
>> (correct punctuation to reply)[/color]
>
> I had a problem with this. I had an automatic transmission leak at the
> output shaft bearing, so I had a shop replace the transmission output
> shaft seal, which they did. It still leaked. It still does; that's on
> my list of things to fix. I think the bearing itself is bad (too much
> lateral play), which immediately damaged the new seal. Learned my
> lesson about ordering specific work; you better be darned sure of your
> own diagnosis before ordering work, or you'll be disappointed with the
> result. Of course, if I'm right about the remaining problem, they could
> have told me, "You have a bad bearing in there, too." But I certainly
> don't think I should count on that.
>
> (Incidentally, I think this was the same shop that replaced the exhaust
> and dropped the back axle to do it, and here's another instance where
> they were working with the "propeller shaft". I can look for the
> receipts to see which was done first.)
>
> Stephen
>[/color]


Yup, always describe the condition, not the cause or remedy.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)