2002 Highlander v6 FWD 212k miles. A month ago I replaced all four struts, sway bar links, sway bar bushings, both front control arms, inner/outter tie rods, cv axels and got an alignment. Then I noticed that the truck started vibrating at 55 to 65 mph and very slightly at 35 mph. I can’t tell where on the vehicle it’s coming from, but I can feel it in the gas pedal the most. It seems to increase vibration when I accelerate and constantly between 55-65. I took it to a shop and they said they’re not sure and that it could possibly be the control arm bushings in the rear, but I’m skeptical.
Tires - I got Two new tires two weeks before I replaced all these parts so I thought the vibration may have been coming from my wheels so I went and got them balanced and double check by another shop and that didn’t resolve it.
Wheel bearing - jacked up the car and there’s no play at 12&6 or 3&9 and is silent on both sides
Struts - all seem good but not 100% sure.
Engine - put the car in neutral and got it up to 5000 RPM with no vibrations
CV - It has to be this. Unfortunately, I can’t throw the old CV axles back on because I stripped the threads from removing the wheel nut. The new axle on the driver side started destroying the inner boot from being jammed into the mechanism on the inside of the CV axle. I moved the clamp away and that seemed to reduce the vibrations by 50%. I only did this to the driver side because the passenger side didn’t look like it was self-destructing itself.
How can I test them? I was thinking about putting the front end on jack stands, engaging the parking brake, removing the tires putting the Lugnuts back on and getting the car up to 55 to 65 mph to see if the vibrations are still there, but this feels very sketchy even though the vibrations are very mild. If I do to this, would I be able to remove one axel to see if the vibrations go away or would the open diff cause the side with the removed axle to spin because it’s the path of least resistance?
After I installed all the suspension components and CV axles put the vehicle on drive, the moment it started to idle forward, I heard a very loud and deep PING! I have no idea where it came from. I doubled checked the 6 hex bolts on each axel as well as a shop and they were good
While the front end was jacked up and in neutral, I also noticed that the driver side tire does not rotate very easily compared to the passenger side. And the passenger side has a lot of play when rolling the wheel back and forth, while the driver side has zero. When rotating the passenger side back-and-forth, there’s also a loud clanking noise happening in either the diff or inside of the mechanism and the driver side CV axle. Also, pushing the wheel to turn right is a lot easier than pushing the wheel to turn left. Examples below.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Tires - I got Two new tires two weeks before I replaced all these parts so I thought the vibration may have been coming from my wheels so I went and got them balanced and double check by another shop and that didn’t resolve it.
Wheel bearing - jacked up the car and there’s no play at 12&6 or 3&9 and is silent on both sides
Struts - all seem good but not 100% sure.
Engine - put the car in neutral and got it up to 5000 RPM with no vibrations
CV - It has to be this. Unfortunately, I can’t throw the old CV axles back on because I stripped the threads from removing the wheel nut. The new axle on the driver side started destroying the inner boot from being jammed into the mechanism on the inside of the CV axle. I moved the clamp away and that seemed to reduce the vibrations by 50%. I only did this to the driver side because the passenger side didn’t look like it was self-destructing itself.
How can I test them? I was thinking about putting the front end on jack stands, engaging the parking brake, removing the tires putting the Lugnuts back on and getting the car up to 55 to 65 mph to see if the vibrations are still there, but this feels very sketchy even though the vibrations are very mild. If I do to this, would I be able to remove one axel to see if the vibrations go away or would the open diff cause the side with the removed axle to spin because it’s the path of least resistance?
After I installed all the suspension components and CV axles put the vehicle on drive, the moment it started to idle forward, I heard a very loud and deep PING! I have no idea where it came from. I doubled checked the 6 hex bolts on each axel as well as a shop and they were good
While the front end was jacked up and in neutral, I also noticed that the driver side tire does not rotate very easily compared to the passenger side. And the passenger side has a lot of play when rolling the wheel back and forth, while the driver side has zero. When rotating the passenger side back-and-forth, there’s also a loud clanking noise happening in either the diff or inside of the mechanism and the driver side CV axle. Also, pushing the wheel to turn right is a lot easier than pushing the wheel to turn left. Examples below.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
