3rd gen shimmy

[Laxaholic]

Hey guys, quick question about my '97 4runner 2.7 5spd 4x4.

When driving in town, it's super smooth and a non issue, but at highway speeds (between about 62mph and 67mph) there is a shudder in the vehicle. Not a huge one, but something I'd like to smooth out, especially because it occurs right at the speeds for highway driving for me.

I've read some places it could be bushings, and other places that it could be the lack of an adaptor on the machine that balanced the tires. I am just unsure how to know where to go from here.

Could it be bushings? Tires are balanced and fairly new. What could it be? Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[slomatt]

This type of vibration is pretty common with 3rd gen 4runners, and it can be hard to track down.

Some things to look into:

- Make sure your wheels are properly balanced using a Haweka adapter. The stock wheels are lug centric (as opposed to hub centric).
- U-joints in the rear driveshaft.
- Steering rack bushings.

Beyond that you'll want to look at tie rods, ball joints, bushings, etc. If you truck has high miles pay close attention to the lower balls joints, they can fail catastrophically and cause a wheel to fall off.

- Matt

 

[pluton]

Wheel balancing is the first suspect. I live in the big city with lots of tire shops, and roughly half of the balancing jobs I've had done over the last 20 years have been defective.

 

[JasonRedwood]

You can find some good info on balancing here.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/engin...accessories/173-tire-balancing-must-read.html