2006 Toyota Tacoma Drivetrain Vibration

Yes, get all four wheels off the ground (use jack stands and all the safety stuff), put it in neutral then inspect all the u-joints, cv joints, and carrier bearings for wear. Replace anything that has out of tolerance play. How many miles are on your truck? I've got a 1994 with 284K and have had to replace one u-joint to date.

It's got just shy of 140K miles. I'd like to think I don't abuse it, but last winter here (NE Indiana) was brutal on 4x4's. I don't use plows or do a lot of off-roading with it.

Thanks for the advice!

Have they been greased? One may be dry and starting to freeze/gall.

Have you lost a balance weight off a shaft?

Does it do it all the time?

Have you looked at Toyota forums?

Hi Lyn,

I give them a shot of grease about every 30K miles, last time was about 10K miles ago. Not to say one may have failed anyway. I didn't see any spots on the shaft where a weight may have been, but will give it a 2nd look if nothing obvious with the joints, then will have it balanced . No, I haven't gone to any Taco forums yet, as this would seem to be a "generic" problem. Will throw that in my notes of things to do. It vibrates all the time, but seems to resonate worst at about 30MPH. Maybe it finds a harmonic at that speed. Doesn't make a difference whether it is in 4x4 or 4x2 mode, and seems to quiet down on deceleration (which makes me look closer at the rear shaft).

Thanks for the input, much appreciated.

Right on!

A good answer and a good excuse reason to buy a new toy tool.

This time of year, check for chunks of ice while you have the truck up on jacks checking for u-joints etc. These can cause terrific vibrations the same way that chunks of mud/clay can in the summer. I've heard of lots of mechanics who have found those to be the only problems on vehicles and I've had my own share over the years on drive trains and wheels. I live in an area with snow in winter and mud in summer and before I leave on a trip to go over local 25 mph, I look under and take action if necessary with a power washer.

If the vibration is worse during acceleration,and less on deceleration, a likely reason is a U Joint.

With engine off and tranny in Neutral (not PARK),twist the drive shaft back and

forth,looking very closely at each joint.

There should be ZERO slack in the joints.

Even the least amount of play indicates a bad joint.

Replace it.

Good Luck.

A u-joint does not need play to cause vibration, a U-joint that is dry and not moving properly will cause a vibration that increases as speed goes up and then suddenly stops vibrating.

Right you are HTRN. Just be sure to chock both the front and rear of at least one wheel. Best on level ground. Put the truck in neutral, and the only thing that will stop you from turning the main driveshaft with your hands, will be the wheels against the chocks. Again, examine each leg of each U joint carefully.

If you can rule out a worn out joint, you can proceed to eliminate each of the driveshaft units by removing them one at a time, and driving the truck in 4 wheel high. One more thought here, a frozen U joint will not be able to align itself with the drive shaft, or flange. This will cause that driveshaft to not roll accurately, but to whip around as if it was bent. If you pull a shaft out, exercise each joint trunion. Good luck.

Just a bit of caution. If you need to separate the driveshaft, mark it so you can reassemble it in the same way. The last driveshaft I disassembled to replace universals was a '85 Toyota PU. I didn't do this and had a substantial vibration problem until I disassembled and reoiented the flange. Everything LOOKED good the first time, but even so ---

Be sure to inspect all engine mounts. A bad one can cause vibration.

I worked for the company that built the front hub housings on these vehicles, The induction heat treating on these was a little spotty on some of the hubs that were sent out.

The hub area in question was the outer bearing race machined into the housing and heat treated after machining.

We had some pretty bad issues with the induction heater at the beginning of production as everyone had some idea as to how to set it up but no one knew for sure how to do it, even the MTB was in the dark.

We finally got a handle on it but there was a time when nobody that had anything to do with this line would even consider owning one of the vehicles we made these parts for.

I hope it is not the front bearings on your truck as this is a pretty major expense to replace.

That would explain why I had to replace those about a year ago. Thanks for the insight!