4th Gen 4runner Shakes at 70 MPH after installing 5100 Bilstein .85 and 5th gen Springs

Before lift I had 265/65/18 KO2 tires.

4runner had no shakes.

Today a shop installed 5100 Bilsteins .85 with 5th Gen Springs all around.

Now my 4runner shakes when I hop on the freeway.

What could be the cause?

 

Could’ve thrown your alignment off. Im surprised they didn’t do it after the install.

 

They did do an alignment.

I have been reading that it could be some bearing needle/joint.

But everything was ok before the lift. And it was only .85 with 5th gen springs.

All the threads said don't go hire than this. I didn't, and I still have problems.

Is it castor? Bad alignment? I don't get it.

 

Next thing I would suggest is a rotate and balance on your tires, and check your air pressure. It’s really common for tires to be unbalanced especially when you experience wobbling at a certain speed. Realistically, lifting at/under 2” wouldn’t affect your vehicle too much with a proper alignment.

 

Eh, it's more like vibration I would say on the steering wheel.

 

Sounds like wheel balancing to me. You'd said you had KO2 tires before the lift. Does that mean you changed to new tires when you did the lift? If not, I'd still guess that balancing is the issue. But if you didn't experience it before with the same tires in the same locations (not rotated) then one might suspect the alignment was done badly. So if same tires, I'd go back to the shop and ask them to redo the alignment.

 

Thanks. I am going back Monday so they can check the balancing of the tires and to recheck the alignment.

My question is, I went to a tire shop and repair place. When they do the alignment, do they also know to do the castor and toe? This is standard correct? or do I need to go to a lift shop and get the alignment there?

I have also been reading a lot about replacing some needle bearing and replacing it with Clamshell bushings on the driver side??? That Tacomas and 4runner come with this problem when lifting.

Yes it is the same tires, I do not know about location.

 

There’s bad and good alignment techs. Some shops don’t know anything about the dynamics involved in a lifted vehicle and some are very proficient in the subject. Go back and get your alignment checked and tires checked and post up your alignment numbers.

 

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Sounds like a good plan. The more I think about it, especially since you didn't change tires, the more likely it seems that the new alignment isn't correct. Seems obv that a lift with new shocks and springs is going to mess with the alignment, so it would have to be corrected properly. It's also possible that the alignment was correct on their machine right after the lift, but once everything seated and settled under normal use it went out of whack again. Presumably, anyone who does tires and lifts and alignments should know all the things that need to be adjusted. Camber/caster/toe whatever.

If they re-do the alignment and swear it was correct from the start, and you still have the problem, I'd be sure to get roadforce balancing. Regular balancing won't do the trick, especially on tires like that and at highway speeds.

 

To add. If it was the needle bearing, the vibration issue which to me seemed more like a driveline vibration, at least when I had my taco, it was only around 35-45mph and the way you knew it was the needle bearing is that the vibration would go away when you put it in 4high. Assuming it would do the same in the runners.
also, if they did anything to the tires I would go there first. And maybe even ask to watch them when they balance. Sometimes they won’t watch for a hop, or bubble in the sidewall. And you won’t ever see it if it’s on the inside of the tire. I also always have my tires road force balanced. For some reason all my Toyota’s have been picky when it comes to tire balance. Good luck

 

Did you get this resolved? I'm about to this exact same install and would love to know what happened.