Steering wheel shimmy at highway speeds

Yes, yet another post about wheel balance. I’m just desperate so asking for thoughts and prayers lol

Specifically, I’m at the dealer at this very moment hopin and prayin they can vanquish the wheel balance problem with my TRD rims and AT tires. This will be my fourth balance attempt (first time at the dealer, second time supposedly on a RoadForce balancer…)

$150!

Thank you all for the emotional support. Will report on how it goes after some miles!

 

Try lug centric adapter.

 

Thx. I hope that’s what they did cause hopefully they know what this vehicle needs. Guessing the shop I took it to before had no clue.

 

Ask them for the run-out numbers after they balance them. Anything over 20 is probably going to shimmy.

 

Actually, probably better to ask them right now to record the run-out numbers.

Some machines don't record that number so the tech has to record each number as they go.

 

Most Toyota dealers will balance on the hub bore and not the lugs, they might not even have the adapter.

 

Thanks to you both. Unfortunately I hadn't prepared as much as I should have for this balancing attempt at the dealer, and did not see these posts until it was too late. If / when I have to do it again, I'll for sure insist on a lug centric balancing with the adapters needed to do that instead of using the cone mount.

Fortunately, however, the dealer really seemed to take my concerns seriously and spent a lot of time on this project, said they had senior techs involved, did test drives before and after, etc. I was there 3 hours waiting and they took the rig into the bay promptly and had the wheels off and started the inspection not long after (which I know because they documented it in a video they texted me). So I think they did really take their time to do it right.

My ride home was too short for a good test, especially since for reasons that may ever be a mystery the shimmy is intermittent. But at least that ride was nice and smooth. Maybe that was luck. Or maybe they did it right. I've bought two cars from these guys and generally speaking they've been one of the best dealers I've done business with (and there have been many). So who knows, maybe they're one of the good guys.

Anyhoo, will post again after enough miles to be sure. Fingers crossed my story will be further evidence that this problem really is solvable with a properly done wheel balancing.

 

Best wishes with the balance.

I’ve had 285 and now 265’s on Pro rims and no balance issues. Both times the dealership did the balance.

 

Update. It’s back at the dealer. Shimmy continued, though —-maybe—- less frequently and severely than before. This time I specifically emphasized it needs to be lug centric, mounted in the balancer by the lugs using the adapter.

They yes’d me on that. So fingers crossed but I’m not optimistic.

PS Not that it’s likely to help, but while there I'm also getting an alignment. Been pulling a bit and the shop that bumped up my caster a year ago went a bit overboard. But yes I’m hoping there’s some magic here, like something gets tightened during the alignment that will somehow solve the shimmy (see how desperate I am?! )

 

Same issue here. Got better after alignment and re-balance but still there. Strange thing is that it is not everyday just random, so frustrating.

 

So they just called. Said they re-did the balance with the lug centric adapter. but one wheel would not meet spec. was a 19 instead of 15 or below. they assume it's a bad tire. prob too late for me to take it up with tire rack but wtvr. naturally they are offering to sell me a replacement. can't wait to see the crazy price they put on it. anyway, feels like some progress...

they did not try to charge me for the re balancing

 

So far so good. The bad tire is on the front, so will move to rear if it acts up again.

They wanted like 330 to replace that tire

 

Oof! Hopefully it behaves.

 

I thought the Toyota 4Runner wheels are hub centric.
Did the lug centric balance technique solve your vibration problem at speed?

 

Lug centric.

 

I may not understand the difference when it comes to mounting a wheel on a car, but believed that a lug centric mount is one where you secure the wheel with bolts instead of studs that are already attached to the rotor. When you use bolts, they have flanges that automatically center the wheel by automatically centering each hole as you tighten it down. (I prefer this system).

In any case, the wisdom of several people here is that for balancing purposes the best method is to attach the wheel to the balancer by its lugs, not by its hub.

I will update when I have more experience with this last balancing attempt.

 

Wtf!

 

I have always had better luck road force balancing at a Discount tire. Also, might consider installing the ECGS Clamshell bushing... took the vibration out of mine

 

Okay, good to see I'm not the only one who's a poet and didn't know it.

 

Was this unintended poetry as well?

 

Ok Im not liking what I see. I just quoted @Trail Runnah and it did not quote what I saw in my screen. This is what I saw “cut and paste” below.

A poet unaware,
But not alone in this affair.
Glad to find kindred souls
Who share a passion for words and goals

 

XenForo powered by ChatGPT on April 1st

 

Xenforo?

I see. So, how is one supposed to respond when you find out these forums can make shit up, including your own words, at will?

Haha? That was a good one?

A fucking communication platform Xenforo, completely undermining itself for a stupid joke.

 

I just wrote something on another thread and what was posted was all chopped up and made no sense.
I deleted it and hopefully it's gone.
Fuck this day.

But it was funny.

 

I still have the shimmy in my steering wheel. Got the wheels road force balanced again, it goes away for a day or two and comes back. I been trying to correlate it to something as the shimmy is not there 100% of the time. it comes and goes. Few things I noticed:
-If the car warms us (engine/trans) it seems to be much better barely noticeable.
-This morning it was cold here 32 Fahrenheit, steering wheel was shimming a lot from 50mph to 60mph. Usually I get the shakes around 60 to 70. Then engine/trans warmed up and it seem to get much better.
- Car has/had the steering wheel shimmy on both sets of wheels and 3 different sets of tires already, noting seems to permanently fix it.
- Tried various tire pressures as though maybe as tires warm up the pressure goes up a bit but that had no effect.

Any ideas what could it be if it seems to improve as the temperature of the engine/trans gets to operating temps?
I read somewhere that there is a bushing that can be replaced, is this something difficult to do? Anyway to check if the current condition warrants the change without taking it all apart.

The shimmy is so strong sometimes that when holding with both hands the shimmy is still there. Very frustrating...

 

Are you sure the improvement after warming isn't from the tire pressure increasing?

 

I definitely could be wrong, but I keep looking at the tire monitor when just starting to drive and I have the shake. Then the tires warm up and get to a pressure where the tire monitor does not increase anymore but the shimmy is there. Then after another 20 minutes to 30 minutes of driving when all seem to be warmed up, lubed up , aligned up, or whatever the case may be the shimmy seems to decrease in the severity to be barely noticeable.
If doing a longer road trip, if we pull in to a service station to have a quick pee break or a coffee (more or less 20 to 30 minutes) the shimmy is back but seems to go away quicker.

Also reading the forum and it seems the replacement bushing might not be solution for shimmy.....

 

My impression from reading the forums is that bushing corrects for a small-amplitude, higher-frequency vibration. I haven't experienced it myself, but I have noticed a few things when the tire inflation got low.