Brought the rig into Les Schwab tire yesterday. The rebalanced the wheels/tires. He said they were off by a bit (he said each wheel was off an ounce or so). He said the tires are showing signs of age and may be getting out of round (used BFG A/Ts). I'll try to take the Kick out this weekend for some freeway testing to see if this was the culprit. I might have just thrown a weight wheeling.

- Andy

That is why I don't put weights on my wheeling rigs. 

That is why I don't put weights on my wheeling rigs. 

I wish I didn't have to worry about it. Sure enough, the shaking is still there. So tires or u-joints sounds like the next variables.

-Andy

Also, just rotated the tires, and vibration is still there ...

FYI, I am still on the original shocks (143,000 miles). Using the BDS strut extensions for the lift. Any chance it could be worn struts?

I do not get a bunch of wobble in the steering wheel, however. Just the whole thing starts shaking.

- Andy

FWIW
When I replaced my struts they would collapse on their own with very little resistance on up travel, and didn't have vibrations.
  There have to be a dozen ZW members in the greater Portland area, get with one and try their tires to eliminate that threat.  You may have to spring for a brew, but shouldn't cost much.  After that changing out worn parts can get expensive looking for what is causing this issue.

bent rear axle?

bent rear axle?

I'd think that I'd feel a bent axle at under 60 MPH, no?

- Andy

i didn't feel mine until 60 or so. it too felt like a tire out of balance.

i didn't feel mine until 60 or so. it too felt like a tire out of balance.

That's good to know.

Really got under the truck this weekend and took a look around. There did seem to be a bit of play towards the front of the rear drive shaft. Not sure if that is normal or not. I'll likely take the rear shaft off and check things out next. It's been slow going lately, but I'll get to the bottom of this eventually!

- Andy

Interested in seeing what fixes yours as mine does the same thing and I cant figure it out.

Interested in seeing what fixes yours as mine does the same thing and I cant figure it out.

I drove the vehicle a couple hundred miles on Tuesday for a WARN photo shoot; all of that was highway (50-65 MPH speed zones). This actually gave me a really good chance to try and get an idea of what's happening. Sure enough, after 60 MPH, the vibration appears; the driver's door starts to shudder a bit, and as you increase speed, it gets worse.

Now, with that being said, sometimes I'd look down at the speedometer, and I'd be going 70 and the vibration wasn't that bad. Other times at 70 it feels like I'm driving a mobile paint shaker. And it's the whole truck vibrating; not getting much vibration through the steering wheel. I could see the driver's side rear wheel in my mirror, but the power mirrors down't work and the flap around with the vibration, so no diagnosis there. 

So basically, it's seems to come and go above 60, although it's mostly there. On a side note, driving into a 35-40 mph headwind at 65 was a deafening experience!

I'm still betting it's u-joints. Since the 'Kick isn't my daily, I haven't been inclined to prioritize getting the drive shaft taken off. But I've got a five hour drive (each way) trip with it coming up at the end of July to the Overland Rallies and Workshops in Leavenworth, WA, so I'd like to have it taken care of by then.

Bonus pic from the photoshoot on Tuesday:


- Andy

I tried replacing my u  joints first to find it still shook, but I did get it figured out. Also I have managed to find u joints with grease fittings if you want a part number and where to get them just let me know if you replace yours.

I know you said you just had the tires balanced but I took mine and had them "road force" balanced and it is finally smooth. Biggest thins was this place put weights on both front and back of the wheel which most places won't do on an aftermarket wheel. The tires on mine were just installed and balanced two weeks ago, and it has shaken on every tire I put on the truck. But this was the first road force and first place to put weights on the outside. It maybe worth a shot. Good luck with it.

Well, I'm pretty sure I've nailed down the vibration: It looks like the wheels are slightly bent. We put the Kick on the rack and and put the vehicle in gear to watch to see what the wheels/tires were doing. Sure enough, you can see the wheels moving a bit. At first I thought it was just the tires out of round, but my friend (and mechanic) pointed out that the wheels were actually a bit out of round.

The drive line looks fine; nice and true, though.

- Andy

At least you now know everything else is in good shape. 

What did you hit to break the wheels?

At least you now know everything else is in good shape.  

What did you hit to break the wheels?

I don't think I hit anything; at least nothing that'd bend wheels. However, I bought the wheels used, so who knows about the previous guy. So long as the truck's under 60 MPH, it's not even noticeable. The Kick rarely sees 60+, but when it does, it vibrates so bad you could thoroughly mix cans of paint in it!

I suppose, in theory, the axles could be hosed, but I'd doubt all four axles are messed up.

EDIT: One thing I should check is if all of the lug nuts are conical style. I want to make sure the wheels are centered properly.

- Andy