How to Fix Vibrations After Installing a Lift on your Toyota Tacoma
One of the most common issues after lifting your Toyota Tacoma is vibrations that can be tough to track down. I recently installed a suspension lift on my 2019 Tacoma and hate to say I have experienced the awful feeling firsthand. After a ton of time trying new parts and different fixes that are circling the internet, I finally found a solution to my vibrations. Although Tacoma’s can vary slightly in production, most of the solutions remain the same so here is my journey to fixing the vibrations once and for all.
Steering Wheel Vibrations
After I had installed my lift, I noticed that I was getting a lot of vibrations in my steering wheel anywhere between 20 and 25 mph and it got considerably worse the longer I stayed between those speeds and while breaking. After checking all the torque on everything I had installed, I had verified that everything was to Toyota’s specifications so I knew that wasn’t the issue.
I spent the entire day outside trying to find the issue and honestly I was about to give up. Until I found this video from knightacoma where he had the exact same issue as I was having.
With the help of the video, I ran outside and checked my axle shims are, sure enough, they were backwards.
The factory axle shims are a lot thinner than this, but they look the same. They are installed in the correct direction in this picture (above). The skinny side towards the front, the thick side towards the back.
After correcting the direction of the shims (skinny towards the front and thick side towards the rear) I went for a test drive and it fixed the crazy vibrations!
While I wish this completely fixed my issue, without the really bad vibrations, I quickly realized I was still getting some but it felt completely different and kind of like a rumble strip.
Rumbling Vibration
The next vibration I had to deal with was an annoying vibration that felt like it was coming from the driver-side wheel. The only way that I can describe is like I was swerving off and onto a rumble strip with only my driver-side front wheel.
After some hours of research, I found a ton of information on the ECGS (East Coast Gear Supply) 8” Clamshell Bushing. It amazed me how popular this was for every lifted Tacoma owner to do and how this vibration seemed to come up with almost every single one of them at some point.
The way to test if the needle bearing is your problem is to drive around and as soon as you feel the vibrations, switch to 4HI. If the vibration stops, then the needle bearing is 100% the issue.
The bushing was created to completely replace the driver-side needle bearing that is in the Tacoma with a longer clamshell-designed one. This would provide lifted Tacoma’s with a smoother ride and more CV Axle support to reduce the very common vibration.
After having this installed the vibrations were completely gone. Due to the shipping timeframe, I purchased the Yukon Gear & Axle 8” Clamshell Bushing instead so I could get the fix done faster since it was sold and shipped by Amazon. From my local shop, the bushing cost $300 in labor to have installed. While I was at it, I went ahead and had the shop install a new seal as well.
If you choose to install it yourself, this video is a great help and provides you with pretty straightforward instructions.
More Harm than Good
In my journey to solve my vibrations, I purchased a Carrier Bearing Drop Kit in order to help alleviate some of the problems. It only took about 5 minutes to install and was relatively cheap so I figured I would give it a try. It did seem to alleviate some of the vibrations but shortly after driving the truck around, the carrier bearing started to make a very loud squealing noise. I immediately took it off and the sound stopped.
After that, I decided to do some research and realized that a carrier bearing drop kit is not recommended for any lift under 3 inches on the Tacoma and should only be used if you have already tried larger axle shims to correct the driveline angles.
The Parts I Used
OME Carrier Bearing Drop Kit (Last Resort if you have tried larger axle shims and you have over 3” of lift)
If you are installing the Clamshell Bushing yourself you need to purchase the removal tool and I highly recommend the installation tool as well.