Front end/steering vibration on gen 3 montero

Igorskiy86

Observer
I tried searching, but cant find any posts with the same problems. I recently started having a vibration in the front end of my 2002 Montero. I did not notice this vibration with my old rims, but when I went to the rims with higher offset, now its 18 offset, about one inch more then stock. As soon as I switched to the new rims, the vibrations started at 60Mph and higher. I had the tires re balanced and the vibration decreased, but is still noticeable. They also did road force test, and tire and rims seem to be perfectly round. I dont feel any movement in the bearings or any other components, brake rotors don't seem to be warped, and my front axles are freshly rebuilt. Looking for any ideas to solve my vibration issue.
 

Red_Diamonds

Observer
Has there been any attempt in diagnosis by the shop? If wheels have been re-balanced and road forced tested, it would be time to look into steering/suspension components. Also, if you go back to the previous wheels/tire package, does the vibration go away?
 

Igorskiy86

Observer
Shop wise, they said that its normal for the tires that I have, Cooper ST Maxx. I don't want to go with that opinion because when I had this tires mounted on my original rims I had no vibration, and all I did was transfer the tires on to a new rim. What I am thinking it could be, is since I have a little more load on the bearings now caused by higher offset wheels, possibly a small developing problem in the hub bearings is more evident, but not completely sure if that is the case.
I would like to hear if anyone who has upgraded to a lower offset rims or is running spacers if you ended up developing more vibration at freeway speed in your steering.
When I was experimenting running spacers on my original wheels with same tires I had more vibration in the steering as well, but I thought that was possibly due to bad spacers.
I am planning on replacing all the bushings and bearings around my suspension, but would like to diagnose the problem before hand to know what it is.
 

PA_JERO

Adventurer
Kind of a dumb question, but when you replaced the wheel, did you make sure the lug nuts were the proper ones for the wheel you purchased. I've never personally experienced more vibration from a more offset wheel, and I run a 10" wide wheel. Also, check to see if maybe one of the tires is separating all the sudden.
 

jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
Might sound trivial, but a simple difference in density of the metal/alloy used in the wheel itself can make a difference in the amount of sound/vibration that transfers through the vehicle, which is usually the case with cheaper wheels.
 

Toasty

Looking for that thing i just had in my hand...
I've been running -51mm wheels AND 35's for about 10 years with no issues. I buy very good tires, I've noticed when you dismount and mount tires (especially cheap ones) they get F'd up a bit. Also if your tire shop blames the tires it's probably the tires because they would love to make you happy with a new set.
To test, do a tire rotation and see if the characteristics change (should get worse) the tire shop likely put the tires that took the most weights or the ones that couldn't quite balance in the rear. If you can borrow a known good set test with those, tires make a huge difference in how a vehicle feels. I am currently rebuilding my IFS i had a bent UCA worn out lower balljoints, worn out tie rods and i was running 5 year old 35" Toyo MT'S on a 15x10 -51 wheel. The truck drove straight and didn't shake or vibrate, i put on some old 33x12.5 Goodyear MT/R kn 15x8 -0 wheels and it felt like i was driving on cobblestone plus the steering wanders really bad now.
 

Igorskiy86

Observer
In about 6 months I will probably be going to 33 inch stt pro tires after I get the differential gears changed out, and hope that will fix my problem, as well as replacing all the aging bushings on the cars suspension. Today I was cleaning the car after a recent trip I took, and was looking at my front tires. I marked the rims where the weights were before the tire shop re balanced, and on one of the rims, there is different amount of weight then before in roughly same spot as before, but on the other one the new weights are on the opposite side of the rim(almost 180 degrees away) from where the weight was originally so that makes me think either people at the tire shop don't know what they are doing or their equipment is way out of spec. For now, I will have a good friend of mine double check the balancing of the tires on his machine and see if my tire shop did a good job of trying to balance or if they messed up.
 

Inyo_man

Don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.
In about 6 months I will probably be going to 33 inch stt pro tires after I get the differential gears changed out, and hope that will fix my problem, as well as replacing all the aging bushings on the cars suspension. Today I was cleaning the car after a recent trip I took, and was looking at my front tires. I marked the rims where the weights were before the tire shop re balanced, and on one of the rims, there is different amount of weight then before in roughly same spot as before, but on the other one the new weights are on the opposite side of the rim(almost 180 degrees away) from where the weight was originally so that makes me think either people at the tire shop don't know what they are doing or their equipment is way out of spec. For now, I will have a good friend of mine double check the balancing of the tires on his machine and see if my tire shop did a good job of trying to balance or if they messed up.

When new tires are mounted, every so often there may be a shop (or tech) that slaps on "a bunch" of weight to balance the wheel instead of spinning the tire on the rim to compensate for the weight distribution. It takes more time to take off the tire to rotate it on the rim instead of just putting more weight on the rim, but this can often solve the problem of needing too much weight on any one wheel. Perhaps that is what this latest shop did to rebalance your wheels.

Good luck sorting out the issue... your rig is sure looking fine.
 

earljuic3

Adventurer
I was running 1'' spacers all the way around on my truck with 285/75/16 ST MAXX's, I had to take them off..truck drove great until you got on the interstate. My suspension is completely redone and my alignment was fine. Shop blamed tires as well. Easiest solution for me was to take them off...the spacers that is.
 

birdiecat

New member
Are the centers on your rims the same size as the centers on your wheels,or should you have centering ring to center your rims.
 

Igorskiy86

Observer
I have hub centering rings on my new rims, but don't think they are the problem, because they fit really well, and once tire is tightened, their work is done. I am still waiting to find time to visit my friend and have him attempt the balancing, since I usually get off work well after he does. I did an inspection of my front end components, and everything seems really good and tight, all the bushings and rubber boots/joints are intact and have no free play. The only loose thing is sway bar mounts, but don't think its them. After my friend does the balance for me I will update with results.
 
Did any of you ever resolve your vibration issues? If so, how? New wheels? Spacers? Tires? Suspension components?

I ask because my ‘01 XLS (with 285/75/16 Treadwrights and cheap 1” Orion/eBay wheel spacers installed by PO) has a strong vibration over 35 mph or so — strong enough to jiggle the steering column and make plastic trim hum on the tailgate. Annoying stuff.

Treadwrights get bad reviews for being out of round and tough to balance. Been considering quality (265/75/16) tires to move closer to stock setup. Also considering $250 hubcentric spacers or dropping spacers entirely. Wheels with deeper offset are also an option. Just don’t want to drop a chunk of dough chasing an elusive problem.

Frankly, wider tires and spacers dramatically improve the stance/looks of these older trucks. But gleaning info from other owners, the Gen 3’s seem hyper-sensitive to such mods. Maybe a less stocky appearance is the price paid for a smooth ride.
 
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