Intermittent shake

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Wondering what might cause this... My wife and I have both experienced it in my 2010 Tundra; she noticed it months ago, and I finally felt it this past weekend. I drove it an hour plus to go someplace, and shut it down for a few hours. On the return drive, about halfway, it decided to shake for a mile or two. Then it stopped. I had changed highways and I probably used the brakes, put a bit of heat into them, but nothing excessive, nothing different than on the drive out. I'm thinking it has a bad caliper but wondering if it might possibly be something else. It does not do this around town, and I've yet to notice any difference in heat at the wheels. [Unfortunately I did not stop on the highway to check.]

I did replace a rear caliper a year ago, and when it went, it did act just like this, where I would get a shake. But when that caliper went, it dragged all the time and I could feel the power loss. I don't feel any loss and I still haven't found a brake that drags.

Maybe I need to take out and do some hard braking, put some heat into the brakes? It's not quite time for winter tire changeover, and that is when I usually take apart the brakes to make sure everything is free-but since it's only been a year and 5k since the last time I did that, I'm somewhat dubious that anything has frozen up (apart from a piston perhaps).
 
Originally Posted by c502cid
Can you feel the "shake" in the brake pedal, steering wheel, or in your seat?

I think it was more on the floor, pointing to a rear caliper, which isn't surprising to me, as I only replaced one side. It felt like the whole truck was shaking.

It'd be easier if I could get it to repeat itself. Which is why I'm thinking of doing some hard braking.
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Check tire pressure and visually inspect tires VERY closely .

it has been a while since I looked... fronts are probably 30psi and rears 40psi, where I left them a couple of months ago. But a tire problem shouldn't be intermittent.
 
Rear parking brake not releasing all the way?

Wheels/tires slightly out of balance. The wheels do not turn at exactly the same speed [slightly different diameters] so when two wheels on the same axle come into phase where the imbalance adds up it might cause a shake. As you drive more the wheels will come out of phase at the shake might go away. Perhaps?
Two tires with radial stiffness that is out of limits could do the same thing.
 
Rear parking brake does not release properly, but I've taught the wife to not use.
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In my case, I hadn't used it in a bit so I don't think it was that. Plus it would have had some 90 miles of highway driving to grind itself down.
 
I had a rear parking brake disintegrate and it got hung up inside the rotor hat. That was a bad day. I would also try a front wheel bearing test. Make sure everything's tight
 
I also wonder if you're getting some torque converter shudder. If it feels like you're going over rumble strips. Have you changed the ATF recently?
 
Originally Posted by LeakySeals
I also wonder if you're getting some torque converter shudder. If it feels like you're going over rumble strips. Have you changed the ATF recently?

Been meaning to. I changed it at the 80k mark, but that was 70k ago. Very gentle usage since then, though.

Originally Posted by LeakySeals
I had a rear parking brake disintegrate and it got hung up inside the rotor hat. That was a bad day. I would also try a front wheel bearing test. Make sure everything's tight

I'll check into those things. But it made it 20 miles after the shake went away without any shaking. And I did drive it the following day, albeit short distances (5 mile round trip, then a couple of 10 mile jaunts, all with good cool down periods).
 
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It's the weekend, got a moment, did not like getting under it as the driveway is sloped and it won't fit in the garage (all 4 wheels chocked!). u-joints seem ok, but the carrier bearing I think is the problem--I can push it up and down, maybe not quite a quarter inch but around that.

Go figure, was planning to tow my trailer down to CT this upcoming weekend... looking around this might be a quick job and the part might be available at Autozone. I did have other plans for today! Edit: well, better part of the day, after watching a video on how to do it. I might want to wait for a weekday (take a day off from work?) so as to have a whole day for contingencies.

Edit 2: more looking says that it should have some play, quarter inch might be normal...
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My brother thinks it's maybe a u-joint, and to just let a shop fix it (no press, no lift, long and heavy, etc). Looking around on the web, vibration is sign of a very bad u-joint, usually they make noise first. Most pages make it sound very dire. I might have postpone my trip.
 
You sure it's not a wheel bearing? The trucks go through them a lot especially if the truck is getting used like a truck
 
I don't think so--there's no rumble or howl that I can tell.

Just took it out for a 25 mile spin, at 55 mph or so. Ambient temp was 50F. I have one of those cheapo HF IR guns, and it was dark out.

LF brake surface was 98F, RF 84, RR 95 and LR 96. Maybe something there up front, maybe. There is three u-joints in the rear drive shaft and the rear was 61F, middle 65 and front 85 (but the trans is 180 so it will be warmer). I tried to measure the bearings, rears were 75 and fronts 70.

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It seems worse when driven initially. After 10 or so miles it calms down (which is why I have always thought it was flat spots, tires are Hankook Dynapro ATM's), then anything after that was probably just a tire slightly out of balance. But now that I'm aware of something, I think I can tell after it warms up, certain speeds seem to have it--only for it to go away.

The truck is rarely used as a "truck". If it has a 1,000 miles on it from towing 3k I'd be shocked. It has been loaded up in the bed a time or two, but very rarely. Stock tires too, so 70 series profile should give some protection from big bumps.

Technically it does have original shocks. But that doesn't fit into the washboard feel that I had on the highway, that also went away and hasn't come back.
 
Sounds like a bad caliper to me. I have Carquest ones on my Liberty that seem to go bad every couple years.
 
Originally Posted by HoosierJeeper
Sounds like a bad caliper to me. I have Carquest ones on my Liberty that seem to go bad every couple years.

I think three are OEM and the fourth is Rabyestos that I did a year or so ago. But with such low brake temps is it that?
 
Made my trip, don't think I noticed anything--maybe a time or two, but the one time I thought it was acting up--I realized it was the single axle trailer doing the "porpoise" thing (I think). 400 miles round trip pulling my enclosed trailer, no issues found/felt.

That makes me wonder if it was just a dry u-joint. I hit two of the three with a grease gun the other day (one was angled so I couldn't). I'll try hitting them again. Maybe I fell behind on them and it just needed some time to flow where it was needed.
 
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