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2K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  VStar650CL 
#1 ·
2017.5 Frontier SV 4x4 king cab. Automatic V6. 35000mi. Vibration from day one. Also wonders on highway. On wet road it feels dangerous and will fishtail/hydroplan. Dealer alignment at least 2x, rotate tires every 5-7k, balanced tires many, many times now. Also went to independent shop where it was checked out and road tested. All say everything looks good but they do feel a Vibration. Don't know why. Tires are getting worn but it's a problem from the beginning. Add weight in bed with no difference. So biggest issue is the wondering it feels very bad on wet road especially with north country winters. Speed not issue,cars and trucks flying by me giving me dirty looks. Any help would be appreciated. Planned on keeping truck along time but something is not right.
 
#3 ·
Quest,

Did you buy the Truck Brand New? Wondering if abused before you got it.

I'm suspecting DriveShaft, maybe one of the U Joint's is slightly binding. I purchased a '93 KK 2wd Hardbody that had vibration from the GetGo. Looking back I suspect it was the DriveShaft binding @ one of the U Joint's, or maybe @ the Carrier Bearing on the DriveShaft. Vibration could also be from a Bent Wheel or Brake Rotor not seated properly.

Drove that '93 for 20 year's and then got a New '13 KK 2wd Frontier. The '13 has been smooth as silk. The '13 does wonder though and I suspect maybe Caster Angle or maybe Camber, but more suspect Caster Angle.

Good Luck
 
#6 ·
Quest,

I read where one person was haveing Vibration Problem's. He also had just had a shop replace and check the Rotor's. He Checked the Rotor's himself and found that there as a Clump of Something(Can't remember what), maybe rusty metal or dirt, but the Wheel or Rotor wasn't tightening Exactly Flush that resulted in a Wonky Relationship and therefore Vibration as the Wheel Turned. Also check the Wheel that it has a Flat Surface where it mount's on the Inside. One of those odd thing's that was overlooked by the Shop, but he found it himself. He used something to scrape the Clump of Material off and the Vibration was gone.

You can also Google Binding U Joint's on UTube, where they were trying to figure out the Vibration. They had to remove the DriveShaft and check all the U Joint's till they found the one that was binding a little bit. It's important that all the U Joint's work smoothly, otherwise it will cause a vibration in the Driveshaft and the Whole Truck will Vibrate as well. I'm pretty sure now, that was causeing the vibration in the '93 KK Hardbody that I purchased New and drove for 20 year's. Nothing let go in those 174K mile's till I got my new '13, and nothing started leaking in the DriveTrain during that time, but the Vibration was there during that Whole Time. It was a Great Truck though and served me well for those 20 year's.

Same thing with the Carrier Bearing, it has to be lubed and working smooth with no binding or can cause vibration's.

Good Luck,
 
#5 ·
2017.5 Frontier SV 4x4 king cab. Automatic V6. 35000mi. Vibration from day one. Also wonders on highway. Tires are getting worn but it's a problem from the beginning.
How are the front tires getting worn? Here's a picture of abnormal tire wear:

Product Automotive tire Rectangle Font Synthetic rubber

Which do you have?

Apparently the dealer and independent shop verfied that the suspension is good. The frame may be bent from a possible accident by the previous owner; if the frame is OK, then the toe-in may be out of spec, it can easily be corrected by adjustment. If the camber is out of spec, it could account for the improper tracking on the road. However the camber can't be adjusted; it would require special adjustable camber bolts for the lower control arms or special camber plates for the top of the strut towers.
 
#7 ·
The best tool for finding the source of mystery vibrations is one of these, it's called a sirometer:

Font Circle Camera accessory Rim Metal


The little yellow loop on the lefthand side is a spring that extends as you twist the dial and will make a circular motion in response to the strongest vibration frequency. You hold the device on the dash or wheel and move the dial until the loop makes the biggest circle, then read the frequency in the window. Knowing the speed of the vehicle and the rolling diameter of the tires, you can work back through the ratios to find the source. Let's say your rolling diameter is 24". At 50mph, any vibration coming from the tires will occur at F = 50 * 5280 * 12 / 3600 / (24 * 3.1415), where 5280 is feet per mile, 12 = inches in a foot giving inches per hour, 3600 = seconds in an hour giving inches per second, and (24 * pi) is the rolling circumference (24 * 3.1415 = 75.4"). Solving for the above, we get 11.67 Hz. So if the sirometer reads about 12, we know the vibration is from the tires or something else directly on the axles. If it's higher than that, we factor in the rear end ratio. Let's say the rear is 3.00 reduction. The driveshaft will spin at 11.67 x 3.00 = 35.01 Hz. If the sirometer says around 35 then we know the vibration is from the driveshaft or the transmission output shaft. If it's still higher, you can keep working forward through the high gear ratio all the way to the engine. It takes a little math, but it will also completely remove the mystery from any mystery-vibration.
 
#11 ·
VStar,

If Nissan doesn't have this listed in the Specialty Tool's, Please Submit this to Nissan, as I read all the time about owner's complaining about Nissan not able to find what is causeing this vibration or that vibration.

The Nissan Master Tech might be able to be trained to use the Sirometer. I've never heard of one myself, but lot's of thing's and Tool's that I've never heard of.

If the Sirometer work's then Nissan Definitely need's one.

Regards,
 
#8 ·
Thanks
Tires are wearing evenly. The truck feels like it drifts bad with the grooves in the road. It will slide all over the lane. Hard to handle on wet road. Terrible traction. I'll try to check the u joints. It really doesn't need tires yet but I'm wondering if a belt could be broken. But wouldn't the balancing font that.
 
#9 ·
It really doesn't need tires yet but I'm wondering if a belt could be broken. But wouldn't the balancing font that.
Probably not, but most good balancers have a function that will. It's called Road Force Variation (RFV). RFV rolls the tire against a drum with force applied, to detect what the tire is doing with the weight of a vehicle on it. Things like bad belts will stick out like a sore thumb.
 
#10 ·
Way back when I was younger and stupider.....picture the year 2000 and a brand spanking new Toyota Tundra Limited. It was the very first year of the new Tundra model - and that 'thing' had more issues than National Geographic. One of the issues that drove alot of us first year owners up the wall was the constant vibration, and the instability on the road. Wind coming off a semi being passed was enough to slosh that truck around big time.

One of the first year owners just happened to be an engineer with Hunter. He road force balanced his wheels - and then pushed the alignment all the way out. BOTH problems were solved. Think of it like one of those grocery cart wheels that appears to be rolling along just fine....when in fact it ever so lightly oscillating. (FWIW - the road force balance had no impact on the vibration)

Find an alignment shop that will do something other than what is "in the book".
 
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