ARB bar shaking

[trimardito Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close trimardito]

Hey guys.

I have asked this question but havent gotten any reply

I have an ARB bar on the 90 series, and while its solidly mounted, i can still see it shaking when driving.

I can only compare it to the one we have on the 80 series, which doesnt shake at all, but its mounted straight to the chassis. The one on the Prado is mounted via two plates that bolt to the chassis and then you bolt the bar to them.

Is this normal?? How much shake would be considered normal, if any??

Thanks,

Luis.

[buster0z Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close buster0z]

its not the bar is shaking, its the body thats shaking from vibrations, the body is mounted with rubber blocks designed to flex.

and yes its normal

[outback7 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close outback7]

Hey guys.

I have asked this question but havent gotten any reply

I have an ARB bar on the 90 series, and while its solidly mounted, i can still see it shaking when driving.

I can only compare it to the one we have on the 80 series, which doesnt shake at all, but its mounted straight to the chassis. The one on the Prado is mounted via two plates that bolt to the chassis and then you bolt the bar to them.

Is this normal?? How much shake would be considered normal, if any??

Thanks,

Luis.

Is normal mate.....mine does it Gotta have the flex.

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

Hmm, mine must be stolen, shakes like a vibrator on steroids.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I guess I am in the minority. I reckon it is the bar shaking and not the body. I think it is because of the airbag crush cans. If you have the car sitting still and give the bar a good whack it wobbles. Nothing to worry about because all the airbag equipped 4wds with bars I have driven in do the same.

MLC have you been taking supplements again?

[trimardito Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close trimardito]

Good, so I can calm down.

I thought about the body moving differently than the chassis which makes perfectl sense ((Although i thought maybe not that much), but why doesnt the 80 series' ARB move a single bit? that one is bolted up directly without use of any plates. I drove a friend's hilux with an ARB a few days ago which uses the same attachment method as the 90 series but doesnt shake nearly as much.

Anyway, ill leave it at that. If its bolted down tight I guess when it comes down to using it (hitting something) It will do its job as its meant to.

Thanks for your replies guys, appreciate it.

Cheers.

EDIT: I have no airbags, so its not the crush cans!! it must be the body and chassis moving differently

[120D4D Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close 120D4D]

I guess I am in the minority. I reckon it is the bar shaking and not the body.

You might be in the minority with me but at least you're right! - its the chassis and bull bar moving not the body. Relatively speaking anyway.

If it was the body (cabin) shaking at the frequency that you see the bar move your fillings would fall out...

The chassis flexes on the prado far more than the 80 (and probably any other 4x4) but that helps with suspension flex and comfort.

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

its not the bar is shaking, its the body thats shaking from vibrations, the body is mounted with rubber blocks designed to flex.

and yes its normal

I disagree. The rubber body blocks have steel tubes inside them. If the body shook separately from the chassis that significantly, we'd have body's ripping off in no time at all. Have you seen a 95's ARB bar shake? It's pretty aggressive.

[mackayvx Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close mackayvx]

Admittedly I don't own an ARB bar but the theory is the same.
My misses had a prang and a new sovereign bar was fitted.
It shook a hell of alot more than previously.
Crash repairer said it was fine.
I found i could tighten all the bolts sometimes up to a whole turn and some were only finger tight...
Point is... Get under your car and check all the bolts with some elbow grease...
Oh yea, the bar sits nice and steady now!!!

[Dusty74 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dusty74]

Hmm, mine must be stolen, shakes like a vibrator on steroids.

In that case sell tickets at the next show for bull bar rides!

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

Good, so I can calm down.

I thought about the body moving differently than the chassis which makes perfectl sense ((Although i thought maybe not that much), but why doesnt the 80 series' ARB move a single bit? that one is bolted up directly without use of any plates. I drove a friend's hilux with an ARB a few days ago which uses the same attachment method as the 90 series but doesnt shake nearly as much.

Anyway, ill leave it at that. If its bolted down tight I guess when it comes down to using it (hitting something) It will do its job as its meant to.

Thanks for your replies guys, appreciate it.

Cheers.

EDIT: I have no airbags, so its not the crush cans!! it must be the body and chassis moving differently

The 80 series bar mounts differently to the Prado, the 80 has the bar mounts welded to the bar at the bar end and clamping around the chassis then bolted at the vehicle end, where as the Prado has the mounts bolted onto the bar and the chassis.
As for the body mounts, they are made of a special rubber that is softer than your normal body rubbers, this is to give you a better ride, however the downside is that they allow movement (shake), this is only noticed if you have a bull bar on (you will not notice it if you have only got bumperbars as they flex with the body. you will also notice that the ends of the bullbar are not up close to the vehicle guards, this is because of the movement in the body mounts, otherwise the bar would be fouling on the body of the vehicle.

[trimardito Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close trimardito]

I realize the 80 bar is different as far as mounting goes, but the Hilux uses the same method as my 90's bar, and shake on the Hilux is far less noticeable. Im guessing its just the difference in chassis rigidity that was previously mentioned. Mackayvx, all the bolts are completely tight and safe, the bar wont shake if you try to wiggle it, no mtter how hard you try. Its not the bolts!

Cheers guys, thanks for all your input!

[RutHunter Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RutHunter]

My ARB delux on my 05 vx shakes like buggery. It is definately the bar and not the body. you bum is attached to the body not the chassis, you would feel it. I know it is the the bar because it caused my spot light hinges to crack. Once I re-fitted them with rubber pieces between, they never cracked again.
The shakking shits me but when I climb out and give the bar a kick it is on there solid so nothing to worry about.

[Beach Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beach]

...with some elbow grease...

What brand do you use?

[Jon Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Jon]

I would change the bar to a Toyota approved version (Sahara bar).
Check with your insurance company, you will be surprised
Do not ask why, just check for yourself.