1997 Toyota Camry car vibrates @ highway speed

Hi bigzeke00. Welcome to the forum. My first thought was a broken belt in a tire but since you replaced them already, and since you don't feel it in the steering wheel, my next suggestion is to check the front wheel bearings. They will rattle and vibrate with no weight on them when you run it jacked up. You can run it that way and listen next to each one with a stethoscope, or, if you can find a mechanic who has a "Chassis Ear", you can use that to locate the source of the noise. That's a tool with six clip-on microphones that you place on suspect points, then listen with headphones hooked to a switch box as you drive the car. A lot of mechanics have never even heard of this tool but it can be found at most dealerships. The guys who drive the tool trucks around have them too.

Also look for large rusted areas on the back side of the front brake rotors. Missing sections due to rust and scale can cause the sound you described.

Caradiodoc

Interesting observation about the turning. Rear wheel bearings are a definite possibility.

Caradiodoc

If you're referring to the lug nuts, yes, it's common for them and the studs to be damaged. The single biggest cause is failure to use a torque wrench. All manufacturers publish torque values. Most shops have giant wall charts with the values listed for every brand and model of car and light truck.

It is also important to not use grease on the studs of Japanese cars. The studs have an anodized coating already.

Caradiodoc

OHHH! I stand corrected. If you have an acetylene torch, heat the head of the bolt, then douse it with water to rapidly shrink it and shock it loose. You can try a propane torch too but I don't think that will get hot enough. If that doesn't work, use an air hammer on the head to rattle it. If you can get on there with a wrench at the same time to put a turning force on it, that will help.

If you do snap it off, prop a nut over the remaining bolt, heat mainly the bolt but the nut will get hot too. Then fill the nut in with a wire feed welder. Cool it with water, then try turning the nut to back the remaining part of the bolt out. The reason for heating the bolt and nut first is the nut will fill with metal long before it has time to penetrate and really weld the nut solidly to the bolt. The goal, if you're steady enough, is to weld to the bolt, not the nut. The surrounding metal will try to suck the heat out of the bolt preventing good penetration. Hopefully the bolt will get hot enough to melt before the hole in the nut fills up. Stop welding momentarily if you see the sides of the nut starting to melt away. Let it cool for a few seconds, then continue filling it.

Caradiodoc