monoman

Hello all I am new here but have owned my 91 4runner for about a year now. Let me start by saying my truck has a trail master 4 inch left that was installed (incorrectly) by the previous owner. When i bought the truck I drove it 40 miles home on the freeway and that's when i noticed that the front end on the truck was not rite. The truck was all over the road swerving and swaying back and forth in the grooves of the road. I felt totally unsafe at 60 so i cruised at 50 the whole ride home and even then i thought i was going to roll it.
So a few months ago i was able to buy almost all the parts to rebuild the front end (inner-outer tie rods, upper-lower ball joints, pitman arm) and i installed them and then took my truck down to swabbies for an alignment and after that it drives as bad or worse. The previous owner removed the front sway bar but i have read that lots of people do that with no trouble. Am i missing something here? I cant for the life of me figure out why my truck is out of control. Also i run 33x12.5 mud radials but before i had on 33" street tires an it had exactly the same issues. any help would be great. thanks

BMcEL

I noticed you didn't mention idler arm (opposite from pitman arm). Also check the control arm bushings.

Steveh29

Rag joint between steering column and steering box? Play in the steering box?

BMcEL

x2...forgot about that (usually the first thing you check).

monoman

Im not exactly sure on how to check the control arm bushings and the "rag" joint. I believe there is play in the wheel though. when im driving above 35 and hold the wheel perfectly straight the truck pulls left and rite. does that help?

BMcEL

Have you ever driven a lifted truck with larger tires? They naturally grab ruts and 'pull' side to side a little bit. What you're experiencing may be a combination of slight wear in the steering components and normal behavior for a lifted truck. If anything was too worn or sloppy, Les Schwab would have brought it to your attention during the alignment.

blake.nemitz

well ive been there before. first after replacing all the stuff it still does it. i would replace or rebuild the idler arm. then balance your tires. my old tires were balanced perfectly but were out of round and death wobbled like crazy. i would have the idler arm checked since its the last piece to the steering puzzle and most of the time is the cause of sloppy steering especially with a lift. and a 91 should have a ujoint instead of a rag joint but have seen both

Sensei

Sounds like you definately have some steering slop. Most people would bandaid it with a steering stabilizer, yet the problem would still exist.

Jack up the front end, have a buddy sit in the cab and move the steering wheel back and forth. You should only have about 1/2" to 3/4" play until the front wheels start to turn. Anymore than theat you then need to watch the steering components for slop as they work through the steering cycle. Could be play in the gear box, idler arm(as stated previously), tie rod ends, etc. Check it all.

Control arm bushings that are worn usually give a rough ride and alignment issues. Always good to check them though... Look for worn or cracked rubber bushings, excessive space between the bushings and collars, etc.

ahickman

I had the same symptoms on my runner after riding a trail. Long story short, it was out of alignment. I know you said you got an alignment, but it is worth jacking the front end up and measuring front/rear distances between the front tires.

BMcEL

I'd go back to Schwabs and tell them something doesn't seem right. They always test drive your truck after they work on it, so as mentioned above they would have brought it to your attention if anything was too worn or sloppy. I'd be willing to bet they'd take another look at it free of charge if you just had an alignment done a few months ago.

monoman

taking it back to the place of alignment sounds like a good idea. I just went out and checked my "rag joint" or steering box. I turned the key to acc to unlock the wheels and then grabbed the steering shaft rite above the joint and rotated it back and forth and it turns a little more then a quarter of the way to the left and rite without moving the the tires. (truck off the ground) the "rag" joint looks odd to me though, it looks like a u joint and then above that is the "rubber disk". any ideas?

and yes i have drove a lifted truck and i know a little body roll is normal but this is down rite dangerous, once on the freeway i was sucked into a rut going 50 and it pulled me over one complete lane and if i would have tryed to correct it i know it would have rolled over. I know another guy with a lifted runner just like mine and he can drive straight down the road with no hands. if i tryed that i think i would die... lol thank you all for the advice though, please keep it coming!

monoman

also i think the past owner did a slight torsion bar jack "lift", I am almost positive that, thats the reason the front sway bar is missing. i think he cranked the torsion up and the front driveline wouldn't clear the sway bar???

87 'runner boosted

idler arms are cheap and a piece of cake to replace, blew mine trying to climb a hill and got some wheel hop happenin and heard a pop...there she went...along with the drivers side inner tie rod end (which i just found the other day). Is this rig SAS'd at all??? I know caster and toe have a lot to do with how a truck returns to center after a turn and keeps it going straight down the road...

X2 on getting alignment double checked by those guys. I had my alignment done AFTER i replaced my idler arm and still have this inner tie rod problem and the alignment guys didnt say a thing, just told me "its as good as I could get it" when i picked it up...

monoman

forgive me for asking but what is "SAS'D"?

Swimmerboy2112

iTrader: (2)

SAS = solid axle swap

monoman

thanks. no my truck is IFS.

monoman

Well today i bought a rancho steering damper and bracket to see if that helps at all. after looking and inspecting all day i believe that the steering box is loose and worn out. im going to use the damper as a bandaid untill i can find a used steering box and install it. thanks everyone for helping! oh and if anyone has a steering box for sale around the seattle WA area please P.M. me!

BMcEL

You can adjust the steering gear to get rid of some if not all of the slack. FSM link in my signature.

blake.nemitz

try jacking up your passenger side tire and viiolently turn it left to right by hand. if you look at the idler arm while doing this you will see any slop and slop is play my friend. torsion crank wont effect the diff or driveling to it or sway bar for that matter. i would ditch the sway bar anyway. careful if you try to adjust the lash out of the box by the adjuster bolt. too tight and boom goes a bunch of parts

monoman

Okay i installed a rancho rs5000 damper and bracket yesterday and i took it on the freeway and i have to say that it does track a lot better now. it still has slop in the wheel but its a lot more manageable now. i would really like to adjust the steering box though and tighten it up. does the chiltons book explain how to do that? if not then im clueless and hopefully someone can explain how that is done?