olympic42

hey all, so i have a 1995 4runner and have had an ongoing problem now for sometime. At cruising speeds on the freeway (60 to 65) vibrations kick in all throughout the truck. Its bad, its not in the steering wheel but more throughout the entire truck ( mirrors, seats, cargo, etc). I have had it checked out by three different shops now and all of them did suspension and steering checks and they said everything checked out fine. I did some research on here and checked stuff myself like the ujoints, and such. I recently replaced the power steering pump becuase it went out and my two front shocks were shot and i replaced those. This made the vibrations mellow out a little bit but they are still there. Also the tires have been balanced perfectly from several different shops. Any one have any thoughts or ideas on what could be causing these vibs?



on a second note about a couple weeks i noticed some wandering with my truck. my steering wheel will be straight and not moving yet the car will "wander" and almost zig zag on the road. I was told by a shop this coupld be form my bad steering pump and i just replaced it yesterday and it didnt seem to make a difference. Any thoughts on my truck wandering?

Thanks guys!

hilandfrog

Worn tie rod ends, bad idler arm?

Repo

nv4runner

My 92 4runner used to wander like that till I had it in the shop one day for an alignment and I noticed that the nut on the pitman arm to center link was loose. Put a couple washers in, tightened down the nut, and put in a new cotter's pin and haven't had a problem since. Drop the skid plate, have an assistant turn the steering wheel until the tire just starts to move, and then go the other way until it just starts to move again. Repeat as necessary as you watch the steering linkage. It should all move at the same time. No one component is supposed to move before or after another.

As for the vibration, is it speed dependent?

You say at highway speeds so does it slow down as you slow down and speed up when you do?

What does it do if you accelerate hard, or as hard as you can with that engine, or let off the gas entirely?

What happens when you put the tranny in neutral/put in the clutch?

Is it a really fast vibration or a somewhat slower one?

Give some answers and that'll go a long way to helping identify where its coming from.

olympic42

the vibration literally starts at 60 mph, and gets worst when you go up to about 68 to 69. when i go above 70 the vibrations seems to smooth back out. also every once in awhile it will mellow out on a straight away (60 to 65mph) then i will go around a corner and it will trigger it to start up again. The vibrations are fast, and they have been describedby my dad and buddies as a thrown weight or bad balanced tire. i used to have the vibrations from 50 mph til 70 until i replaced my front schocks, then it went away and now only vibrates from 60 to 70..... i forgot to mention the whole front end of the car is pretty new. New: wheel bearings, shocks, brakes, rotors, tie rods, ball joints, idler arm and pitman arm, and axles.


The wandering truck also happens if i let go of the steering wheel at freeway speeds. the truck will slowly start to sway from line to line then i grab the wheel and it straightens out

Andy A

What rims are on your 4runner? Reason I ask is the 4 spoke alumnium ones with 31in tires can be a real pain to get balanced correctly.

angrybob

I had a similar situation and improved it greatly by changing the idler arm (was loose at the bushing) and snugging up the pre-load on the hub bearings.

I still have some vibration front 60-65mph, but with 33's I'm convinced its tire imbalance.

Get your front end up on jack stands and see if there is any play in the wheels from the 12/6 o'clock grip and 3/9 o'clock grip. Check yourself... If there is, something is not right.

I doubt a steering pump would cause wander.

xxxtreme22r

X2 on the tie rod ends and the idler arm.
On a side note a bad steering stabilizer will magnify any play in those joints as well when you hit bumps. AKA bump steer.

AxleIke

Have you checked your drive shaft U-joints?

nv4runner

The wandering sounds normal as long as there isn't any wander when you are keeping the wheel straight. Otherwise all vehicles will drift right or left depending on the slope of the road. If you have your hands on the wheel and it still drifts to one side or the other then you need to look into it.

olympic42

thanks guys i appreciate all this info. @ nv4runner my truck does wander when my hand is on the wheel sometimes at highway speeds, and it will get worst when the slope on the road changes and the truck will want to follow it. Also when i have my front end jacked up should i be able to turn my wheels a couple inches side to side from the wheel its self and not the steering wheel? thanks guy!

nv4runner

With your front end jacked up and the key in the accessory or on position you should be able to manually turn your wheels from lock to lock. Otherwise it sounds like its hitting the steering column lock, which is normal with the key out.

olympic42

Figured out the vibrations! The tires I bought were very out of round.