crazyapple92

It's a 99 4 Runner SR5. At 70 mph (and even less) the wind knocks this truck all over the road. Not just a bit either, It will put me well into the next lane. I have to fight it back and forth with minor wheel adjustments. This is very dangerous and needs to be fixed yesterday. I'm staying off the freeway until I get this taken care of but that is very inconvenient as it's the only reasonable way to get anywhere around here.

I know a few things that might have something to do with it. First when I got the truck I had to replace the sway bar mounts (or something along those lines) because they had both cracked in half. I haven't checked to see if they've cracked again.

And the problem existed when I got the truck but was probably about the normal amount, not dangerous or anything. That was with bald tires. I bought a new set and had them mounted at a shop with a horrible reputation, they're known to do all kinds of things to screw people over and I wouldn't put breaking something to make me a repeat customer past them.

Anyways right after the new tires were put on the problem became many times worse. They seem well balanced. I have no clue if alignment is an issue here, and I have no clue how to check.

This is a serious problem and it needs to be dealt with ASAP, I just wanted to know what I was dealing with and If I can handle it myself before I take it into a shop. Any help is much appreciated (and might even save a life...probably mine).

badattitude

Mine does the same, yesterday I thought somthing was broke but it was just the wind. Don't know if there is much we can do. All I can suggest to check your sway bar end links. If both your sway bars are attatched, keep both hands on the wheel.

crazyapple92

Ahh, that's what I had replaced. If it is that...again...why does it keep breaking? I've had the car for a couple of years but it's really only been about 3000-4000 miles since they were replaced.

badattitude

They should not break that easy, after 4,000 miles. If they did, don't get the same kind again. Use the Toyota OEM endlinks or perhaps the ones wabfab sells. My endlinks broke after 100,000 miles becasue of excesive rust.

these are heavy duty and what I have on mine now.

http://www.wabfab.org/component/opti...e,shop.browse/

Also, if you happen to have a roof rack; that is not helping. I put a basket on my roof a few weeks ago and it really catches the wind.

Regarding the alignment, does the truck drive straight with no wind?

crazyapple92

Well I had the dealership replace them so I'm guessing they used OEM. No roof rack, and even putting all the windows down doesn't do anything.

Hopefully I can crawl underneath it tomorrow, I have to adjust the rear brakes as well.

rideexileex

iTrader: (1)

I would suspect alignment... When I first installed my lift long ago, even the 4 mile drive to the tire/alignment shop was horrible

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Just how much wind are you talking?? Then there is turbulence from passing trucks which can be quite bad at times.

I avoid interstate highways at all costs depending where you are I have seen wagon tracks on the road that will cause your vehicle to wander all over the road and fighting it makes it worse.

Steering stabilizer can also make a big difference as well as what type tires you run on the front

coops2k

Also, what type of wheels do you have and size of tires?

An after market wheel and wrong size tires can cause this problem, but I am guessing a really bad alignment was done.

warpigg

get stiffer shocks it will help so much.

crazyapple92

All right, lots of ideas here...good.

How can I check alignment? Or will I need a shop to do it?

And passing trucks knock me about a little bit, it's the gusts of wind that get me. The freeway is kind of out in the open so there pretty decent gusts but all within the normal amounts. 10-20 Mph winds probably.

And just to be clear this truck is bone stock, no lift, no bigger wheels or tires. Same 4 tires all around, same tread wear all around. And they are the proper size.

And as I mentioned problem wasn't too bad before the new tires, could the shop have done something to knock the truck out of alignment in the few hours they had it?

Shocks are stock so stiffness should be just fine. Are stock shocks adjustable at all???

Someone on another thread has mentioned Loose/ bad wheel bearings or lug nuts, way out of whack tie-rods, or steering rod.

And it drives perfect straight when I let off the steering wheel (minus wind of course).

warpigg

if the wheels were out of balence you would know because the stearing wheel would shake, and if it wasent aligned the stearing wheel wouldnt be straight. it could be the tie rod ends. but im sure these gust of winds are more then that because ive been blown around on a dirt road doing 30 and the gust made me loose control this was during winter as well. and that gust was well over 50mph i would say.

crazyapple92

Balance is definitely a non issue then. Same for alignment I guess.

The steering wheel feels a bit...weak? Very easy to turn. I've been driving a few cars lately, a brand new Subaru amongst them, and they're wheels all seem way firmer.

That might just be because it's a big SUV with big tires and more powerful power steering but I thought I'd mention it.

And they're are bigger gusts of wind but I'm saying 10-20mph reeks havoc. And that's on a well paved and flat road. That's defiantly the usual wind speed out here and definitely causes me problems.

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

I think all non-full-size toyotas do this on the hwy in the wind. 4runners pretty lightweight, tall and narrow, so expect it to catch some wind. You should see how my corolla is in the wind and that's several feet lower than a 4runner.

I'd say check the swaybar bushings again (front and rear), check shocks and steering stabilizer. Loose front wheel bearings won't help either. Neither will loose balljoints. You should fill out your signature with rig info or give us more info like how many miles are on the rig so we can help you better. Welcome to YT and good luck!

crazyapple92

Checked everything front and rear, nothing visibly broken, including the parts that had broke before.

Steering stabilizer isn't visible. Under the skid plate probably...another day.

And making a rig sig would be kind of pointless as it's completely stock. Not even the stereo has been upgraded. And it's just over 70k miles.

And I do expect it to catch some wind, as it did before these tires. But this is way beyond "some wind". Driving on a highway isn't meant to be a fight for your life regardless of how tall or light the truck is. Is it really possible that this is all because of these tires? It makes me want to find some used ones for a couple hundred and try them out, just to see if there's any difference.

mjwalfredo

There is no steering stabilizer on your 4Runner.

New shocks and springs, or at least shocks would help. My truck always got blown around by the wind. The new suspension setup has helped quite a bit.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

If it is as you say some thing is fubar for sure.

I don`t even notice wind until it gets up in the 30 to 50 mph

I would look real close at the shocks and steering stabilizer.

This is one of those things you need to drive and get a feel for what it is doing.

Good luck and lets us know what you find.

crazyapple92

Ah, that explains why I couldn't find it then. lol.

And I do drive it on the freeway every now and again but only late at night or when there's no traffic. And it gets hit by the wend, the suspension kind of "flops" to the side and then I'm in the next lane.

Shock and springs sounds like It might be right but what I don't understand is how it got so much worse in 3 hours. There's no way that EVERY shock broke at once...especially not within the confines of a shop.

And just for info the new tires are Cooper Discover ATR 265, 75, 16.

warpigg

well not that it really matters but those tires are bigger then stock

KZN185W

iTrader: (1)

maybe the steering rack bushings are heavily worn out. replace them with polyurethane bushings.

crazyapple92

True, bigger than stock, bigger wheels too. But a factory installed option, not something custom. Pretty much all SR5s on the road are running the same size.

Steering rack bushings seemed pretty good. This isn't so much a steering problem, steering is tight and responsive. The wheel is just a little easier to move than I'd like.

Any way tire PSI could play into this? I'm running them at the upper limit, would less make any difference? Make the tires softer and let them take some of the load of the suspension when the wind hits? Thus (hopefully) less "flop".

Does that make sense or is it just wishful thinking?