Joshs98Runner

Hey guys,

So I am having an issue with the 4runner at highway speeds, 60+
As you know Colorado has terrible Interstates (HW24) - (I25) - (C470) - (I70)

The vehicle has:
-175k miles
-SR5 Auto Tranny
-265/75/16 tires
-Tokico front struts
-OME rear shocks
-stock suspension
-stock wheels
-ball joints were done a couple years ago as preventative maintenance
-tie rod ends seem ok

What the vehicle does:
-Feels like a kite trying to cruise down the interstate
-Sways, (not shake) when cruising
-You could describe this as a rocking motion that goes back and forth faster as speed increases
-It gets in a rhythm of side to side swaying above 60mph
-The problem is worse at higher speeds (80mph)
-Also worse if there is a cross wind or uneven road
-Feels like suspension or steering system to me
-Steering wheel follows the motion of the vehicle
-It will lesson and go away as i decelerate below 65 if I let off the gas and place the tires on the smoothest part of road visible
-Has been getting worse with time, first notice in December 09 and it was more subtle. I thought it was just the road at first.

I don't think it is tires because:
-Tires are excelent. Michelin LTX AT2 "p" rated
-Tires have been road-forced and balanced with the best balancers available (I work at Discount Tire). There is no vibrations
-Problem has not been present for as long as I have had the tires. Tires were mounted last summer and problem started in December


Possible Maintenance Needed:
-Steering Rack is starting to seep some fluid through the boots
-Front sway bar end-links need new bushings
-There has always been a little play in the steering wheel but it hasn't always swayed like this.


Is there any recalls on suspension for 98 4Runners? Common suspension problems? Steering rack issues? I'm looking for something I may be missing. The sway bar bushings shouldn't be enough to cause something like this..?

Rainier42

Is funny, I had this same problem on a '97 Pathfinder I had. Over time I noticed that the problem only reared itself when I was going down hill, which told me it was a weight distribution issue. Does your swaying just speed related or do you notice it just happens on a hill? With mine, had a real good alignment done and that seemed to cure it most of the time.

Demosthine

I'm having a similar problem of late, also on a '98 4Runner SR5. It began after I put larger tires on, going from 265/70-R16 to 285/70-R16. The tires are not the cause on mine because I purchased new GoodYear Silent Armor tires for it.

The problem is very, very noticable on uneven roads, especially where the seams are in the road or there are large ruts. It gets bad enough that I swerve noticably in my lane and it's making me uncomfortable to drive.

My steering rack is only about a year old and still in great condition and there is little to no play in the steering. When I hit the rough spots, the force of the tires moves the steering wheel side to side.

If your problem is similar to mine, I'm thinking that it is the bushings. Is it only the sway bar bushings that would cause this or are there other bushings where the various steering and suspension points mount?

I'll be checking the truck tonight to if I can find anything. I thought maybe some insight would be good so I know what exactly to look for.

Rainier42

Sway bar bushings are easy and cheap to replace. I upgraded mine to Energy Suspension poly bushings (front and rear) in stock at my local Autozone store when I replaced my shocks earlier this month.

yotaman85

get an alignment..

graduatedpine

@Rainier42 How much did you have to give for front and back bushings, and do they seem better?

badattitude

Sounds like sway bar bushings to me. I assume the sway bar end links are not broken.

son209

Try tightening up the body mounts. My mounts were not tightened down all the way and I had the same problem and it would also my a clunking noise every now and then when I would go over a speed bump.

team_gforce

I have been experiencing similar instability issues. Had my wife turn the steering wheel back and forth in the driveway while watching everything under the truck. I saw that the steering rack had significant amount of movement. All the ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings seemed ok. I am waiting on the UPS man to deliver new steering rack bushings right now. Will follow up if new bushings make a noticeable difference

bel73

Had the same problem on mine. Truck was a real handful to drive and would find every groove in the road. Ended up being worn bushings and bolts on the pan hard rod.

Joshs98Runner

The pan hard rod would be something to look into! How could you tell the bolts were bad? Could you shake it? Someone told me certain Jeeps wear the same bar out in their suspension.

The body mounts are also a good idea, I will go check those.

I am going to have the alignment checked in the morning at Rocky Mountain Spring and Suspension. Has anyone heard of this shop? It is located off Nevada just South of Austin Bluffs.

Demosthine - I believe swaybar bushings can contribute to this but I don't believe they would be the cause of the problem itself (they would likely just make it worse). The pan hard bar makes complete sense because that is what aligns the rear axle under the vehicle...if that has play in it you're never going to drive straight on an uneven road.

Will keep updates going as I figure this out

Joshs98Runner

I also forgot to mention I put energy suspension poly bushings in the steering rack a couple years ago when I did the ball joints... I imagine those are still good...

Thelast83inNJ

Does it feel like you are chasing the rear trying to swap ends? Your truck has coils with control arms, correct? How about checking rear control arm bushings? Weak? Soft? Pathfinders, Jeep Grand Cherokees all feel assy(?) with high mileage. Have to buy complete arms, bushings not servicable on the above.

Joshs98Runner

Yeah, it feels like the front and rear are out of sync with the wobble. I checked the pan hard bar when I got home and the bolts were tight but the bar could be wobbled by hand on the driver side. There is definitely some play in the pan hard bar bushings/bolts.

Demosthine

I've had an alignment done by Network Alignment and by Toyota. They both came back ok. I didn't get a chance to check the sway bar bushings, but I think I'll just order those Energy Suspension Poly Bushings and replace them. At over 300k miles, that would be a good thing to do anyway. I know they haven't been replaced in the last 100k+.

I'll have to look up the pan hard bar. I've never heard of that. It feels like it is in the front end only. It seems to occur when the front goes over the bumps, but isn't affected by the back. When I called Sonoran Steel about their panhard bar bracket (which pulled up looking for information on it), Steve said that it is usually worn ball joints. I have never replaced those, so at 300k+, I'd assume they are really worn. The kit I bought, however, has the adjustable panhard bar and if I followed the instructions (which I did to the letter), the panhard bar would not be the issue. I'll double check it anyway, along with those bushings I mentioned and the ball joints.

Wow, there sure is a lot to check with this issue. Thanks for the help everyone.

Joshs98Runner

Yeah, Seems to be the bushings/bolts on the panhard bar.

I got under there and the bar was a little wobbly by hand but the bolts were fairly tight. I put a newer bolt in one of the sockets and it seemed to fix the issue. I am a little presumptuous that it might come back because the bushings in the bar could be worn a little too much but we will see what happens. Thanks for the ideas fellas

Demosthine

Well, I pulled the parts off the truck and the ball joints check out. They are starting to show signs of wear and I'll replace them soon anyway.

While working on all of this, I found my strut mounts and cushions were bad. It appears that when I installed my lift kit, I did not tighten the top nut of the strut all the way. The top rod has been riding up and down with all of the movement and wore an oval shape into the top mount plate. The extra force of hitting the top plate also destroyed both sets of cushions.

After replacing the top mount and cusions, the sway went away. Problem solved. Thanks for the help.

MarcBallz

i had the same sittuation on my 01 frontier and it was the bolts from my sway bar.
they had came off on both sides so it kinda felt like your rocking a canno in water side to side.
An yea it got worse when ya hit a bump..
i popped them back in the brackets an put new bolts and it was fine after that.
i replaced the shocks on it as well just 2 helpp.. they were pretty worn out