Quattro15

Ok guys, I've put this up on TTORA with no real solution prevalent as of yet. I'm going to fill you all in on what I've done and what I plan to do and am curious to know what you guys think of it.

Right now I've got a loose steering wheel when I go about say 50 mph or so. I hit a bump or rut in the road and my truck walks a little and then settles back into it's normal rhythm. It's been doing this since we got 10 inches of snow this winter and I took it out and wheeled it for a good week or so.

My rig has 180K on the clock right now and this is what I've changed thus far...

I've got Icon Coilovers (which have been on for a year or so), new Inner and Outer Tie Rods, New steering rack with new bushings, new upper and lower ball joints, new power steering fluid. Also checked the wheel bearings and they seem fine.

Now I changed out all that and am still experiencing the same symptoms but just not as intense. I've checked over everything that I've replaced and everything is tight, no loose bolts or anything to that nature.

Now I've been doing some searching and ran across this thread....

http://www.tacomaterritory.com/forum...t=11145&page=5

....and the symptoms that the OP of that thread was experiencing sound very familiar to the ones that I'm having now. I checked that U-Joint and if feels just a little bit loose.

What I'm going to do now....

1. Replace that U-joint
2. Weld the slip yoke together
3. Replace my sway bar bushings with ones from Wheeler's Offroad

Is there anything else I should check?

I'm just so sick of this issue that I'm ready to overhaul the front end if that's what it takes.

Please give me some feedback on this if you can. Like I said, that thread was the only other thing I've found that looks like it may solve my problem.

Thanks!

Yukon

Check your rear end out. Panhard bar? Anything loose back there?

Dont see how welding the slip yoke would help?


Have you gotten an alignment and tire balance?

Sway bar bushings are a good idea. When i disconnected mine the other day they had a good half inch of play. Pretty sure that had something to do with interesting handling characteristics.

Quattro15

Panhard Bar?? Oh, forgot to mention this is for a Tacoma!!

The entire rear suspension has also been replaced.

Also, the slip yoke is said to have some play after a while. It's stated in that thread I posted a link to. I'm going to replace the U-Joint first just to be sure that the slip yoke is an issue I have to address.

snobdds

Have you checked your idler arm and/or pitman arm? It seems like the idler arm is the weak point in IFS.

Quattro15

Don't have those on a Tacoma either.

sharrack

what about lower control arm bushings.
My wheels were moving all over the place ...........Kenny S>

Alaskaflyer

How did it handle right after the lift? do you have aftermarket UCA's? Aftermarket UCA's will help with getting the alignment right, usually when you use the OEM UCA's after a lift the alignment gets real close but not perfect. The reason I ask is lifting and bigger (wider) tires will affect how it handles on the road over stock. Every time I've lifted a truck or 4Runner it seems that some wander develops. My Tacoma wanders a little but I believe it is the wider tires and the road conditions here in VA. I chased a wander issue in My Dodge 2500 forever, replaced everything up front and the last thing I changed was the lower control arms and that made it better (I know, completely different set up) When we lift our vehicles it changes the geometry of our suspension which can have an affect on handling. I'm running the Old Man Emu lift on my Tacoma and when I hit a good bump on the highway the truck does bounce slightly to the side, I attribute this to the stiffer suspension.

Quattro15

It was all good right after the lift. Everything was fine until that 10 inches of snow and it being in 4wd for four days straight. How to you check the lower control arm bushings??

Quattro15

Brief update, I jacked the tires up one at a time from the frame as to not compress the lower control arm. Everything was tight but on the drivers side the tire would move a little back for forth but this motion translated up to the steering wheel. This was with the truck on by the way.

I could also turn the tire from full lock to full lock with the truck on, should the pump allow me to do this??

Normal stuff here or what??

eddieleephd

Ball joints and wheel bearings along with the alignment.. should check all of those and get back and post the results!
And the bushings on the A-frames them selves....

Quattro15

Already checked that stuff, it's all good. I get a slight side to side motion out of my driver's side front but it is translated up the shaft to the steering wheel.

eddieleephd

can you tell what this slight side to side on the drivers side is??? Does it come from the steering rack or the bearing?? often it is the bearing or the ball joints either on the a-frames or from the steering arm... however it could be from the nut that holds the bearing, in place if that is the case then you can take and pull the cotter pin and tighten the nut up and all should be good. Remember to tighten that nut properly!

Quattro15

The side to side motion translates into the rack and up to the steering wheel. I put the wheel at full lock and held it there and the tire was solid. Locked the wheel in the other direction and the tire was solid again.

I think this means that the #2 U-Joint on the steering shaft is what is bad as I can feel play in it also as I turn my steering wheel back and forth. Also when I travel down the road at slow speeds I can turn the wheel 2 inches or so in either direction without it translating to the tire to actually turn the truck.