Hello guys I am new to the forum. I have looked for my answer but cant seem to find anything. I recently bought a 86 4runner. When I put it in 4 wheel drive high and go about 20 - 30 mph the 4runner will pull hard to the left then pull hard to the right. I can let go of the steering wheel and the 4runner will veer off to the left then it will start to veer off to the right, like its walking all over the road swaying back and forth.

Very weird I have never seen this before. If I take it out of 4 wheel drive and keep the front hubs locked in it does not do it, soon as i put it in 4 wheel high it begins to pull to the left then right again. I am stumped, do you guys have any ideas?

 

Um yes. Don't drive in 4wheel on a hard surface like the road.

 

I have to have it in 4wheel drive we have a foot of snow , the main roads are covered in snow and if you do not have 4 wheel drive then you are not going anywhere even on the interstate. I live in WV and right now we are getting slammed with snow.

 

Have you run it in 4WD WITHOUT any snow? If you are open diffed you could be spinning one side if you hit the gas too hard, or if there is ice under one side of the rig or the other.

 

X2 but wouldn't it walk more if he was locked? Would a bad front diff mount bushing cause this as well?

 

Yep, it would, but spinning is spinning. Easier if you are locked, but I have seen the footage of the snow everywhere, don't have to be locked to be all over the road I imagine.

And how would the diff bushing cause that? I am interested. Trying to picture this.....

 

Lol so am I, I just I'd throw it up.

 

Oh come on! I thought you had some experience with it! Dang, you got me.

 

I know this yota drive a heck of a lot straighter than my bronco 2 did in the snow. Not to mention my full size bronco did on the highway. Maybe he is just getting bump steer and has a bad stabilizer?

 

I just got the 4runner the other day so I have not ran it in 4 wheel without being in the snow. It only does it when 4 wheel is engaged, I can put it back in 2 wheel with the hubs locked and it feels fine. Very awkward how it sways back and forth. I heard it was probably one of the bushings that was causing that but I have no idea what one. I will prolly need to take it to the shop and have them check out all the bushings but i hate not knowing what the problem is before you take your rig to the mechanic shop cause they always try to jip you. I do notice that it is not spinning because I am going 20 - 30 mph down its not spinning or slipping, the road has about 4 inches of snow.

 

Sounds like you have steering issues caused by loose or worn lower control arm bushings to me, combined with too much toe-out in your alignment. Get it to the shop and have them check your alignment. The snow, and driving in 4wd, are likely amplifying the road feel, making things seem worse than they are.

Assuming you've driven the 4Runner on dry pavement previously, did you notice your tires squealing when making hard turns or U-turns? If so, that's a dead giveaway for too much toe-out.

Welcome to YT, and good luck with your dilemma.

 

Just a supper wild guess... When he puts it in 4wd then his tires switch traction sides combined with somthing like the alignment?? like I said wild theory. More of a question actually =)

 

Mine did that for a few mins. then I cleaned out the rims of all the packed up snow and it drives fine again , seems like the packed snow threw the balance of the wheels off and the ruts in the snow on the road helped pull it back and forth left to right , we have 8-10" on the road in most places around here and it packs up in the rims pretty quick I have been just running in 2wd and have not had much problem getting around

 

Thanks for all your responses guys. I will take it to the shop and get it checked out. About making any sound, I was taking my friend home the other day and when I took off I has making a hard left and he said did you hear your tires squeel, like I was peeling out. I did not hear it but he said he heard it on the passenger side, I was not taking off fast or hard enough to make the tires do that. I have brand new 31x10.50's all season. I paid 3500 for it, 166k miles hope I didnt get hurt to bad on the deal .

 

Nothing is wrong with it... Apoc34 is just worried and very sensitive to a new 4WD IMO.

The Toyota has a gear drive case and IMO when they're in 4WD and on any road surface it shows. I've driven chain drives (even on dry roads) with way less bind than gear driven ones.

It's just the bind trying to unload to the wheel with the least amount of traction on it... And as he's driving it, it's wandering to try and find it.



Hard packed snow? Are there ruts in it?


Did you inspect the front end for ball joint or bearing war?

It's very simple. Hands at 9:00 and 3:00, push the tire in and out. Any play is loose ball joints.

Hands at 12:00 push in and pull out, any play is bearings.

 

The OP says the problem goes away in 2wd.

An unbalanced tire, lose control arm bushing, steering stabilizer, bump steer would happen in 2wd or 4wd. So I think we need to find a problem that ONLY occurs in 4wd.

 

I am going to get all bushings, ball joints, alignment checked today. I will make sure there is no packed snow in the rims etc.. to see if it does the same. There is some packed snow on the road I would say 3 inches packed down. Seems it would sway back and forth if it was the road even in 2 wheel drive with the hubs locked in. To bad i work with Pc's for a living instead of vehicles or this would easy for me lol. Actually this is the first Toyota I have ever owned, I searched for about a month online to see which was the most dependable 4x4 and i came up with the 1984 - 1989 toyota 4runner with the 22re.

 

Howdy apoc. Hey I had a simmilar problem with my 75 blazer, after swapped the rear end with a 91 limited slip, whenever got to the hard road the thing walked like a crab, and was hard to get it off 4x4, only way was to go in reverse a few times. untill one day she decided not to go on 2x4 no mo, now it's allways on 4x4 with locks on. but she runs straight. I think it has to be the transfer case. Why don't ask the p/o if he replaced the r/e? do yerself a favor and don't take it to the corner mech. go to some guy with 4x4 experience. good luck.

 

Hmm that doesnt sound good cause I do have some problems with it going in 2X4 , its very easy to go in 4x4 and at some times if im lucky easy to go in 2wheel drive but most of the time i have a hard time trying to get it to go back in. I thought maybe where I am not used to it and I just have to get the feel for it.

I know its normal if you are on a incline to be hard to get it back out of 4x4 right?

My 03 jeep wrangler has issues going in 4x4 low somtimes so i figured it was normal.

 

oh god....

AGAIN, IT'S A GEAR DRIVEN TRANSFER CASE.... NOT A CHAIN!!!!

No 03 Heep on the planet had a gear drive case, unless it's been modified by the owner to do it...


You can't just flick it in 2H! You have to back up or unlock the hubs... SOMETHING to relieve the pressure the gears have built up.