AndrewQ

Hi everyone! I'm new to YotaTech -- what a great resource you've built here. I recently bought a 1991 4Runner 22RE. I've noticed that on the highway the front end seems to drift left and right even though the steering wheel is straight. It's as if the car was tipsy, but I know that alcohol is not the issue because I'm using ethanol-free gas. It's very noticeable at high speeds, 60-70 MPH. Anyway, I've gone over the usual culprits. I put in new inner and outer tie rod ends, new idler arm, checked the ball joints, and took it in to get an alignment. Tires are basically new. The steering does feel a little loose in the first 15-30 degrees of turning the steering wheel either way. I tried to tighten the screw in the steering box, but the screw and the nut are siezed together. I've PB blasted them to see if that helps. However, I don't know if this would cause the drifting. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to what might be causing this issue. Thanks for your time!

scope103

That would be the first thing I would check (and you don't need to even get out of the seat to do it). http://web.archive.org/web/201310211.../3onvehicl.pdf 15° of "loose" is at least twice the spec.

(Do you have a manual? Trying to tighten screws without knowing what you're doing can sometimes lead to bad results.) And who does an alignment without checking for looseness in the steering??

AndrewQ

Hey, thanks for the reply. Without understanding how the steering gear works, I assumed that the wheel movement would be correlated to the steering wheel movement, regardless of how loose the steering felt (i.e. there should be no movement in the weels without movement in the steering wheel).

The guys over at the local Firestone, apparently.

old87yota

x2 on what Scope103 said.

Think of it this way. When you are parked in your driveway, you can move the steering wheel 15+ degrees before the wheels start turning. When you are on the highway, the opposite happens. The wheels can drift what is equal to 15+ degrees of steering wheel movement before the steering wheel starts to move, or before you can "feel" the steering.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

You might want to take your runner to Toyota. They had a recall on the Steering Relay Rod and about 5 years ago Toyota was still honoring the recall on it when I had mine. A good front end shop should be able to tell what is not right on the front end. I would look for another shop myself.

ewong

IMHO

Worn plastic bushings inside the idler arm

if you do NOT have an idler arm brace - its a 10min repair job
I think there are even BRASS replacements that you like last you forever

or - if yer dumb like me and want some bling - get the BLING fix

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...ilizer-140662/

AndrewQ

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I adjusted the steering gear bolt and the steering wheel feels tighter, which is a good thing. Will take it out on the highway today.

Is it also possible that there is some kind of damage to the steering gear box itself, or is that pretty rare?

The idler arm is just a year old, so I would hope that's not the problem. One thing that hasn't been replaced is the steering damper/stabilizer. Could be worth replacing. Any suggestions between Monroe, KYB, and Moog?

ewong

the idler arm business are plastic
They sure as heck can get chewed up fast.
You can pop the top nut and push the rod part down
You don't need to disconnect any of the tie rods, not adjust any.
Its a pretty easy check / repair

AndrewQ

Just wanted to follow up on this post. I ended up adjusting the steering gear a second time to make the steering tighter (it was very loose initially). I also put in a new steering damper that helped reduce the vibration on the highway and off road. Idler arm and pitman arm were still in good shape. I spoke with a co-worker that also has truck and he mentioned that the interstate here in WA is in pretty bad shape and it will make your car feel like it's drifiting/wobbling at times. Anyway, at this point I'm pretty confident that the problem is solved. Thanks for the helpful comments!