How would you know if a steering stabilizer is shot, I've never had one go on me before and I think that's what it is. When I hit a bump no matter how small, I get yanked off to the side, and I've also noticed some vibration while accelerating. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

 

Off the vehicle, it's easy to check. Like a regular (not gas-filled) shock absorber, it should have resistance in both directions. A bad one will not have resistance. In fact, that's all it is: A shock absorber!

 

Are the mounting nuts thier? Are they tight? Are the end bushings their and not all rotted out?
Are the stabilizer(s) leaking? Either way. This is a quick and easy job and shouldnt cost all that much.

 

I'd say inspect the whole front end. Even with a bad stabilizer you shouldn't really have any vibrations on acceleration. That sounds more like a steering component.

It's not unusual for an older vehicle to have more than one thing going/gone at the same time particularly if the parts have all been on their for a long time and for relatively the same amount of time. Factory parts, for example.

When I had to replace my idler arm I also found that that two tie rods were shot and the stabilizer, as well. All the original factory parts. So, you may not notice that a number of things are bad until issues compound on one another. I've seen this hanging out and killing time at auto shops, too.

 

Ditto, those are characteristics of a more serious problem.

 

Alright, thanks for the info guys. I guess it's time to start poking my nose into things. I'll post back what I find.

 

I am thinking about going the dual stabilizer route since I run 35's on an IFS 4runner. Which ones do you recommend? I'm sure they're all basically the same?