4Runner rear end feels off balance? :(
 

I came down hard on a root last summer and ever since the rear end has fealt wierd, like its off balance and something feels off in the right rear wheel area.

Any ideas what I should look at or where I should begin to diagnose this?

your going to need to provide a better description other than it feels weird and off balance. What are u experiencing? vibrations? if so what speed? turning or straight? Have you cehcked the tire for bubbles? Checked to see if the rim is bent?

I've checked very little with it being cold out till this week here. There is a little vibration but I haven not had a balancing in a long long time so I figured that's what it was.

When you say check the tire for bubbles do you mean in the sidewall?

I would go do a visual inspection and make sure non of your links on the axle are broken off.

I have seen more than one factory welds to break on 2nd gen 4runner housings.
Just take a look and see whats going on.

Will do, I'll take a pic or two also since I don't really know what I I'm looking at back there. I know what a lot of things are but not the joints etc.

Maybe you bent your axle housing

Could be it, I'll look at that too.

I would check the easy stuff first..Make sure the bellcranks(search) are not frozen and are working properly...next pull the drum and inspect for oil leakage/wheel bearing problem(gets on shoes and swells them causing vibrations problems).If it is leaking..and you want to fix it for good,you will have to have the bearing pressed on and off and most critically THE AXLE RETAINER MUST BE #####REPOSITIONED##### CENTER OF THE AXLE SEAL/OR DOUBLE-UP ON RETAINERS THAT SEAL TO THE AXLE SEAL OR IT WILL LEAK AGAIN.....I FOUGHT MINE FOR A LONG TIME,BREATHERS AND JUST NEW SEALS IS A TEMP FIX AT BEST!

It got better as it got warm out and I forgot about it. I'll go take pics today and am going to get a grease gun as that defiantly needs doing also.

I had my front calipers and rotors replaced recently, I need to take it back for a 500 mile check up and adjustment this week. Should I ask them to check the rear drums for the problem you talked about while I am there? Brakes and suspension and automatic trans/diff problems I have NO experience with so this will be a learning experience.

Dunno if this has come up yet but what about your panhard bar? Have you checked that out?

I think I know what that is but not 100%, is that the thick bar on the back of the axle housing?

I went out to take pics but the site will not let me upload them. I hit submit and it processes them but then I look at my album and there is nothing there and no space has been used!

Yeah that's the one. It keeps your axle perpendicular to the frame/body of the truck. When people install lifts on their trucks some buy the panhard drop kit. Without it, depending on how high the lift is, the axle has a tendency to 'rotate' and sometimes either the right or left rear wheel ends up moving more towards the front of the truck. Dunno if you have a lift or not, but a faulty panhard bar could be the cause of your rear instability regardless of if you have a lift or not

If I had to guess that's what it would be, that's exactly what I imagine happening now when I think about how it feels.

When I was under the 4runner the other day taking the pics (still can't upload, I'd like to help you guys help me!) I noticed the springs look a lot newer than the rest including the shocks which look in a bad way.

Its actually not my truck its my fathers but he is getting old and does not seem to mind keeping it insured and letting me use it as my own for the past 5 years. I promised to either but it from him or show it for sale since he is basically letting me use it for free for years on end. I also do anything that requires towing, felling trees and pulling stumps/fallen trees, moving big furniture etc. So I don't know its full history or what has been replaced.

The diff and trans look good and are not leaking or visually bad from the outside, the shocks are actually starting to rust and so are a lot of the various bars that I don't know the names of.

I took it to toyota today and they looked at it for an hour and a half and charged me $80 to tell me the tires are the wrong size (thanks dad! :oops:)

I drove the mile home and it still feels ed up majorly (they said the two test drives they fealt nothing off, must be comfortably numb at toyota!)

Once home I jacked the rear and poked around not seeing anything off underneath and no play in anything really. Then I spun the wheels with the rear end in the air, and in the left rear axle area there is a metal on metal shearing noise.

I mentioned that there was NO torque to the right rear wheel but they just said its not posi traction and so its normal (I still don't think so!!).\

I called them back and they said they'd look at it for free... on monday!

Toyota screwed up a second time and were incapable of feeling or finding the problem I lead them to. I took it to a place I like and they found the axle bearing was totally fuxed on the right side.

This reaffirms my belief that all dealerships are incompetent.

Call the dealership and complain.

Took this vid today, I have my ideas on whats broken but want some feedback.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cwjSd215FQ