after going through a set of 33x10.50 BFG all terrains in under 30000 miles i am ready to do a little work on the IFS to help make a new set of tires last a little (hopefully a lot) longer. ive done some homework and came up with some ideas but im not sure if i am missing anything that should be done.
the 1993 4runner is pushing 185000 miles so things are wearing out... naturally.
heres the current plan.
-total chaos idler arm.
-OME steering stabilizer.
-new tie rod bushings.
-new sway bar bushings all the way around.
- i am also going to go with a skinnier tire. once i get the front end all buttoned up it will get an alignment and some new 33x9.50 BFG ATs. i think the skinnier tire will wear better then the fatter one.
i know the TC idler arm is over kill but it looks darn cool and i am attracted to the fact that i will not have to worry about it ever again. so just a few questions.... i am not sure where to get new bushings. i dont want to go the rubber route so ive been serching for polyurathene(sp?) ones. is there some kind of package i can get that covers everything or do i need to buy them all seperately? part numbers?
am i missing anything that i should replace to tighten up the steering and help prolong the live of my favorite tires?

i hate to put money into the junk IFS but a SAS isnt an option. i should also note that the tires were rotated often...so the uneven wear and short live of the old tires was not due to neglect.
discuss....

 

go to suspensionconnection.com and look at their complete poly bushing kit. little pricy but worth it.

 

TC idler arm is a good investment IMHO.

Our rigs don't have tie rod bushings. Might be why your having problems finding them. Tie rod ends are available at any autoparts store.

Sway bar bushings won't help your tire wear. Heck, if you 'wheel, you may as well ditch the front swaybar and never look back.

My guess is your tire wear issues are due to a "non-optimal" alignment after your balljoint spacers.

NOTE: the 33x9.50 looks MUCH narrower than the 10.50. Personally, I would stick with the 10.50.

 

pics of the worn out tires would help in determining the cause. so would tread depth readings (outer/outer center/inner center/inner or outer/center/inner)

but my guess is alignment and/or a heavy left foot (i do it too)

 

a heavy left foot, so you push the clutch in alot haha, you mean either a heavy lead foot or a heavy right foot lol

 

ive had two sets of tires since the ball joint spacers and an estimated 3 or 4 alignments since the ball joint spacers were installed so i dont think thats the problem. ill have to get a picture of the "tie rod bushings" im talking about. there is a rubber piece where the tie rod connects to the nuckle and another rubber piece where the upper tie rod (i dont know if that has a technical name) connects to the steering box. are these tie rod ends? again ill get some pics up in a bit. as for the sway bar...im aware it doesnt affect the steering but i figured if i was replacing bushings anyway i might as well do the sway bars. if i removed the front sway bar would i get a lot of body roll? the truck sees more pavement then dirt espically this time of year. as for the 33x9.50's do you think they will wear better then the 10.50's? thats really the only reason why i thought about going skinnier. the 10.50's also rub a tiny bit at full turn on my sway bar, not a big deal but a nucance.




i do have a heavy right foot. that 3.slow is so weak i find myself flooring it quite a bit. but i dont spin the tires very often...if ever. ill work on some pics of the tires as well. but all 4 (due to rotations) have heavy wear on the outside of the tire and less wear on the inside of the tire.

thanks a lot for all the comments. much appreciated.

 

if its wearing on your outsides, its not tire rotations that cause that. could be low tire pressures or camber. just my 2 cents

 

byron that rubber on the tie rod ends you're talking about is just a boot to keep out trash like dust and dirt.

 

That's assuming the alignment was done properly, and IMHO, these days, that's not a safe assumption - especially when it concerns camber. Forget about caster ...

I agree with the above that what you are likely referring to are the boots.
Here's the diagram:
http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...g/16steer0.pdf

I hardly even noticed when my front swaybar broke... now removing both the front AND rear leads to a significant increase in body roll.

I think they will wear the same if you get the root cause issue worked out of why the tire isn't sitting square and wearing the outside edge. Technically, the 10.50 might wear longer because it is spreading the load over more rubber.

 

I have resisted comment on this subject for a long time.....here it goes.....flame suit on!

A front swaybar should be considered a safety item.....yes I said it.....SAFETY!
If you did a real world road course test with and without the swaybar you would see why I say that.
If you do mainly street driving leave it on.
If you have to do ANY medium and/or high speed maneuver to avoid something (say something falling off a truck on the highway) you will definitely want it on there.....it could save you and your truck lots of pain.
Also, it is usually considered a very bad idea to remove the front bar and leave the rear one on, your front will "sway" and the rear won't which usually leads to a spin-out condition.
My front mount broke on my truck and I noticed a difference in the very first turn that I took at 35mph that something was wrong, I thought it was a bad shock.
I find it very hard to believe that anyone who drives a mostly stock suspension truck on the street often would not notice a big difference in handling.
My best suggestion is for you to buy the new parts and remove the swaybar.....drive it for a day, put the bar back on with the new parts and than see what I mean.......you'll notice it, trust me!

 

Welcome. We are now a team of two. I've been expounding for some time now against swaybar removal. Mostly, I fear, to an unresponsive audience.

 

ok, how do i know if im getting a "proper" alaignment? i always get the sheet of paper from the shop that tells me what the caster/camber was...and then what it is set to. so an i getting the impression that i do not need to replace tie rod ends? maybe just the idler arm and steering stablizer?

 

If your tires are wearing evenly you have no issue with alignment or steering components (provided there is also no vibration).

I'll regret saying this:
Try going twice as long without rotating you're tires it'll give you a better idea of what kind of issue you "may" have.

It sounds to me as if the tires are just wearing normally. A/T's and M/T's never last 30,000 miles IMX(I'm lucky to get 25k out of mine). Save you're money and buy a better tire cheaper (IMO BFG A/T's are way too overpriced and overhyped) Like a Cooper or Bridgestone. Personally the cheapest A/t's I've ever ran (Winston's no less) had less noise and better off road capabilities than the BFG A/T

Oh and +1 for not removing the Swaybar you dont know the meaning of "body roll" until one brakes in a turn at 60+ MPH

 

I think I may have figured out the "remove your swaybar and you'll die a fiery death in a rollover accident" thing!

EVERYONE who says don't take it off drive a truck. EVERYONE who says it's OK drives a 4Runner. The difference? 4Runners have a swaybar on the rear, so you still have one after you take the front off ... where the trucks don't have a swaybar in the rear, so they go from one to none - and that WILL result in a lot of body roll!

Anyways, the way to tell is to get the printout. You can post the results up here and make sure they're OK.

 

heres the sheet from the most recent alignment(i think) to be honest i dont really know what the numbers mean...

 

Why no toe measurements after?

 

probably because they want you to buy more tires...
me personally i watch everyone that works on my vehicle, wether i trust them or not, i like to know what was done and or what to do if they fix/adjust something..

 

I run without a swaybar on my truck and have no problems. I'm by no means slow on mountain roads either. There is barely more body roll, but I do agree with the guy that said in an emergency if you yank on the wheel you'll roll over. I'd just add that you'll roll over quicker, if your the type that reacts abruptly and violently to a situation, you're going to roll over anyway.