Steering issue on 85 4Runner.

[jjdavids]

I have a fairly serious wabble when braking. It only occurs when slightly turning left and breaking at speeds above 35 mph. I've had the rotors turned and the steering feels tight. Anyone experience anything like this?

Thanks in advance for any help. -- Justin

 

[valkyrie]

Check your lugnuts, knuckle studs, relay & tie rod ends for play and rear drums for warpage first- easy eliminations.

 

[jjdavids]

I didn't think about the drums. Everything else seems ok.

 

[valkyrie]

Only reason that pooped in my head was from driving a friends Taco a couple days ago and that turned out to be his issue... a brake shop can stick one on a cutter and probably visually see warpage, or you may end up having to do it the less desireable way- throw parts at it until you fix it.

 

[MtnToys]

Do you have the stock steering and suspension? Do you feel the wobble in the steering wheel, brake pedal or the whole truck?

 

[jjdavids]

It's primarily in the steering wheel, but depending on how fast I'm going, the whole truck will shake. It still has stock steering.

 

[Wheelingnoob]

It's primarily in the steering wheel, but depending on how fast I'm going, the whole truck will shake. It still has stock steering.

I would look at all your Tie rod ends and check the steering for any play. Also look as the shackle bushings all of those can cause death wobble.

 

[ntsqd]

The ends of the relay rod wear and are adjustable. Do you have any lost motion in the steering wheel? Say more than 1/16 turn? If so then I'd dig out the FSM and go through the relay rod end adjusting procedure. It's not complicated, I just don't happen to remember how to do it.

 

[MtnToys]

Adding to whats already been mentioned, check the torque rod (traction bar) for any play.

 

[Scenic WonderRunner]

I will just throw out my current experience.


I've had a shimmy and a pull to the right and I can feel it at my steering wheel, in my 4Runner.

I had a low speed shimmy and a high speed shimmy. Worse when braking.

Today I had my tires rotated with an oil change. The pull to the right stopped. And the shimmy stopped.

I am suspecting that my tires are Old. And there is tread separation occurring.

~~~~

This very same thing just happened to me in my 1976 Cadillac El Dorado. The shimmy was so bad, that on cold mornings, that the car would shake side to side! The factory code numbers on the old tires could have put the old ones in the mid 1980's mfg. point in time! Yet they looked like new, with no tread wear.....YIKES!

I put brand new Coopers on the El Dorado in Feb. 2010 and the shimmy stopped. And the pull to the right stopped. I've had more than one shop tell me this is tread separation.


Sometimes, it can be the tires. Check the MFG. Date Code on the Sidewall.




.

 

[jjdavids]

And the winner is..... Tires!

Had a small bulge on the inside of the front drivers side tire. So small you couldn't feel it.

The bright side is, I get to buy new tires!