chuckwagonjack

This is the first truck that I've owned that was lifted. If I am driving at highway speeds and must turn sharply to avoid something and turn back its...kinda scary. It's overcompensation when returning to driving straight. Realizing it acts like this I am extra careful in these situations. I don't know if this is normal with a lifted truck, but I doubt it. So I would like to know what can be done to eliminate this and make it handle better in situations like this. When I first noticed it when I bought the truck, I brought it to a mechanic that suggested I add two more shocks to the front end. You can see one of them only because the mount for the other one broke and I removed that shock. However, after that modification was done, i noticed little if any difference. Any suggestions anyone?

Wid

Have you replaced your UCA's yet? (Upper Control Arms)

And how big is your lift?

I also had a similar issue on an 89 Jeep Cherokee Sport and it turned out to be completely blown out tie rods, and an improperly adjusted steering box. On these toyota's play can be adjusted out of them to a certain extent. But there are a lot of things people do leave out when they lift their vehicles. I'm just curious on a little bit more history with your truck's front suspension components.

Wid

But I definitely know what you mean man, even my '79 2wd at stock height used to have a mind of it's own. It was nothing compared to these old yota's when they're lifted, but the problem can turn out to be a similar cause. Start simple, go around all of your front suspension/steering components. Inspect for any visible signs of wear, slop in the tie rods, or grease leaking out of joints anywhere.

How much play do you have in the steering wheel before it actually steers? Like when you are driving down the road, and you wiggle it back and forth.

It will more than likely be a combination of issues, rather than one in particular.

I drove a friends 89 that was lifted 6" which was just ridiculous to drive. He rarely did cause he had the same problem you did. But I was much younger and knew a lot less about these things.

gillesdetrail

iTrader: (1)

My 81 is lifted 3'' and it handles very good, not scray at all, tested to 135 kph on a bumpy highway.
Once you have figured you have no play in the steering column shafts (there are 2 I think), no play in the steering box (can be adjusted), tie-rods (you can upgrade to a bigger tie-rod with land cruiser tie-rods, but won't help your problem), knuckles, drag link (can be tightenend too), wheel bearings (adjustable) or shackle bushings, then check your steering geometry. Toe and Caster is the most important to keep the driving feel, proper caster is what is responsible for the fact that the steering wheel comes back by itself when you le go after a turn. By lifting your truck you mess with the geometry, and caster is most affected by shacke length. Usually caster is not adjustable but luckily on our trucks (solid axle) you can use shims to play with it. And this being a 4wd you do not have upper control arms. That double shock idea was probably just a guess by that clueless mecanic, it's obvious it doesn't help, but I don't blame you for trying it.

chuckwagonjack

Great suggestions, you guys. I am not sure how high it is lifted as it was that way when I bought it. And there is no play in the steering wheel. It actually handles quite nicely on the road. The problem only occurs with situations such as avoiding a cow in the road at night that is not seen in time to brake and slowly go around (open range here). It came with some pretty aggressive 33x12 tires that were not really meant for highway driving. About a year ago I put some new 31x10.5 AT's on the truck and it handles MUCH better on the highway. I will try to duplicate the scenario on the highway today and see how it responds after this tire changeover.

chuckwagonjack

Wow. The problem no longer exists. The steering response is excellent on quick sharp steering wheel turn and return. I'll not delete this thread though because of the excellent responses by Wid and Gillesdetrail that may help others.

kawazx636

iTrader: (3)

For one, I would find a new mechanic because anybody that thinks adding extra shocks to eliminate sway a midsize truck is quite frankly an idiot. That is a waste of time and money - why add shocks when it would be cheaper and easier to just replace them with something with a high damper rate? But even still, stiffer shocks won't completely solve the problem.

If you tried Wid's suggestion then I imagine that you would have had a difficult time considering that your truck doesn't have control arms - it's solid axle front end.

I'm not seeing the swaybar links or the torque rod in the picture above (hard to tell with that skid plate in the way) so if it was removed at some point then that could be part of your sway problem, but I never had one on mine and it never bothered me. For what what you've say so far, it doesn't sound like a sway issue as much as it is what I call "steer delay." It can be caused my anything loose in the steering which basically delays your steering action and makes it feel like you have to turn the wheel farther than necessary often resulting in over compensation when you suddenly swerve. Have somebody stand outside of your truck while you turn the wheel while you are parked. Have him tell you when the wheels starts turning as you slowly turn - it should be instantly. If not, it is something in your steering

Here's what I would check
-A worn out or improperly adjusted drag link is usually the culprit. Check to mark sure it is properly adjusted. You can't do this by just jiggling it - you'll have to pull the cotter pins or lock collars (which ever you have) and see if you can tightened tighten it down. Pretty simple to do as long as it isn't siezed up.

-Check the ball on the J-Arm that the drag link attaches to. Sometimes these can come loose and cause play in te steering. Happened to me once so I just welded the back side of the ball secure to the j-arm.

-check the steering box. There is a worm gear that you may need to adjust to remove the play

-Check the tie rod and rod ends for excessive play

-If all of the above fails....you may be digging into the steering knuckles soon. But that is unlikely if you haven't heard any strange noises coming from the front end.


Hope this helps!
Good luck!

ConSeann3ry

Is your torque rod connected? It has to be modified to work with the lift. If people are lazy, like my PO, then it is just not connected and can do scary stuff like steering when you slam on the brakes but is generally ok if you have stiff lift springs.

gillesdetrail

iTrader: (1)

Guys, he said the problem was fixed when he changed the tires to smaller ones But there's good info for future searchers!

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

yes he said the problem has gone away but it is weird how these things pop up again when you think you have it beat.

if it shows up again- consider new spring bushings, bearings ....
my truck was awesome after doing a complete front end service.