Hello all. I have owned my 4runner for a year or so now and ever since I have gotten it, it seems very unstable at freeway speeds/taking turns with any kind of speed. Its a 4x4 so I don't expect it to handle like a sports car, but I would like it to be better than it is. I was wondering what I should get checked out, or what parts I could get that would help out with this problem? I was looking at also doing a little bit of a lift (like 2-3 inches) in the near future as well, so if I can maybe kill two birds with one stone that would be great! If anyone can help me out with any information/suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

 

When you say unstable, are you talking about body roll, leaning, feeling top heavy? You should check to see if the prior owner disconnected the sway bars. That would cause roll and lean when cornering.

 

It almost feels like im gonna tip over when I take turns at any kind of decent speed. Top heavy would be a good way to describe it, almost like the suspension cant hold the weight of the car through the turn. Like if I am on the freeway and it curves a good amount, it feels "sketchy" for lack of a better term.

 

Sorry if my description is not very good, its just hard to explain. I just feel the car does not feel very solid when I am at freeway speeds and through hard turns.

 

Or maybe just an alignment issue. When was the last time you had an alignment? Are the tires wearing evenly? Air pressures up to par?

 

ADDCO sway bars FTW!

 

If the sway bar endlink is broken, this is what it will look like:



The best way is to buy some quick disco endlinks from WabFab.org. Awesome product and stout (not flimsy like the OEM ones).


And yes, I know I should've cut it down so the brake line didn't catch...

 

Thanks all! Any more opinions keep them coming as I greatly appreciate them. I just had an alignment not to long ago, and it did not seem to help the problem.

 

Have you ever owned a SUV before? If you came from a smaller car or any car for that matter it may just be the difference in vehicle dynamics you are use to. I know my 4runner handles well for what it is but it is an older SUV and it doesn't like speed in corners. If your going to do a 2-3 inch lift your only going to make matters worse if "top heavy" is your complaint.

 

Tires okay then? Stock size?

How are those shocks? Does the truck dive when you brake hard?

Did you get the printout from the alignment and have them explain it to you?
(that is how I have learned a bit about toe in and caster and camber and so on)

Is this your first rear wheel drive vehicle perhaps? Front wheel Integra would feel radicallly glued to the pavement compared to our trucks....( have to admit I kind of miss my front wheel drivers)

Maybe it is your hood scoop-you got the hood scoop? that will mess you up every time-best just sell that hood to me.....

 

Well since it is an 01 you most likely have a few items contributing to the overall cause. As mentioned, check out your sway bar and endlink bushings, front and rear, as these tend to degrade and cause slop. You can easily replace these with polyurethane ones which do firm things up noticeably. You can also upgrade the sway bay to the addco, but unless you are all street or have the extra cash laying around it wouldnt be my priority.
Next, stock suspension. If you are running the original equipment then that truly is adding to the slop and sway. Looking at the 01 and 02 suspension, its somewhat (in my opinion) a weak link on those years. By upgrading to a firmer shock you will notice major differences in handling compared to a worn out OEM setup. A lift does increase you centre of gravity, but using the right (and quality) components you can still have a very responsive and controlled vehicle which can exceed the OEM equipment.

 

I didn't get a printout or anything. Maybe Ill go in and have another alignment done to make sure everything is good! Im running stock tire size and they have good tread left so I do not think it would be those. Im looking into the sway bars as I do not really offroad it that much. What suspension would you suggest I look at to stiffen the suspension up and make it ride better? Thanks again all

 

And I have owned other SUV's and they never had issues in turning/stability as I do with the 4runner. I love this car though, so now ive decided to just do what needs to be done to fix the problem.

 

Well now that you know the possible causes to the issue, you now should become acquainted with.....https://www.yotatech.com/search.php

 

The most obvious explaination is the swaybar endlink. I haven't read that you've actually looked under your car and inspected them. The fronts have problems, the rear not so much.

Check the bushings as well. They could be gone. The endlinks and the frame mounts both use rubber bushings that will fade.

Other than that, theres no real explaination for excessive body roll unless your springs are shot. I really don't see how an alignment would have any issue with this.

 

I would check all of the sway bar links etc. first, especially if you are going to do the lift in the near future. After a lift it will need to be re-aligned anyway, and there's no point in spending good money twice. I have run 2 different spacer lifts on my '99, and it stiffened the ride somewhat. It is only a little harsh going over bigger speedbumps, but I have no problem with mine feeling unstable at speed or in corners, such as hurrying through a left hand turn at an intersection when traffic is going faster than you thought. It is by no means cadillac soft, but the handling trade off was way worth it in my opinion. My brother has a stock '99, and it feels alot more tippy when i ride in it.

Good luck though.

 

Thanks all for the help! Ill take a look under the car tomorrow and see what I can find.

 

My 4Runner tipped because I didn't have a swaybar and I needed to swerve suddenly. Get under your vehicle and look at the front AND rear swaybars and endlink.

 

If you have time, you might want to disassemble the front sway bar to fully inspect the D bushings and endlink bushings. Mine looked good from the outside, but after I removed by D bushings I noticed that the center portion was totally worn through. The bushings from Toyota are not expensive, so if there is any sign of wear you might as well just replace them.

You can check the rear bar too, but when I checked mine, I found that the bushings were fine. I think the front tends to wear out quicker.

 

sounds more like alignment issue or busted spring

a disconnected swaybar doesn't feel all that bad on the highway
--
but alignment toe or caster being just a little off will make it feel like
an itchy bear cub on the highway.