Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! Gonna get under there today and see what I can find and replace anything that looks worn. Im also gonna go have another alignment done here soon! Thanks again all

 

Not sure if anyone suggested it but wheelers offroad has a nice set of poly bushings for the sway bar and steering rack which may help a little. Otherwise the addco sway bar would make a noticeable difference.

 

Good suggestion in terms of listing possible options, but I recommend against this. I had the poly bushings on my sway bars and they squeaked like crazy (I had the ones you could grease too). Also the poly bushings bind your suspension because they actually have a lot more friction than rubber bushings (poly bushings = cheap bearing; rubber bushings = good bushing).

I was also going to install the poly steering rack bushings, but read that road vibrations and noise increased quite a bit. Increased road vibrations does not mean better/more responsive steering. It is NOT the type of road feel that you want to 'feel'.

Also, most people who replace with poly had shot rubber bushings to begin with (so anything new would feel better). When I replaced my sway bar bushings with new OEM rubber ones I was very pleased with the result.

 

Couple of things....

The greasable bushings have been reported to squeak quite a bit which is why the ones from wheeler are suggested as they have less problems with this (apparently). I have had mine on for awhile now and not a sound out of them.

As far as the increased vibrations and road noise i think that is way over exaggerated. I barely noticed a difference in vibration and absolutely no more road noise than the 4runner already had. Also just an FYI... increased road "vibrations" would actually mean better/more responsive steering as you are gaining input from the truck as it passes over the road and the energy is being passed to the steering wheel not absorbed by the softer rubber bushing (think of a race car where you can feel EVERYTHING).

Poly bushings aren't going to make your truck feel like a sports car but they do last longer and transfer energy a little better, hence why they are used in race applications. The comment about poly bushing being cheap is counter-intuitive as they are used in the most extreme conditions as opposed to rubber ones due to the fact they are better in such applications.

With that said, yes the rubber bushings would be a noticeable difference if yours our shot. If not the poly bushings may be an OPTION. As far as feel and comfort go you are driving a 4Runner and not a Cadillac so its never going to be great.

In my opinion the poly bushings are better for MY application as I like to off road and am constantly in winter(salty) driving conditions where rubber bushings will wear down faster.

As far as the binding goes I have heard this before but with no evidence of such. It certainly sounds possible but if they are greased wouldn't they give just as much? I guess I'm just not sold on this one yet... though could be persuaded...

IMO... Nate

 

maybe its nuthin at all, It's an SUV, and they are usually top heavy.

 

Thanks for the reply, but I stand by my opinions.

Feeling every single vibration doesn't mean better steering. It's feeling the right things and cancelling the wrong things. Excess road vibrations would just lead to driver fatigue. You do want to feel road irregularities for feedback, but feeling every vibration from the road will not give you a more responsive feel, it will just interfere with the important things that you want to feel.

Poly bushings are not used in any real race application that I know of. Most race cars use actual bearings or heim joints. I am a graduate engineering student on a Formula SAE race team and we use heim joints....not a single poly bushing. Although poly seems like a tougher material, it wears out quite quickly (contrary to what most think) and develops slop.

For example, on a rubber sway bar D bushing, the rubber bushing is compressed tightly onto the sway bar so that the bar does NOT rotate in the rubber. Instead the rubber bushing is twisted with the bar. There is very little static friction in that twisting motion leading to much less stiction than a poly bushing. If a poly D bushing was used for a sway bar, it cannot be compressed onto it and the bar is forced to rotate inside of the poly (there is no twisting motion). Hence why I said that a poly 'bushing' acts like a cheap bearing. By saying cheap, I am comparing this to actual bearings. Also polyurethane is a very cheap material....it is easier to form and produce than natural rubber.

Greasing a poly bushing will only temporarly help. Since the poly on steel contact has very high friction, grease helps by forming a thin barrier between the poly and steel lowering the friction. After a few movements, the grease will be pushed out, and the original poly on steel will remain (the grease doesn't last). Also, the grease attracts dirt which enters the poly-steel contact point leading the an accelerated wear of the poly.

Binding is certainly true. When I removed my sway bar after using the poly bushing, I noticed that the black poly had smeared onto the bar meaning there was very high friction. Also, for the rear 5 link live axle suspension, the 4 control arms (not the panhard bar) need to have 3 degrees of freedom to function correctly (it does not just simply rotate about 1 axis). Many add poly to replace these bushings and the hardness of the poly limits the control arms to one rotational axis. This causes binding and sometimes bending or breaking.

If you like your poly bushings for your application, then that is great. I didn't like mine so I went back to rubber. These are my opinions and I guess we all have our preferences.

 

I love my 4Runner on the highway. At 85mph it's very smooth and composed. In turns it doesn't lean or rock excessively. My friends always say that at 80mph it feels like 60. Try driving an Isuzu Rodeo or Grand Cherokee. Those things lean and sway back and forth. Always feel like they are going to rollover off the road.