Before i start repairing all of the suspension parts, i would like to isolate the possible causes of a rather severe side to side sway that starts at 60+ MPH on the highway. This swaying is not continuous, but frequent none the less. I am running NEW and balanced Bridgestone Dueler Revo's, and next to new Tokico Trekmasters (Green). Alignment appears to be dead nuts on (let go of the wheel and it tracks straight) unless the roll starts then who knows where... Its not the rotors cause i'm not braking. I have 178K miles on this 98 Runner, so i would expect that replacing some bushings up front might be necessary, but i am not sure what else to look for. THoughts????
Thanks in advance.

 

Are your sway bars installed & connected?

 

Yes, they are in and i can't see anything out of the ordinary... But i'm certainly no expert. After some more thought, could the alignment/toe-in still be off even though it appears to be running straight?

 

You are experiencing severe intermittent swaying at speeds above 60 mph. In other words, it is not constant, (meaning it does not occur in a predictable fashion), and it does not occur at low speeds. Interesting.

You are sure that the tires are new and balanced, the truck is aligned properly, and the rotors are fine.

Perhaps it's not a mechanical problem. Not trying to be a smart a$$ but how is the weather in your location? Windy by any chance? Gusts can cause a significant sway. Does it occur on a specific portion of the road? A slight grade is meant to direct water away from the center of the road, and sometimes the cement/asphalt is laid differently on one portion to the next. Sometimes the difference is audible and you can hear when the cement/asphalt changes.

Is there anything else you notice about this swaying? Sounds? Vibrations?

 

Tires were balanced this morning...i should have checked alignment again, as this might be the cause. The swaying is severe enough that safety is a concern (and i am definitely not one to harp on safety); it is definitely an issue with the vehicle and not the road, as it does this everywhere when travelling at higher speeds. It might have the problem at lower speeds as well, but its undetectable. Wondering if i should look into one of those "anti-sway" kits? Aren't they generally used for larger size tires/lifts than my stock ride w/265/75/16 tires?

 

Most likely your shocks/struts are worn out...

 

I am running NEW Trekmasters...could it be the springs?

 

Any chance they're faulty?!? Have you bounced the front a couple times to see how quickly it settles? (Granted, the odds of multiple struts being faulty has got to be quite slim.)

 

Try inspecting the connections to the front and rear sway bars. Check the D bushings that attach the sway bar to the frame (mine looked good, but after I took the D bushings out, I noticed the center portion was totally worn out). Check the sway bar connection to the endlinks. Some people here have reported broken endlinks and/or loose and worn out bushings. Good luck!

 

also check the bushings on the steering rack. I have heard of people up grading them to poly bushings. also check the steering stabilizer. Hope this helps.

My 95 will do it a little if i pull the wheel back and forth but i think is is just the steering stabilizer as i do not have rack and pinion steering.

 

This certainly isn't helping...i wonder if this is the whole cause of my troubles or just part of it?

I inspected the end-links and they appear to be solid, but i am not sure if they are intalled correctly; the bottom part that connects to the frame is sharply angled towards the frame where it is connected. Without seeing another end-link, i can't tell if this could be an issue or not. It seems to me that parked on level driveway that this joint should be in a more neutral position. Hope this makes sense...

 

Well i just broke down and ordered the following from Wheeleronline: "96-02 4Runner Polyurethane Steering Rack Bushing Kit ES8-10101G-1 : 1 : 16.95 4Runner Anti-Sway Kit : 1 : 23.95"

Hope this does the trick. Thanks for the advice

 

With that many miles the bushings and joints in just about every suspension component are suspect. If several components have mild wear they could be working together to induce the sway. Take it to a trusted wrench and have them put it on a lift to check for worn or loose components. Once correctly diagnosed, you can save a few bucks and do the work yourself.

 

Lot of great advice in this one. As mentioned before does it only happen on certain sections of road? There are sections of freeway in my area where both my '05 and '81 act as if they have problems. These areas have visible ruts in the pavement..
Hope you find it, tracking down issues like this can be a pain in the butt...

 

Lot of great advice in this one.
As mentioned before does it only happen on certain sections of road? There are sections of freeway in my area where both my '05 and '81 act as if they have problems. These areas have visible ruts in the pavement..
Hope you find it, tracking down issues like this can be a pain in the butt...

edit: sorry about the double post, thought I just edited the first post...operator, head space and timing issues I guess...

 

That D bushing in the picture you attached is definately bad. You should replace it. I just replaced my sway bar bushings with Toyota rubber ones because the aftermarket polyurethane ones squeaked and never fit quite right. That bushing may be the cause of your swaying because if the bushing is worn (as yours is in the picture), the effectiveness of the sway bar is reduced because it is free to move around too much. Also you should check the condition of the rear sway bar bushings and endlinks if you haven't already.

In my opinion, if the swaying is a rocking of the vehicle side to side (like someone bouncing on the running boards and rocking the vehicle) and not a wandering of the vehicle on the road, I don't think it is the steering rack bushings. Since you have new balanced tires and shocks, and you say that the vehicle tracks very straight, the only other thing I can think of is maybe a loose body mount?

 

^^^Exactly what I was thinking!!^^^^

Check the loose body mount possibility.

James

 

I have a similar problem, brand new tires (BFG A/T 265/75/16) and a 4runner that pulls around at speed on its own. The pavement does cause some of this but not all.

My 4runner at the moment has some odd characteristics that I am sure are not helping the situation. I have OME 891?s on the back and a stock front which produces about 1 ? 1.5 inches of rake (mine is a 99). The stock front will be changed as soon as I can get time to put on the parts but the front spring and struts are still ok. I also have the same issue with the sway bar bushings, mine look almost exactly like yours.

I did have the 4runner aligned when the tires went on but I am not convinced that it?s aligned correctly. It will be aligned again immediately following the front spring/strut swap. Also, the new tires are very square. It seems to me that after a few hundred miles the tires are rounding out a little and the pulling problem is a little better.

I am not sure what exactly is going on but my thought is that the alignment in combination with the new tires (breaking in) is what caused the drifting?at least this is what I am hoping. We?ll see what happens when I swap the suspension and have it realigned.

I am curious to hear how the new bushings work out.

 

I would say you are doing yourself a favor by doing the sway bar and steering rack at the same time. I would look into your ball joints in the front end, rear sway bar bushings and like someone mentioned, the body mounts.

 

did this resolve your problem? ive got some bad sway at highway speed and safety is an issue with me also.