Truck Reacting Poorly to Bumps in Road

Hey guys,

Recently bought a 99 4x4. The truck rides a bit rough and reacts poorly to bumps. Sometimes I will hit a bump in the road and the steering angle changes, causing me to have to counter steer. This is absolutely terrifying, especially if you are going 60+ mph. The steering is also pretty loose, and has a lot of play.

For the poor reaction to bumps in the steering, I am guessing that steering rack bushings are the root of my issue. I am planning on replacing them in the near future.

For the rough ride, I am guessing that the shocks need to be replaced (which gives me another reason to get some 5100s)

What does everyone think? Does this diagnosis sound correct?

Zach

 

The 1st gen tacomas have serviceable steering rack bushings, very common and will cause bump steer like you describe.

Have someone shake the steering wheel back and forth and check the tie rods and steering rack movement on the ground.

 

Thanks for the input. I just watched a guy on youtube replace his steering rack bushings. Looks like a pretty easy job. I will definitely have someone shake the wheel and I'll look for play in the rack / tie rod ends.

 

What vehicle are you comparing the rough ride with?

A empty truck is going to have rougher ride just going from my 4Runner to Tacoma is a big difference

I have learned to slow down for the huge holes we have in our roads.

Then Coal dirt is not good fill material for building roads

 

How many miles do you have on it? I replaced steering rack bushings, UCA and LCA bushings all with energy suspension poly bushings and it tightened everything up. Granted, you could feel every little bump due to stiffer bushings than the OEM soft rubber with 200k+ miles, but I prefer that instead of a soft/unresponsive suspension and steering.

 

OP, are the bumps in your roads as bad as the bumps i have to put up with currently
more than 10 mile stretch of this on I-80, random holes everywhere through the city for what seems like years now, got real real bad last year and they will not fix them yet, not sure what they are waiting for! its hazardous af

how the heck would you slow down for this situation pic above when the big trucks and other vehicles wish to go 75+ in a 65, this road is shot and heavy through traffic, off freeway roads are not any better lol


i see SO MANY vehicles off the side of the road now with blown out tires

 

HOLY cow @GQ7227, that's bad. Like real bad

 

its so bad that I often see pickup trucks / trailers / dumptrucks with unsecured loads bouncing over these and sometimes stuff hops out onto the road with fast moving traffic behind

 

It only has 134k

 

Your UCA and LCA bushings are probably alright, at worst a little bit of age related dry cracking. I would take a look at them while you're under there, but I think you're looking at the right stuff. Check out Timmy's videos, he is an excellent resource.

 

have you checked the condition of the LBJs, either personally or professionally?
i would be skittish about hitting a bump in the road and one of them breaking at highway speeds
it worries me often at about the same mileage as you


some places offer a free/complimentary alignment inspection, have you checked out for something like that locally to you?

 

Just had that done. Ball joints are in great shape. At this point I am almost positive that it is steering rack bushings. The previous owner just replaced the UCA and LCA bushings.

What about tire pressure? Can't that cause some bump steer?

 

Tire pressure not so much, its more of a faint spongy feeling than what you are describing. Noticed it more when changing load ratings on tires than air pressure. You're not running at 10psi down the highway are ya?

While you're under there checking the steering rack, open up the inner boot and check your inner tie rods. Cheaper and easier to replace than the whole rack. The power steering racks I've bought from the local parts store had inner ball joints included.

 

Be sure to verify that one of your sway bar links is not broken. That will cause a lot of bouncy-jouncy... You may hafta lift the wheels off the ground to do that (Been there, done that)

Then have somebody get in the cab and when you tell them to, rock the steering wheel ever so slightly while you look at the intermediate shaft from the bottom of the steering column to the rack. When it just starts to move, see if the tie rods are also moving:

1. If the tie rods move as soon as the shaft moves, then you have no looseness in the steering rack.
   
   
2. If the tie rods do not move when the intermediate shaft moves, it's a sure sign of looseness in the rack. Could be inner tie rods but most likely it isn't.

I don't think that tire pressure has much to do with it unless the difference is more than 10 to 15 psi.

 

they will fix the road only after an 18 wheeler kicks that angle iron up and it goes through the windshield and kills someone.

 

What PSI do you run in your tires? When I first got my truck it was stock with 24k miles on it, the dealer put 55psi in the E rated all terrain tires and every small bump in the road felt like the truck was going to lose control, especially in the rear. Tires had way too much air in them, at 30 - 35psi it made all the difference.

At 134k miles though you might be looking at time to replace the steering rack bushings, tie rods, lower ball joints, etc. Depending on their condition. Bushings wear out over time even if their mileage is relatively low.

 

I believe I am running about 40. I will maybe go down to 30 and see if the ride is better

 

Thanks for the advice. I will do that today and keep y'all posted as to what it is. I'm leaning more and more towards steering rack bushings