I have a little wobble Steering dampener?

[ADH8796]

So I have a little wobble in my steering wheel when I hit about 50 miles per hour or so. So I went to my local shop and had them rotate and balance all 4 tires and still I have a little wobble a tech there (my buddy) said he thinks one or more of my tires had worn just a little funny and that's my problem no good way to fix it. So he said if I could get a steering dampener it would probably cut out most any wobble I was feeling in the steering wheel (I agree) however I don't think they make steering dampener's or anything similar to a steering dampener for the 3rd gen Toyota 4runner.

Can anyone confirm this one way or the other? Thanks!

Anthony

[Cheese]

You have rack and pinion steering. No dampener.

Are your rack bushings old and worn?

Is your alignment out of whack?

Is the vibe in the truck or in the wheel?

[ADH8796]

Yeah that's kind of what I was thinking

They haven't been replaced so I should probably get those checked out

Alignment is good

Vibrating is mostly in the wheel from 50-60mph but if I hit 80mph or so I can feel it just a little in the seat.

[Good Times]

if you're experiencing harmonic vibrations, ie coming and going based on how fast you're going then you'll want to inspect your tires again. a bad balance on one wheel can do some hard lovin on your steering as you drive.

check bushing but I'd say it's probably your wheels/tires. got any stockers that you can throw back on to see if you can replicate the symptoms?

[MTL_4runner]

Few items....

First thing for sure is to jack up the truck and check out your steering bushings. If you have any mileage on the vehicle (say over 100k) I would just replace them out of principle because the poly bushings are 1000 times better in terms of taking the play out of the steering wheel.

After you finish the first one, take it to a dealer and get them to do a front end alignment. Often an out of spec toe adjustment or improper camber can also cause the tires to wear funny and give you a wobble that no tire balancing can fix.

Finally if you've done the first two, you need to start trying to isolate which wheel it might be. If you have another set handy or can rotate in the spare tire, that may help as well to figure out which one(s) are to blame.

One question, did this happen all of a sudden or slowly over time?

[ADH8796]

I just put in my order for new steering rack bushings from wheelersoffroad so hopefully that will help or even take care of the problem. I also just had it aligned but will have it re-aligned after I replace the bushing just to be safe.

I really don't know for sure I think it's been a slowly incrasing problem but at first it was just too small to notice very much.

Thanks for the responses!

[MTL_4runner]

I just put in my order for new steering rack bushings from wheelersoffroad so hopefully that will help or even take care of the problem. I also just had it aligned but will have it re-aligned after I replace the bushing just to be safe.

If the bushings were bad then you'll definately need to get it aligned again. Also make sure to specify what settings you want for camber and especially toe (you want 1 degree or less of toe-in) when you do go for an alignment or they won't make any adjustments even if it is on the verge of being out of spec.

[BruceTS]

9 times out of 10 the vibration is due to the wheels, most likely an improper balance job.....