UPDATE in this post below: Bent Frame?
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I just purchased a 2000 limited and I am worried it is a lemon...

When I go over bumps or holes the steering wheel shudders and the truck swerves a bit to the left. Additionally, the tires are unevenly worn and the steering wheel is off center.

The steering and suspension are all tight according to the shop that inspected it. They said the alignment looked okay as well.

They suggested I take it to a frame alignment shop and have it checked out for frame damage in the front. However,previous owner didn't mention any accidents...

I plan to check out the steering bushings/guides ASAP, but with your experience, should I check the frame out? Or is it likely just the bushings/guides?

Really concerned right now :O

Post some pics of the top of the fender where it mounts to the body with some bolts underneath the hood. Take some good quality ones and close ups of the mounting bolts.

How is the sway bar links and is it lifted and if so how is it lifted


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I will do that first thing tomorrow morning when its light out. Both sides or just the drivers?


I haven't checked the sway bar links but I assume they did that in the inspection. I will have a look myself.
It is 100% stock

Is it ok to support one side of the truck at one point mid way down the frame? I did this by accident once on a block of wood. I think one wheel on that side was still touching the ground.

IS every body panel has the same VIN number?

I didn't know that was a thing...where is the VIN usually stamped on the fenders and hood?

I would replace the lower ball joints ASAP. mtbtim has a good video showing how to do it.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-ge...ml#post2329586

Both sides. An often overlooked way to guess if there has been bodywork is to look at the bolts that mount the fender and see if the paint has been scratched or doesn't match. That means the fender came off at some point and was either replaced or they took it off to realign the frame. Also VIN numbers are stamped on the inside of the front fenders. On the hood it's underneath also. It might be under the heat shield, I cant remember off the top of my head.

The alignment shop should have adjusted your steering wheel position as part of the check. Any wrinkles in the metal of the inner fenders?


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it would suck if the steering components are bad cuz you said a shop had already looked at it. A 2nd opinion never hurts.

Doubt the frame is bent. What is more likely is that the steering and/or suspension parts are worn out. If your inner or outer tie rods have play in them a "bump" would cause to to shift and all of a sudden your steering isn't straight. The fact the wheel is off too only points to those tie rods.

If you are mechanically inclined, I would replace lower ball joints and inner/outer tie rods AFTER you check for play. All of these can be easily found by searching for the write-ups on our site on how to do it.

If not, take it to a shop you trust and specifically have them look at the ball joints and alignment. Also have them look at the sway bar end links, though this is not so noticable unless you have "body roll" on turns or say when changing lanes on the highway.

From what I read I think problems with the rear sway bar contributes to this. My front one broke off and I haven't fixed it yet and it's normal driving on the highway.

Sounds like worn out lower control bushings to me. As gamefreakgc said, these trucks get worn out in the front end with higher milage. What is your milage? A classic sign of worn lower control arm bushing is that it will shift the steering over a bump. A good alignment technician would notice bad bushings when they were doing the alignment but since they did not even straighten the steering...

I am mechanically inclined so I will check the ball joints and tie rod ends.
I hope it is either of those because the lower control bushings sound like a pain.
It has 181,000 miles so it's definitely getting up there

If I do lower ball joints, should I also do upper?

Upset that I went to an incompetent shop trying to save myself time...