Just a quick question to point me in the right direction. My steering wheel vibrates at 60-80 on the Hwy. Is there a specific issue that my 98 4runner has that would cause this or should I just rebalance tires and check alignment?

98 4Runner 4x4 Limited 150k miles, all stock

Thanks!

Also forgot to mention that the tires are wearing on the inside quite a bit. I just bought the rig and the previous owner put goodyear tracker 2 tires on from Walmart! Should I suspect that the tires are crappy and the alignment and balance is very poor or would you think ball joints are worn and front end suspension/steering components should be checked?

The most likely cause is wheel imbalance. You can try swapping the fronts to back to isolate a bad wheel. Probably best to take it down and have all four balanced at a good tire shop like Les Schwab.

Bad alignment will show up as unusual tire wear so check them closely.

balance tires. you will battle this forever if u remotely get ur truck dirty.

I assume you checked tire pressure first of all. Then you should check your rack bushings because it seems most of us have had to do this and it is a cheap and easy check. Just get under the driver's side and observe the rack while you (or a two-year old assistant) jerks the wheel back and forth. The rack should remain almost immobile.

To cure my vibration, I did shocks, rack bushings, new tires, wheel balancing and front end alignment. All were needed and each seemed to raise the speed of onset of vibration by 5 mph. or so. Now it's steady up to 95 mph or so, which is fine.

To diagnose the suspension, lift the front end and check each wheel for play at the vertical and the horizontal. The first suggests ball joints and the second suggests tie rod or rack issues.

Hey man. I got my 98 4runner about 2 months ago. Have the same problem. Iv done a ton of reasearch. Its really common. This link should save you some time and money.

Vibration Problems

I had my front end aligned twice and the tires balanced three times with no difference. Its because most shops do a hub centric tire balance. The 3rd generation 4runner needs a lug centric balance. The article talks all about it, and tells you what machine should be used to do the balance. I did a search and found one near here. Cost about $15 per tire. hopefully this helps

Ill check the front end for rack and ball joint wear first then probably find the right type of balance and have the wheels re-balanced and alignment done. I seem to have both abnormal wear on the tires as well as a possible balance issue. Although, at hwy speed the truck doesnt vibrate and you cannot feel the shake, the only place you can feel the shake is in the steering wheel.

Went in and had tires re-balanced and alignment checked.... Needless to say, Walmart had tried to balance the wheels using the hubcentric method, my toyota dealer has the adapter and the proper road force balance and fixed the problem, no vibration anymore...

Something weird though, the technician and service rep said that even when balance is right and alignment is good, the T4R's are tough on tires! They saw that most 4runners eat through sets of tires in 30-40k.

What is the best tire? Michelin LTX M/S ? Any thoughts?

The soft real off-road tires may not be good for much more than 40K. I just changed my Michelin Cross-Terrains at 75K. I ran the OEM POS Goodyear Wranglers for 60K. They were awful, but I'm cheap. They both were still legal, but not by much. I would have bought the Cross-Terrain's again (I off-road only a few times a year, and here it is mud and sand rather than rock like our Western brethren), but Mich doesn't make the Cross-Terrain in our size anymore. You can't beat Michelin for long life and they are great in the rain. I bought LTX M/S2's.

You maybe should have started your own thread for that ?, though.

Glad to hear your problem went away. Many of us have done polyurethane steering rack bushings. Many of us have upgraded tires. I had terrible shake with 40K mile Nitto Terra Grapplers, went to a set of used Michelin LTX and no more shake/shimmy.

Tie rod inners and outers are common culprits-you mention inside tire wear so it seems obvious that alignments were not being kept up with.

Firstone/Tires Plus still sell lifetime alignments. At about $119 or so it pays for itself at about the 3rd alignment. It's a good investment for your tires and to keep an educated eye under your truck and what all is going on in the front end.

Take their "upsell" recommendations with a grain of salt. They told me I needed a new steering rack. The new bushings helped immensely and the new to me tires eliminated the whole issue.Talk over whatever is going on with us and our brother Runner owners on YOTA TECH to get the straight skinny before you spend your money.

Not to alarm you but ball joints can and do fail with catastrophic results. If your mileage is approaching 200K miles or so it is never a bad idea to have those inspected or better yet replaced.

There are many components at work affecting the feel behind the steering wheel. Get to the point of becoming familiar with each of them, the more you know about what is going on the more money you can save in the long run. Regular alignments are key to getting regular and steady feedback from a professional what is going on up there.

Just bought a 97' SR5-Limited. Amazing condition with 82K miles. Having same vibration issues as everyone else. Disappointing, as this will be a Highway vehicle. Previous owner put generic "Geo-Trac tires on it and they're in good condition. The vibration is significant. Do you really think it's the bushings or could all be the Cruddy Tires? This issue is surprising because the vehicle was garaged and barely driven. Anyone's advise is greatly appreciated. Thank You -

Anyone feel free to chime in here, but I'm pretty sure all the OEM 4runner wheels ARE hub centric. Lug centric wheels are largely a thing of the past on a modern vehicle. Mine use the "mag" style lugnuts with the washer, seems more likely to be hubcentric, using OEM wheels these days. This is not to say I would endorse Wallyworld in anyway, you did right to stay away.