98 - Front Suspension

[elkabong]

Howdy I am new around here. I have a 98 SR5 v6 4by with 84k on the clock. I have recently run into a issue where i get a slight side to side motion in my steering wheel at about 70mph on the highway. The front end is also starting to wander from time to time. I have noticed that it depends on which section of the fwy I am on. The tires are new (as of yesterday) and I had some Yoko Geolanders that I had replaced after 12k miles, not a good experience. I just put on some Michelin LTX's because I mainly drive highway. Any thoughts at what I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance.

 

[97RUNNERltd]

Have you had the front end checked, sounds to me like maybe you need new ball joints.

 

[NoliWan]

You should start with the simple fixes -- try checking wheel alignment and balancing first...

 

[97RUNNERltd]

good point, however when he said he just had new tires installed, I figured a balance and allignment would be standard with the tires. At least I get both done when I have new tires installed, Have you found the problem yet?

 

[elkabong]

The alignmet and balance are good. At least that is what I am told anyway. Is there a simple test I can perform to check the ball joints?

 

[97RUNNERltd]

Most repair shops will do a front end inspection free of chrage. My advice would be to take the vehicle to 2 shops that do front end work and ask them to inspect the vehicle for you (free of chrage) they should tell you what is wrong and how much it will cost to repair it.