widowmaker223
New member
Sorry I haven't been active here sooner guys. I read some but never post, so I am pretty much new to the forum. Unfortunately I am introducing myself under these circumstances.
Last fall I purchased a 2003 4.0 liter 6cyl 4x4 4runner. It had a tow pkg,18 inch rims, oversized calipers & rotors, bilstein shock upgrade, FJ SPRINGS, & radial tires on when I bought it. He gave me the stock shocks & springs from the front & told me I could put them on the back if I wanted. Said that was the mod everyone was using. I haven't done that & my rear suspension is stock.
I quickly realized that this vehicle's rear tires would slide out or hydroplane VERY easy on rain. It's not our primary vehicle so, I took some time to put on a break box, tranny cooler, & firestone rear spring airbags(run @ 5psi when not towing) & just avoided rainy days. I wanted new tires when the snow came for my girlfriend to drive it. When the snow came it was even worse. The radial tires that were on it were about 1/3 tread & the rear end of the vehicle was all over the place when I tested it around town during our first snow(Indiana). 4Lo, 4HI, didn't matter it was squirrely!
I immediately ordered some brand new Cooper AT3 all terrain tires. Problem solved RIGHT? That's what I thought but...........WRONG! So I talked to several people while it mostly sat over the winter & they all thought I was crazy. I basically thought these tires were just (bad in the snow). Come spring I let her begin to drive it again because I believed it was safe. She drove it for about 4 months & basically never in rain. I drive us all to the movies about 2 months ago & it starts raining, well the rear end starts hydroplaneing @ about 35mph. Where not talking 60 mph hitting standing water... I mean literally just enough rain to fill the pours in the blacktop. So I get out & look @ the tires. In 4 months of driving it has eaten the back tires off. fronts still look brand new but the backs are both full tread inside tapering to slicks on the outside of both tires.
I took it to the best alignment guy I could find (25yrs). I thought it may be dog tracking going down the road, thus kicking out easier. Full 4x4 (thrust alignment) He called 1 guy from Toyota & 2 guys from a collision repair service when he couldn't diagnose it & they personally come over & are all stumped. Car fax is clean, His measurements were all square, rear tires aren't canted in or out & the axles are square to the frame. He said it came in to his shop aligned. He said he basically has no Idea why they would both wear on the outside & be straight up & down & square.
Thought several times that I had solved this & it was safe to drive. I apparently wasn't getting any feedback because she(girlfriend) thought it was fixed & just so happened to never drive on a rainy day. I want to emphasize that I am not a powder puff kind of driver. I have offered to lock the naysayer's in & drive them around until they start crying but no one has taken me up on it yet. It is literally like throwing 500hp to a set of drag slicks on wet pavement. No exaggeration(even with new tires). My rwd s10 pickup got around in the snow better than my 4runner did in 4wd. I have done 75 miles round trip per day for 5 years prior to my 4runner. I drive 2wd s10 in snowy, hilly country, in the middle of the night & never been late, snowed in, , been stuck, or missed a day due to snow. I am always pulling up to diesel 4x4's in the ditch laughing & they are always shaking there heads when I drive off. That's not your everyday kind of driver. I can drive this 4runner around like a soccer mom & it will make you pucker. It's fine when its dry out but wet/snowy roads are like putting the rear tires in an ice rink. With the tires like they are now of course this thing is going to hop on plane like a ski boat. However full tread didn't do any better & neither did 4x4 in the snow. I did notice that it tends to kick mostly to the drivers side(oncoming traffic) when it comes loose.
Its been on the rack 3 times & No one has had a clue yet. Pretty sure throwing more money to "trained technicians" isn't going to help so I came to you guys. Tires wearing to the outside on both rear wheels & squirrely as anything I have every seen in rain or snow. 2 types of tires/full tread/4 hi/4lo didn't matter. Not my imagination something is bad wrong with this 4runner which is probably why the previous owner pawned it off on me instead of risking his own family's lives.
Last fall I purchased a 2003 4.0 liter 6cyl 4x4 4runner. It had a tow pkg,18 inch rims, oversized calipers & rotors, bilstein shock upgrade, FJ SPRINGS, & radial tires on when I bought it. He gave me the stock shocks & springs from the front & told me I could put them on the back if I wanted. Said that was the mod everyone was using. I haven't done that & my rear suspension is stock.
I quickly realized that this vehicle's rear tires would slide out or hydroplane VERY easy on rain. It's not our primary vehicle so, I took some time to put on a break box, tranny cooler, & firestone rear spring airbags(run @ 5psi when not towing) & just avoided rainy days. I wanted new tires when the snow came for my girlfriend to drive it. When the snow came it was even worse. The radial tires that were on it were about 1/3 tread & the rear end of the vehicle was all over the place when I tested it around town during our first snow(Indiana). 4Lo, 4HI, didn't matter it was squirrely!
I immediately ordered some brand new Cooper AT3 all terrain tires. Problem solved RIGHT? That's what I thought but...........WRONG! So I talked to several people while it mostly sat over the winter & they all thought I was crazy. I basically thought these tires were just (bad in the snow). Come spring I let her begin to drive it again because I believed it was safe. She drove it for about 4 months & basically never in rain. I drive us all to the movies about 2 months ago & it starts raining, well the rear end starts hydroplaneing @ about 35mph. Where not talking 60 mph hitting standing water... I mean literally just enough rain to fill the pours in the blacktop. So I get out & look @ the tires. In 4 months of driving it has eaten the back tires off. fronts still look brand new but the backs are both full tread inside tapering to slicks on the outside of both tires.
I took it to the best alignment guy I could find (25yrs). I thought it may be dog tracking going down the road, thus kicking out easier. Full 4x4 (thrust alignment) He called 1 guy from Toyota & 2 guys from a collision repair service when he couldn't diagnose it & they personally come over & are all stumped. Car fax is clean, His measurements were all square, rear tires aren't canted in or out & the axles are square to the frame. He said it came in to his shop aligned. He said he basically has no Idea why they would both wear on the outside & be straight up & down & square.
Thought several times that I had solved this & it was safe to drive. I apparently wasn't getting any feedback because she(girlfriend) thought it was fixed & just so happened to never drive on a rainy day. I want to emphasize that I am not a powder puff kind of driver. I have offered to lock the naysayer's in & drive them around until they start crying but no one has taken me up on it yet. It is literally like throwing 500hp to a set of drag slicks on wet pavement. No exaggeration(even with new tires). My rwd s10 pickup got around in the snow better than my 4runner did in 4wd. I have done 75 miles round trip per day for 5 years prior to my 4runner. I drive 2wd s10 in snowy, hilly country, in the middle of the night & never been late, snowed in, , been stuck, or missed a day due to snow. I am always pulling up to diesel 4x4's in the ditch laughing & they are always shaking there heads when I drive off. That's not your everyday kind of driver. I can drive this 4runner around like a soccer mom & it will make you pucker. It's fine when its dry out but wet/snowy roads are like putting the rear tires in an ice rink. With the tires like they are now of course this thing is going to hop on plane like a ski boat. However full tread didn't do any better & neither did 4x4 in the snow. I did notice that it tends to kick mostly to the drivers side(oncoming traffic) when it comes loose.
Its been on the rack 3 times & No one has had a clue yet. Pretty sure throwing more money to "trained technicians" isn't going to help so I came to you guys. Tires wearing to the outside on both rear wheels & squirrely as anything I have every seen in rain or snow. 2 types of tires/full tread/4 hi/4lo didn't matter. Not my imagination something is bad wrong with this 4runner which is probably why the previous owner pawned it off on me instead of risking his own family's lives.
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