replace the bushings in the track bars that connect from the frame to the axle. the bushings get pounded out and that lets the axle move forward or back whenever it wants and creating the death wobble at high speeds. the bushings are available at you toyota dealer and they are the same for either end of the bar. i replaced them on my wifes and the problem went away.
HELP!!!Rear end sway at Highway Speeds
- Thread starter 1800AskMatt
- Start date
Ouch. 3 years old. I gotta start paying more attention. 5 cents obviously isn't enough.
CharliePR74
Member
Same issue here. Initially with stock suspension, no sway whatsoever. Installed Daystar spacers, sway appeared (Had Tokico Trekmasters at that point). Removed spacers, installed new OME's (2880 and 2890) and KYB's for a stiffer ride, sway is still there but pretty sure related to the lift. Will check suspension tomorrow...
This is depressing. I have the same problem. On the interstate, I feel like I'm on a magic carpet ride. My 7 y.o. gets sick if we go above 60 for any extended period of time it moves so much, L & R, not just up and down. A guy followed me off the interstate into a gas station to ask me if I'd changed my rear shocks lately (Yes, about 8-9 months ago, but no help). Was hoping to find an answer here...
SilverRidgeRunner1
Member
Different ppl have had different resolve but nothing pin point... That I am aware of yet. I think the #1 so far has been the Rack bushing and#2 Ball joints upper and lower, #3 Front and rear struts and shocks. I think it has all to do with what u find under inspections personally.
bigbumperlover
New member
Toyota turmoil
My neighbor just told me about this rear end death wobble! He said he had expereanced this at 70mph, with old tires. Had new tires mounted and balanced, alignment checked. this didnt seem to help. but noticed that if loaded down with trailer and kids it wouldnt do it.( this has all stock suspension)this sounds like possible suspension geometrey issue. maybe bushing are worn, but something has to cause the vibration. posible ujoint binding or siezed . just a thought!
99 toyota four runner...lots of miles.
My neighbor just told me about this rear end death wobble! He said he had expereanced this at 70mph, with old tires. Had new tires mounted and balanced, alignment checked. this didnt seem to help. but noticed that if loaded down with trailer and kids it wouldnt do it.( this has all stock suspension)this sounds like possible suspension geometrey issue. maybe bushing are worn, but something has to cause the vibration. posible ujoint binding or siezed . just a thought!
GX4SEVEND
New member
Yeah, I have a Pathfinder like that in my driveway, scary stuff! Also a different setup if I remember correctly.
I appreciate the reply. I'll look into those. just tried the sway bar links which seemed to help a little on my first ride, plus were cheap ($13 x 2). I know my front shocks need to be replaced and my front bearings are bad. I'll check your other suggestions as well. I'll be back
dwmckeehen
New member
It probably wasn't from the cr**py dunlops. My guess is it had to do with that 107mph in a 4runner thing.
:lol:
Going over 70mph in my 4Runner was a handful. 2 hands, and correcting every sway to the left and sway to the right. Dropping the speed to 60mph and bellow was better but still nerve racking.
Then I did the upgraded guide bushing in the rack. Now is just only one hand on the wheel doing 70mph, all the way up to 80mph and it's still steady as a rock.
Getting ready to tighten up the rack even more with poly rack housing bushings.
Then I did the upgraded guide bushing in the rack. Now is just only one hand on the wheel doing 70mph, all the way up to 80mph and it's still steady as a rock.
Getting ready to tighten up the rack even more with poly rack housing bushings.
I have a 99 runner with 250K , it rode fine as I bought it with 4 almost new street type tires on it. I started going thru the suspension to bring it up to speed. new lower ball joints, new steering rack bushings, new monroe quick struts, new sensatrac monroe shocks. new sway bar bushings front and back and new goodyear armour trac tires. now it has the wobble. It occurs at higher speeds when driving over a series of light bumps in the road, the longer the bumps the longer the swaying. on a smooth road it doesnt wobble. I pretty much replaced everything at once so its impossible to narrow it down to one thing. the crazy thing is it was fine with all these worn out parts. ???????????????
ducksrunner25
New member
Possible Solution!
Reviving this from the dead!
I think I may have figured out the cause of the highway wobble that everyone is experiencing. I believe that the cause (in my case) is a bad transmission mount.
When I replaced the clutch, I noticed that my transmission mount was badly worn. So worn that the rubber bushing had completely separated from the bracket that attaches to the transmission itself. I meant to order a new one, but forgot to and said screw it I'll fix it later. (edit: the rubber is still there, just separated on one side, I'll post pictures when I get the new one) I figured the bolts would hold it in place long enough for me to order one and I'll get it replaced before my first camping trip in this thing.
Well, after heading out on a test drive after installing the clutch, I was terrified when my 4Runner felt SUPER sloppy. It felt like I was getting hit with 70 mph side winds. I initially thought suspension, low tire pressure, etc., etc. After checking tire pressure, and seeing what everyone has done already with little results and knowing that the previous owner had replaced many of the suspension components before I purchased it thought it had to be something else.
So I began to play around a little bit and tried to replicate the conditions under which the wobble occurred. After a little bit of driving, I noticed that the wobble happened after every time I shifted gears and was exaggerated at higher speeds. I also noticed that if I sped up during the wobble, it helped correct the problem a little but when I let up on the pedal the wobble got WAY worse to the point that I was hitting the brakes hard to not lose control on the freeway. This got me thinking of my bad mount and curious if the transmission was rocking on the mount. That transmission is heavy and would definitely cause a sway if that happened.
To test my theory I cruised at freeway speeds (70 mph here in Utah) until the wobble came back, I accelerated to gain control, let up on the pedal and sure enough the wobble got way worse. So I put the car in neutral without hitting the brakes and coasted for a bit. Sure enough, the wobble went away and as long as I was coasting in neutral, the wobble did not come back. I coasted for about 1/4 to 1/2 a mile to an exit without any trouble.
So, knowing the condition of my transmission mount and the results of my tests, I'm about 99% confident that my issue is because of a bad transmission mount. I've got one ordered and should be delivered by Wednesday. I'll install it and report back! Anyone else experiencing this issue, I recommend checking out the transmission mount. You'll need a floor jack to be able to hold the transmission in place as you drop the cross-member, but it's pretty simple to do.
I'd be interested to know the condition of the transmission mounts of everyone else experiencing this issue.
Reviving this from the dead!
I think I may have figured out the cause of the highway wobble that everyone is experiencing. I believe that the cause (in my case) is a bad transmission mount.
When I replaced the clutch, I noticed that my transmission mount was badly worn. So worn that the rubber bushing had completely separated from the bracket that attaches to the transmission itself. I meant to order a new one, but forgot to and said screw it I'll fix it later. (edit: the rubber is still there, just separated on one side, I'll post pictures when I get the new one) I figured the bolts would hold it in place long enough for me to order one and I'll get it replaced before my first camping trip in this thing.
Well, after heading out on a test drive after installing the clutch, I was terrified when my 4Runner felt SUPER sloppy. It felt like I was getting hit with 70 mph side winds. I initially thought suspension, low tire pressure, etc., etc. After checking tire pressure, and seeing what everyone has done already with little results and knowing that the previous owner had replaced many of the suspension components before I purchased it thought it had to be something else.
So I began to play around a little bit and tried to replicate the conditions under which the wobble occurred. After a little bit of driving, I noticed that the wobble happened after every time I shifted gears and was exaggerated at higher speeds. I also noticed that if I sped up during the wobble, it helped correct the problem a little but when I let up on the pedal the wobble got WAY worse to the point that I was hitting the brakes hard to not lose control on the freeway. This got me thinking of my bad mount and curious if the transmission was rocking on the mount. That transmission is heavy and would definitely cause a sway if that happened.
To test my theory I cruised at freeway speeds (70 mph here in Utah) until the wobble came back, I accelerated to gain control, let up on the pedal and sure enough the wobble got way worse. So I put the car in neutral without hitting the brakes and coasted for a bit. Sure enough, the wobble went away and as long as I was coasting in neutral, the wobble did not come back. I coasted for about 1/4 to 1/2 a mile to an exit without any trouble.
So, knowing the condition of my transmission mount and the results of my tests, I'm about 99% confident that my issue is because of a bad transmission mount. I've got one ordered and should be delivered by Wednesday. I'll install it and report back! Anyone else experiencing this issue, I recommend checking out the transmission mount. You'll need a floor jack to be able to hold the transmission in place as you drop the cross-member, but it's pretty simple to do.
I'd be interested to know the condition of the transmission mounts of everyone else experiencing this issue.
OldManKamps
New member
I have the 5 speed and my shifter wobbles a lot at highway speeds so I've thought about this too!! Are the transmission mounts easy to investigate/replace? Where are they?
ducksrunner25
New member
There is only one transmission mount and if you look at the cross member the transmission sits on, that whole piece has to come out. There are two 14mm bolts on each side of the transmission that secure the mount to the transmission. I would actually recommend taking those out after you take out the cross member bolts and have something supporting the transmission so there is no weight on those bolts.
To take out the cross-member, you need something to hold the transmission up, then just take out the 4 14mm bolts holding the cross member. I recommend some PB Blaster or something to help loosen up the probable rust before attempting to remove them. If your is anything like mine, you'll need to pry it out once all the bolts are out. Then the actual mount I think has a few more bolts to remove it from the cross-member. Shouldn't take longer than 20 minutes to do.
To take out the cross-member, you need something to hold the transmission up, then just take out the 4 14mm bolts holding the cross member. I recommend some PB Blaster or something to help loosen up the probable rust before attempting to remove them. If your is anything like mine, you'll need to pry it out once all the bolts are out. Then the actual mount I think has a few more bolts to remove it from the cross-member. Shouldn't take longer than 20 minutes to do.
ducksrunner25
New member
FOUND THE FIX!! It wasn't the transmission mount....
So I replaced the transmission mount, wobble still there. Back to the forums to try and figure it out. Somewhere I read about bad bushings in the drag links. I looked at mine and sure enough they were awful. A member of that forum recommended Whiteline Poly Bushings. I bit the bullet and bought them.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070I8MUK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
After a smashed finger and hand, I got the new bushings installed, and I'm happy to say that the wobble is gone and the car isn't trying to kill me anymore!!
So I replaced the transmission mount, wobble still there. Back to the forums to try and figure it out. Somewhere I read about bad bushings in the drag links. I looked at mine and sure enough they were awful. A member of that forum recommended Whiteline Poly Bushings. I bit the bullet and bought them.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070I8MUK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
After a smashed finger and hand, I got the new bushings installed, and I'm happy to say that the wobble is gone and the car isn't trying to kill me anymore!!
fourfive
Senior Member
Glad you got your wobble issue solved and appreciate the follow up post on what helped and did not help resolve the issue.
Rockdawg84
New member
I will add another possibility to the mix. I have had to replace a rear axle shaft because of a bent flange. Had been chasing a rear hula problem on the runner for a while when a friend was following me out of my neighborhood and said it looked like I had a bent rear wheel. Put the runner on jackstands and found that the axle shaft was bent. Wheel was a cast alum wheel that would break before it bent. Others who have had bent rear shaft flanges may chime in. I think mine happened when trying a hard climb and came down on the rear end pretty hard.
