Jitters on bumps

Eureka!

Taylor - Go check your sway bar frame mounts. I was rotating my tires and I noticed my passenger side (the side doing the jitters) mount was separated from the frame. The front side nut had come off the bolt the goes from the bottom up and the sway bar was loose. I put a new nut on it and tightened both bolts and the jitters are gone! I wouldn't have guessed it makes that much of a difference, especially with the steering wheel shaking after bumps or certain speeds. I came from a Jeep that I would occasionally not even use a front sway bar but I guess the independent suspension needs it more than a straight axle.

Anyways, go check this. Maybe this is your problem too. I was just about to go to Napa and order new LBJ's and new tie rod ends. I'm very happy this is fixed. God I love my 4Runner! :bravo:

Yeah, I don't think that is it. I ran without a front sway bar for a long time, and just put a new one on last weekend. It did make a big difference in body sway (go figure), and perhaps helped a little bit with the steering wobble, but it won't fix it.

Glad it made a difference with yours.
 
Eureka!

Taylor - Go check your sway bar frame mounts. I was rotating my tires and I noticed my passenger side (the side doing the jitters) mount was separated from the frame. The front side nut had come off the bolt the goes from the bottom up and the sway bar was loose. I put a new nut on it and tightened both bolts and the jitters are gone! I wouldn't have guessed it makes that much of a difference, especially with the steering wheel shaking after bumps or certain speeds. I came from a Jeep that I would occasionally not even use a front sway bar but I guess the independent suspension needs it more than a straight axle.

Anyways, go check this. Maybe this is your problem too. I was just about to go to Napa and order new LBJ's and new tie rod ends. I'm very happy this is fixed. God I love my 4Runner! :bravo:

Glad that worked for you man. I replaced my sway bar bushing back in Jan.
 
Im ordering lbj's from napa tomorrow. We'll see if that makes any difference. With the recent threads about lbj's failing, i see it as a good preventative repair either way considering i have close to 170k on mine. Ill update after i make the repair
 
So I ordered the ball joints today. But I ended up going with toyota oem instead of napa. And I ended up getting both upper and lowers. I figured my uppers need replaced anyway, with 168k miles. The driver side upper was knocking on large bumps, so its time to replace. I'll be doing this next week. I really hope this makes a big difference in the ride
 
So I ordered the ball joints today. But I ended up going with toyota oem instead of napa. And I ended up getting both upper and lowers. I figured my uppers need replaced anyway, with 168k miles. The driver side upper was knocking on large bumps, so its time to replace. I'll be doing this next week. I really hope this makes a big difference in the ride

How did this turn out? I eliminated pretty much all my wobble by replacing the front suspension. Doing LBJ's and TRE's soon.
 
How did this turn out? I eliminated pretty much all my wobble by replacing the front suspension. Doing LBJ's and TRE's soon.

I commented on the other thread about lower ball joint failure too. No I havent installed them yet. Havent had time too. I probably wont until after I graduate in a month. This is my last semester of college so its been crazy. But Im excited about getting them on. I have a feeling its going to make a huge difference. I dont think my jitters are due to suspension as my shocks are new. And springs are pretty stiff still. But I am wanting to do a small lift. And I was looking at those Ironman coils for the front. I read on your thread that you like the way they ride. How much lift did they give you? I know they advertise 1.8 in.
 
I commented on the other thread about lower ball joint failure too. No I havent installed them yet. Havent had time too. I probably wont until after I graduate in a month. This is my last semester of college so its been crazy. But Im excited about getting them on. I have a feeling its going to make a huge difference. I dont think my jitters are due to suspension as my shocks are new. And springs are pretty stiff still. But I am wanting to do a small lift. And I was looking at those Ironman coils for the front. I read on your thread that you like the way they ride. How much lift did they give you? I know they advertise 1.8 in.

Yeah, I saw your response right after I posted here.

If you have new shocks, then maybe that isn't your problem, though I replaced everything.

I don't have my measurement with me, but I think it was 2-2.5 all around. It looks good.
 
Update on this thread. I had my upper and lower ball joints replaced on monday, hoping that it would be the cure to all my front end shakes. It made a small difference, but definately didnt cure it. So then I decided to take a look at the remanufactured steering rack I got back in January. I found very quickly that the driver side inner tie rod knocks when shaken vigorously (this knock has developed over the past several months and is pretty bad when you hit a bump going around a left hand turn. I thought it was the upper ball joint). However the shaft that goes into the rack itself is solid. No play. Then I checked the passenger side, and it was just the opposite. The inner rod was fine, but the shaft that goes into the rack has some play when I shake it. You can imagine my frusteration at this point. I paid over 300 for the steering rack and expected it to work perfectly for at least 80k miles. The company doesnt guarontee the inner tie rods, which I could change myself easily anyway. But they do have a one year warrenty on the rack itself. So I will be giving them a call today.

So my front end jitters continue, though Im almost positive that I know the cause now. Recap on what I have replaced up front: shocks, upper and lower ball joints, tie rod ends, steering rack with inner tie rods, poly rack bushings, and sway bar bushings. My front end should feel perfect at this point. If I could start over again I think I would have just kept the old rack for a while longer and saved up for an OEM rack. They are ridiculously expensive, but in the end this is probably going to cost me more.
 
<-- Also, experiencing same symptoms. Jitters over bumps (large & small), steering wheel wobble/oscillation at 55 mph, and "clunk" noise on bumps.

Only thing I've done is the WO rack bushings, which helped a little. TREs look OK. inspected rack shaft for rack guide fix, didn't look to be an issue.

225,XXX miles. Unsure if suspension and front end are all original. I'd rather not throw money at it, but you gotta do what have to.
 
I just replaced the driver side inner tie rod which had movement in the joint. It still knocks over bumps. So at this point I am positive its the steering rack. Today I changed my driver side inner tie rod. I left the boot off and observed the rack while slightly turning the wheel back and forth in park. The shaft moves significantly when the wheel is reversed in either direction. The other side does the same thing. So then my question is how does a company that specializes in rebuiding racks and has good feedback produce such a piece of garbage?? This problem began at least three months ago, and it has only been installed since the beginning of January. Again, I thought with the new rack it must be the ball joints going bad, causing the knocking up front, so I went that direction. The company does have a warrenty, but who knows what kind of crap theyll pull when I try to send it back.

A valuable lesson can be learned here. Dont buy a rebuilt rack. Dont rebuild it yourself. Dont get one from a junk yard. Dont buy an off brand steering rack. Its too much an integral part of the front end. Get a brand new Toyota OEM rack, no questions asked. I read up on this before getting my rebuilt rack, but I figured that the company was reputable based on their feedback, and that for the time being it would be the cheapest way to go, even if the rack only lasted me 50k miles. I was dead wrong. Lesson learned
 
I understand your frustration brotha...got the jitters here too...

Anyone know a good place to get an OEM rack that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?
 
A valuable lesson can be learned here. Dont buy a rebuilt rack. Dont rebuild it yourself. Dont get one from a junk yard. Dont buy an off brand steering rack. Its too much an integral part of the front end. Get a brand new Toyota OEM rack, no questions asked. I read up on this before getting my rebuilt rack, but I figured that the company was reputable based on their feedback, and that for the time being it would be the cheapest way to go, even if the rack only lasted me 50k miles. I was dead wrong. Lesson learned

I bought a used rack from a wreck at a yard here. I took off the boots and inspected it like an owl. Installed it and I am all set.

Also did the poly bushings.

Sorry about your hard time, dude!
 
I bought a used rack from a wreck at a yard here. I took off the boots and inspected it like an owl. Installed it and I am all set.

Also did the poly bushings.

Sorry about your hard time, dude!

Ya I looked at salvage yards back in Denver. Theres just no guarentee with that rout. It could last you 100k miles. Or it could last 10k. No way of knowing how the vehicle was treated or what the internals of the rack look like. Hopefully yours lasts for ya. Im just gonna have to deal with mine for a while as spending the $600 on an OEM is outside the budget.
 
Bury this thread

Well my original hunch was right for the most part. It was the steering rack. I replaced it back in January with a rebuild toyota rack. Turns out that rack was junk, so I had them send me another one. I just finished putting it on myself yesterday, filled it with dextron III, blead it, and then took it for a drive. To my surprise it felt ten times better. Before, I dreaded hitting any bumps, never dreamed of doing anything intense off road, and hated driving it in general. Front end felt loose on every little bump. Now it feels ten time more solid. We'll see how long this rack lasts. I'll be happy with 50k. After that I think I'll just get a new Toyota OEM rack

Recap on what I replaced throughout this thread:

-Steering rack (twice)
-Steering rack guide
-Steering rack bushings (wheelers off road polyurathane)
-Upper and lower ball joints
-Inner tie rods
-Tie rod ends

I think the inner tie rods and tie rod ends were contributing to the jitters as well. And possibly the upper and lower ball joints. Either way, changing the ball joints was a good insurance with 171K on my truck. But the main cause was the steering rack for sure. Problem solved (for now). This thread is officially dead
 
That's great! I bet that's a relief after all this time. I think you should still keep the name "Jitters" though.
 
That's great! I bet that's a relief after all this time. I think you should still keep the name "Jitters" though.

Yeah, Congrats Taylor. Glad you finally got this figured out. It is interesting to have a couple guys here with very similar symptoms, and have 3-4 different causes. Good to have this documented.
 
Ya thanks guys. Brian, I am definately keeping the name. Didnt know what to name it for a while there. But apparently its been telling me all along to name it jitters haha.

Now I just have to get my high speed vibration worked out of it. Different issue obviously. I know this is a really common problem with the 3rd gens. I think mine may be partly due to the tires. I run goodyear wrangler rt/s, and Ive read they are plagued with vibrations. But Ive done the pricey road force balance, twice actually, since its lug centric, greased the u joints (which Im fairly sure isnt the issue since the vibration is felt more in the front end and steering wheel), and of course had it aligned several times with all the front end word Iv been doing on it in the past year. Theres also a really bad vibration when i hit the brakes at high speeds. Many would say its probably just improper distribution of the brake pad residue on the rotors, but Im beginning to believe that i indeed have a warped rotor. So my question is, could a rotor be the cause of the consistant vibration I feel in the steering wheel at highway speeds (when Im just cruising, not braking)?
 
Ya thanks guys. Brian, I am definately keeping the name. Didnt know what to name it for a while there. But apparently its been telling me all along to name it jitters haha.

Now I just have to get my high speed vibration worked out of it. Different issue obviously. I know this is a really common problem with the 3rd gens. I think mine may be partly due to the tires. I run goodyear wrangler rt/s, and Ive read they are plagued with vibrations. But Ive done the pricey road force balance, twice actually, since its lug centric, greased the u joints (which Im fairly sure isnt the issue since the vibration is felt more in the front end and steering wheel), and of course had it aligned several times with all the front end word Iv been doing on it in the past year. Theres also a really bad vibration when i hit the brakes at high speeds. Many would say its probably just improper distribution of the brake pad residue on the rotors, but Im beginning to believe that i indeed have a warped rotor. So my question is, could a rotor be the cause of the consistant vibration I feel in the steering wheel at highway speeds (when Im just cruising, not braking)?

Anyone able to offer some knowledge on this question?
 
I had the same vibration at highway speeds. I also have a pulsating effect when braking from high speeds. I had all four tires road force balanced and it took ALL of the vibrations away. The pulses are still there when braking from high speeds. So, in my opinion, the rotors can NOT cause the vibrations when you are "cruising"

JR
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
278,312
Messages
3,554,089
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Trending content

Back
Top