I will let you know.. they were suppose to call today but never did. I will wait till after the long weekend and call again. I have no great hopes he will fix anything it is the third dealer last tech said i feel it bad tire changed one said all fixed NOT. I hear ya on if you knew it felt like that you never would have bought it how do you think I feel I bought it new which is even worse, plus I had two of these trucks 03 & 04 and no problems so I am shaking my head. One idea he had was the variable steering assist said maybe that is how it is I said well then the hundreds of people on the Toyota forum would be complaing not a hand full he said oh so we shall see.
My 4runner feels like a rollercoaster! Help!
- Thread starter clemsonxplorer
- Start date
clemsonxplorer
New member
My 4runner is driving like absolute crap now. I think it needs new shocks, better tires, take the wheels spacers off, lower the front or raise the back.
Aside from the bouncing and bad tires, it struggles up hill and when it switches to a lower gear to go up hill it pauses between gears first.
When should the spark plugs be changed?
I'm looking for used FJ Cruiser wheels and tires, springs, and shocks so I can get rid of the bouncy rough ride and have less wind resistance. I guess I should also get a tune up.
And to top it all off, my windshield is seperating at the top and creating all kinds of wind noise.
Aside from the bouncing and bad tires, it struggles up hill and when it switches to a lower gear to go up hill it pauses between gears first.
When should the spark plugs be changed?
I'm looking for used FJ Cruiser wheels and tires, springs, and shocks so I can get rid of the bouncy rough ride and have less wind resistance. I guess I should also get a tune up.
And to top it all off, my windshield is seperating at the top and creating all kinds of wind noise.
chaz
New member
damn, on an 06, first,disconnect the - battery term., clean the MAP sensor, throttle body, etc. add new air filter, then plugs if need be, plugs last longer on the v8 ( change v6 plugs every 30k), reconnect the batt. now it will reset & relearn. next install the FJ stuff, (look for the offroad setup, it has bilstein shocks), the FJ springs will also raise it a bit, last, as u know already, get decent tires!
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4Runner8
New member
also check the front and rear sway bars. if you say it sways badly. what you describing sounds like how my friends tj rides at 40mph with the sway bars disconnected haha. and yes do what chaz said and def. get better tires then the dunflops
p.s. i think i might have seen you in my neighborhood clemsonxplorer, is your runner silver? with a clemson alumni sitcker on the rear window?
p.s. i think i might have seen you in my neighborhood clemsonxplorer, is your runner silver? with a clemson alumni sitcker on the rear window?
clemsonxplorer
New member
no its galactic gray with black half moon outfitter pads on the roof rack.
It sways in such a way that I think its the shocks and not the sway bars. It doesnt lean like its going to flip on turns, its just bouncy and whips around in the wind. I have geolanders not dunlops. I found some FJ Cruiser wheels with stock dunlops on them though and they have lots of tread. http://greensboro.craigslist.org/pts/1849409148.html
I can't imagine they would be as bad as my geolanders that follow every groove in the road and rattle everything in the car when going over bumps.
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clemsonxplorer
New member
update:
Replaced my wheels and tires with FJ wheels and their original dunlops. The ride is smoother around town, but bumps still pull the steering wheel, and grooves in the highway make the 4runner wander. It feels like its windy on the highway everytime even though its not. I am 99% certain that my issues are not because of the tires. Also, I am not having body roll like I originally thought. When I google symptoms of bad struts it comes up with my symptoms. Also, the front left sits .5" lower than the front right which could mean sagging struts.
The only thing that has me thinking its not the struts is that they pass the bounce test and several of you guys have twice as many miles on your shocks with no problems.
Thoughts?
Replaced my wheels and tires with FJ wheels and their original dunlops. The ride is smoother around town, but bumps still pull the steering wheel, and grooves in the highway make the 4runner wander. It feels like its windy on the highway everytime even though its not. I am 99% certain that my issues are not because of the tires. Also, I am not having body roll like I originally thought. When I google symptoms of bad struts it comes up with my symptoms. Also, the front left sits .5" lower than the front right which could mean sagging struts.
The only thing that has me thinking its not the struts is that they pass the bounce test and several of you guys have twice as many miles on your shocks with no problems.
Thoughts?
clemsonxplorer
New member
I forget, does yours do fine on perfectly smooth roads? Another problem with mine that seems to be getting worse is that it really struggles to get up hill. Also, any faster than 70 mph does not feel safe.
clemsonxplorer
New member
Front shocks are leaking. Problem solved?
clemsonxplorer
New member
Switching from Geolanders on 18" wheels to Dunlops on 17" wheels helped alot. I'm hoping replacing my front leaking shocks will be the finishing touch. I am replacing the front springs and shocks with FJ Cruiser shocks and springs.
I will keep you posted.
clemsonxplorer
New member
I'm an idiot. After paying the labor to assemble the front FJ springs and shocks (since they weren't already) I realized while putting the rears on myself that the shocks were softer than the stock 4runner shocks. I am afraid the front ones are that way too. These FJ shocks suck and they supposedly only have 3k miles on them. I still have a bouncy ride and a lot of feeback from the steering wheel when going over bumps
clemsonxplorer
New member
The steering issue is somewhat improved even though the ride is more bouncy due to the replacement shocks. Part of me thinks I am on the right track and bilsteins and new tires would fix everything but the other part of me thinks the steering will never get fixed and that shocks and tires are just band aids.
Synister
Member
I just put a lift on mine had it aligned "in the green" with the exact same issues you are describing...twitchy handling, getting pushed around by any imperfection, etc. My guess is that your caster setting was messed with at the alignment place and set way too low. I took my truck back the day after they aligned it after reading up on what the caster should be set at. They put it back on the machine and sure enough it was very low even though technically the vehicle was considered "aligned". I told them I wanted the caster maxed out (3 is desirable but I was only able to get 2.1, up from the 1.3 I came in with) with all other parameters kept in alignment. Sure enough, it handles much better now, not perfect b/c of not being able to achieve 3 deg of caster but still much more solid and well mannered than before. I would take it back and have them see how close to 3 deg of caster they can get. Read this for more info. Good Luck.
alignment post OW 2.0 - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum
alignment post OW 2.0 - Toyota 120 Platforms Forum
This is what I am trying to say. Should look into wheels.
