Posted Before: Very bouncy, rough driving at speed.

[whodkne]

Still haven't received a satisfactory solution, so I'm coming back for more advice. On the forum so far we have gone over tire pressure, which was too high and was reduced. I've also replaced the suspension with a KYB setup.

At speed the truck still jars and bounces quite a bit and the most noticable piece of the problem is the steering wheel vibration. The truck has been aligned, the wheels have been balanced and still is persists.

'96 with 140k miles on. A friend suggested that the steering dampener could be shot and causing the steering problems and the rough ride. I don't know much about cars, but I'm guessing if this does exist on a 4Runner it is similar to a suspension dampener and cushions the wheel movement from the road. If so, I am guessing it can also go bad.

So, am I on the right track? Can it easily be replaced (just did a brake job and suspension on my miata, so I'm somewhat competent)? What else could be causing the problems?

 

[lee]

yes, they do have steering dampeners, but im not sure that's whats wrong....

are you having the same shop balance the tires every time?

try another place and get em balanced. i know it isnt cheap, but you want to make sure its not a simple balance issue before you go replacing other parts.

 

[whodkne]

Is there a special type of balancing I should be looking for?

 

[lee]

you wanna make sure its done at a place that has a hunter... with the haweka adapter:

http://www.gsp9700.com/pub/search/findgsp9700.cfm

find a place near you

 

[whodkne]

Awesome, my local place that I normally go to does... I'll take it there.

 

[ebelen1]

Just had a similar problem with but no vibration. The vibration at high speeds is normally due to an unbalanced tire. When I got my truck three months ago, I ran across this and had a local place do a high-speed balancing and no more problems.

The steering vibration I also had after upgrading rim and tire size. What ended up happening is that although the alignment was done and the truck wasn't pulling left or right, the camber and casper were off, such that it would cause "wandering" according to the alignment guy. Just had this corrected last night and so far so good. The true test will be this weekend on a longer run on the freeway. Good luck with your issue.

 

[makakio]

I have heard here on this forum that Gen 3s do NOT have steering dampeners. Huh...

 

[ebelen1]

I have heard here on this forum that Gen 3s do NOT have steering dampeners. Huh...

I don't know what a steering dampener is but if it's the same thing as a steering stabilizer, 3rd gens don't have one. If I'm wrong on the first part, just ignore this post.

 

[lee]

I have heard here on this forum that Gen 3s do NOT have steering dampeners. Huh...

i have read dozens of times on yotatech where people either checked or replaced their steering dampeners...