Pulling to the right and steering wheel shake

[Sungod]

[MENTION=87036]YotaDan[/MENTION] it's weird because it pulls more at slower speeds and sometimes it doesn't idk what the problem is. When it comes to the brakes I think I just need a brake job cause its well overdue

That sounds more like calipers.

 

[m@x]

I'm starting to get aggravated. I had a some steering wheel shake a couple weeks ago so I went and got my tires rotated and balanced. It didn't fix it so I thought they didn't balance it right so I took it back and they balanced them again and said it was a couple ounces off. Didn't have enough cash to get an alignment at the time so I waited till today. I was pulling to the right got an alignment and I'm still pulling to the right. I'm using OK Tires where I got my tires from. Is there anything else I need to check or is it the company? I don't know too much about steering and all that jazz with cars so any input is great. Also when I brake I pull to the left. Possible frozen caliper? But not smelling my brakes. Thanks in advanced

Is it V6 or V8 (the reason I ask is to know whether you have the 2WD option)?

Now regarding the wheel shakes it can be either of the following:
- Unbalanced tires
- Unevenly worn out tires
- Control arms
- Steering rack

Regarding pulling to the side:
- Unevenly worn out tires
- Wheel alignment
- Steering Rack

If you have time to narrow down the issue before spending a lot of money then this is what I would do:

Uneven wear/balancing:
Rotate the wheels (swap fronts with rears). Drive the car. See if there is any difference and post results.

Steering Rack:
The guys doing the alignment should have noticed and told you if you had a problem with the steering rack. But... who knows. If you have a damaged and loose component in the steering rack then you could be feeling the shake in the steering wheel and the car will pull to the side. Since our roads are convex, try to drive a bit on the left side of the road to see if the car starts to pull to the left. BUT DON'T DO IT WITH THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC =).

Don't start the car. Ask someone to keep rocking the steering wheel right/left/right/left real quick, up to the point before the wheels start turning. Check if you hear a clunking noise behind the front wheels, on each side of the car.
Post results.

Control arms:
This is the general procedure -
Lift the wheel off the ground. hold the wheel at 12:00 and 6:00 o'clock with your hands and start rocking it (push the top in and pull the bottom out and then vice versa). If it is loose - your ball joints may be shot.

Now here's a problem - a lot of the cars, when lifted up by the frame and the wheels are fully dropped down, the suspension on that wheel becomes loaded. In this case you will not feel any play in the wheel. In such situations, in order to take the load off the suspension, people lift the car by putting the floor jack under the lower control arm.
Just found this video to help you better understand the difference:
How to check ball joints With control arm loaded suspension - YouTube

BUT I am not sure what lifting procedure applies to T4Rs. I have some experience with other cars I have owned, but I am new to 4runners. I just bought one myself. However, MacPherson suspension model doesn't change.
Let me know if T4R's are different in this way.

P.S. If your car has 2WD, you can lift the rear end off the ground and "drive" it. If the wheels are bouncing up and down like crazy, then the wheels are unbalanced. DON'T DO IT IN 4WD! =)

But I'd firstly:
1) swap the wheels
2) rock the steering wheel and check for noise. BTW you can also jack the car up and try and rock the wheel but this time holding the wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock.
3) Drive the car on the road that is inclined a bit to the left. Check if the car pulls to the left.

Also, go through all these steps one at a time, so you don't change a number of "factors" and then not knowing which one has caused a change in car's behavior.

Max

 

[A_HuL]

Is it V6 or V8 (the reason I ask is to know whether you have the 2WD option)?

Now regarding the wheel shakes it can be either of the following:
- Unbalanced tires
- Unevenly worn out tires
- Control arms
- Steering rack

Regarding pulling to the side:
- Unevenly worn out tires
- Wheel alignment
- Steering Rack

If you have time to narrow down the issue before spending a lot of money then this is what I would do:

Uneven wear/balancing:
Rotate the wheels (swap fronts with rears). Drive the car. See if there is any difference and post results.

Steering Rack:
The guys doing the alignment should have noticed and told you if you had a problem with the steering rack. But... who knows. If you have a damaged and loose component in the steering rack then you could be feeling the shake in the steering wheel and the car will pull to the side. Since our roads are convex, try to drive a bit on the left side of the road to see if the car starts to pull to the left. BUT DON'T DO IT WITH THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC =).

Don't start the car. Ask someone to keep rocking the steering wheel right/left/right/left real quick, up to the point before the wheels start turning. Check if you hear a clunking noise behind the front wheels, on each side of the car.
Post results.

Control arms:
This is the general procedure -
Lift the wheel off the ground. hold the wheel at 12:00 and 6:00 o'clock with your hands and start rocking it (push the top in and pull the bottom out and then vice versa). If it is loose - your ball joints may be shot.

Now here's a problem - a lot of the cars, when lifted up by the frame and the wheels are fully dropped down, the suspension on that wheel becomes loaded. In this case you will not feel any play in the wheel. In such situations, in order to take the load off the suspension, people lift the car by putting the floor jack under the lower control arm.
Just found this video to help you better understand the difference:
How to check ball joints With control arm loaded suspension - YouTube

BUT I am not sure what lifting procedure applies to T4Rs. I have some experience with other cars I have owned, but I am new to 4runners. I just bought one myself. However, MacPherson suspension model doesn't change.
Let me know if T4R's are different in this way.

P.S. If your car has 2WD, you can lift the rear end off the ground and "drive" it. If the wheels are bouncing up and down like crazy, then the wheels are unbalanced. DON'T DO IT IN 4WD! =)

But I'd firstly:
1) swap the wheels
2) rock the steering wheel and check for noise. BTW you can also jack the car up and try and rock the wheel but this time holding the wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock.
3) Drive the car on the road that is inclined a bit to the left. Check if the car pulls to the left.

Also, go through all these steps one at a time, so you don't change a number of "factors" and then not knowing which one has caused a change in car's behavior.

Max

Thanks for the input. its a v6 4wd ill try doing these and see what happens.