Rate your truck's highway manners

[4Runner4Leon]

Wondering how 3rd Gen's are supposed to behave at highway speeds.

Mine's about a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10. (1 = 1963 Valiant with a flat spot on a tire, 10 = plush Caddy where you don't feel the road and can drive with one pinky on the wheel).

I'm just asking because I have no reference frame and don't know if the vibrations I'm getting between 65 and 75 are normal, and if the truck is supposed to require constant course corrections and both hands on the wheel.

Don't want to throw a lot of money at this only to find that everyone's truck does that.

How does yours rate?

 

[theesotericone]

How does yours rate?

7ish. Keep in mind I have both sway bars removed and have a ton of armor.. Straight line at 75MPH it tracks perfectly straight and there are almost no vibrations. I drive one handed all the time. As soon as I have to enter I tight turn both hands go on the wheel.

There not Caddies but they can ride pretty damn well, even with all the aftermarket stuff we add to them.

 

[thezentree]

Mine's about an 8. It rides and drives well but has a very mild, but annoying, vibration that I can't solve. it's loud as shit too. I can let go of the wheel at 80mph without worrying about it going all kamikaze though.

 

[tanth1500]

Smooth

I only get vibrations when braking, my 2001 Limited with a 3 inch Rough Country lift is smooth up to 108, handles bumps well, I can fly down a dirt road, very sturdy. Solid 9. You can get an alignment for around $90, then get your wheels balanced, and maybe get new tie rods or possibly a whole new steering rack.

 

[Dezerts10]

I do not notice anything to weird with my recently long traveled 1996 I had it a year or so stock. no sway bars and I know its not a street queen or race car, but does not seem to have any weird on road regular driving quirks. doesn't seem any worse or better than my 2007 Silverado classic or 2000 explorer really. but none of them are really great so id say 7 or so.

 

[I_bRAD]

Mine is fine for 60-70mph but really I don't go on the highway cause it tends to attract dangerous idiots and it's more enjoyable to take it easy on the back roads. That's what 4runners are for!

The kids keep asking me how fast it will go!

 

[LittleCaesar]

8. The 906s can make for a jolting ride sometimes. But I will say that all Japanese cars I have ever driven are much smoother on the highway than their American counterparts, but not as aggressive as a BMW or Mercedes. I loved driving my Acura Vigor and Legend, miss them dearly on the highway.

 

[sdwaltz]

5.

I get pretty nasty vibrations above 70mph but it's quite possible that I need an alignment. My rear tires are within 10k miles of needing to be replaced, and I have an original suspension with 210,000 miles on it. I'm sure it'll massively improve when I get the tires/suspension replaced.

On a similar note, those who have replaced tires and suspension: what did it do for you in terms of how your 4Runners drive? I don't know how "bad" mine is simply because I don't know what a "perfect" 4Runner drives like. I have no point of reference.

 

[Denis_Ruso]

Straight line at 75MPH it tracks perfectly straight and there are almost no vibrations.

3

HOW?:lookout:

 

[cblock406]

Before I fixed the steering column slip joint it was a 1, absolutely terrible to drive even around town.

After fixing that and getting an alignment it drives great, easily an 8.

 

[octanejunkie]

Mine is about an 8 for what it is.

I have tundra billies on the third notch with OEM 4WD springs But I prefer my suspension a bit stiffer.

The truck rides smooth as silk on flat highway and it's easy to go too fast cause it's so smooth. New suspension bushings helped the ride quality a lot.

 

[papapoopski]

8 for me. No vibration at any speed.

I have 906's in the rear which are stiffer but I would rather it this way.

I used to get a vibration prior to LBJ replacement. Then I had a bad u joint. Once these were addressed it was smooth sailing.

That's what I love about my runner. I drop the kids off at school after 10 - 15 miles of smooth highway driving, 20 minutes later I'm in the woods rolling over muddy rutted out trails littered with wheel sized rocks. It handles both very well.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Compared to a sedan on the highway, a 7. Steering is dead on but you tend to feel all the bumps in the road with my current suspension (stiffer than stock).

It took a lot of work and basically a brand new steering and suspension to get it there though.

 

[SpidermanGeek]

When I bought mine, it had 10 year old 285/75/16 retreads with dynamic balancing beads on it. The front and rear sway bars where also removed, and a 3" lift.

The thing was an absolute nightmare on the highway. I definitely could not drive one handed at 65-75mph without the steering wheel moving my hand from side to side.

I've since replaced UBJ/LBJs, OTRE/ITREs, Front CV Axles, and reinstalled de front sway bar (didn't do the rear yet as I need to drill out the old mounting bolts that snapped). I also downsized my tires to newer 265/75/16's and had them balanced. The one thing I haven't done yet was get a new alignment.

Those replacements improved HWY handling tenfold. Going from a 2 to about a 4 or 5.

Now my vibrations are pretty much all gone, but we're still a bit away from anything resembling proper HWY behavior.

I have 2 leaking shocks (passenger side). It also suffers from the driver's side lean. I have no armor and don't carry a mounted spare tire (not even in stock location) and my 4runner usually is just hauling me in it. No cargo or other passengers. The ride quality is fairly rough, to say the least, but still pretty manageable in a straight line. Offramps scare the living daylights out of me though. If it happens to be rough pavement or full of potholes, forget it! I will stain my underwear. The truck bounces all over the place as becomes very hard to control. I have to make sure to REALLY slow down before taking offramps. Truck behaves extremely squirrelly and uneven on rough surfaces.

I currently blame bad/worn shocks, control arm bushings, an unlevelled panhard bar and the lack of a rear sway bar. I also have a u-joint that needs attention, so I know this will worsen as I neglect it. Oh, and if it's windy out, forget it. 2 hands on the wheel with constant steering input/correction.

Compared to pretty much any other vehicle I've driven, I would rate it a 5 out of 10.

My old slammed Sunfire GT had a rough ride as well, but it behaved predictably compared to my 4Runner.

 

[ridefast]

5

Gotta remember our 4Runners were designed around a federal speed limit of 55 MPH. Out here in the west the hills are big and the newer vehicles dominate the highways. I just poke along.

 

[Scramble]

My 99 3rz is a 9. I've slowly replaced all suspension parts over the last 4 years & the only thing left to do is the front lower control arm bushings. My steering rack & ITRE's are still original. New bushings fixed the wandering.

The biggest problem's are usually the steering rack bushings, unbalanced tires, improper alignment & worn double cardan joints.

 

[Ryance39]

I would have to say a 5 or 6. It goes smoothly down the road but does not feel particularly planted. I think I could use a steering rack and/or tierods. I'm not a huge fan of the narrow track width at highway speeds.

It is nothing on the highway like my Tundra used to be.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

That's quite the range of results, keep 'em coming.

But it looks like most of you are pretty happy, which means I can't throw in the towel yet and say "well that's how they're supposed to be".

Here is what I've done so far:

- Replaced LBJ's (no change)
- Had tires balanced (twice) (no change)
- Rotated tires (no change)
- Had truck aligned, tech said he saw no issues
- Greased u-joints (no change)
- Added poly rack bushings (seemed to shift vibration from 65 to 75 mph, though I'm not sure I drove enough to be completely sure of that)
- Replaced the steering rack guide with updated ('00+) design (this was interesting - at first I tightened it to the point just below where the steering wheel barely returned, and the vibration/shimmy in the steering wheel almost disappeared. But then I loosened it to the factory recommendations, and the vibration returned. So now I torqued it back up again, and the steering wheel vibration is again almost gone)

But I can feel vibration through the seat, and I can see the cups shaking in the cupholders, so I think the tightened steering rack guide is just masking the real issue. The vibration is mainly between 65 and 75 - it smooths out above that. I'd say it's a pretty low frequency vibration, if that helps narrow down the cause. ).

So given that, what should I try next?

I hate just throwing parts/money at it, because in the list below, it'll get quite spendy. How would you guys recommend diagnosing any of these, and which would you recommend doing first:

- ITRE/OTRE
- U-joints/double cardan
- balance driveshaft
- control arm bushings
- UBJ
- new tires
- others?

Aside from the vibration, the truck seems to pull left, right, or track straight, depending on how it feels on a given day. But I'd say that's the less annoying feature, I'd like to get the vibration figured out first.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I've since replaced UBJ/LBJs, OTRE/ITREs, Front CV Axles, ...

Those replacements improved HWY handling tenfold. Going from a 2 to about a 4 or 5.

Do you happen to remember which of the changes made the biggest improvement, or did you make them all at once?

 

[octanejunkie]

vibration in your seat, check your drive shaft/u joints