Rate your truck's highway manners

[4Runner4Leon]

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

How? I guess take the driveshaft to be balanced?

I did have a thought on checking the driveshaft/u-joints (tell me if I'm nuts) - can I remove the rear driveshaft and drive it with just the front driveshaft in 4WD mode?

 

[TRD 4RNR]

Swapping my stock wheels (and tires) for:
17" TRD Pro Wheels & BFG KO2 265/70R17 (C Load)

Has improved my highway ride to a 9 - even at 75mph

 

[SpidermanGeek]

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

All done at once, including the install of the front sway bar (with new mounting hardware and endlinks)

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Swapping my stock wheels (and tires) for:
17" TRD Pro Wheels & BFG KO2 265/70R17 (C Load)

Has improved my highway ride to a 9 - even at 75mph

What was the ride like before the swap? And was something wrong with the wheels/tires?

 

[octanejunkie]

How? I guess take the driveshaft to be balanced?

I did have a thought on checking the driveshaft/u-joints (tell me if I'm nuts) - can I remove the rear driveshaft and drive it with just the front driveshaft in 4WD mode?

Others have done that, it's not nuts

 

[v_man]

Ok I'm in a 2nd gen, but I want ya'll to feel better...my SAS crawler is definite 1. It does, and always has, pulled hard to the passenger side, as in if you let go of the wheel you be in a ditch in about 2 seconds. No airbags, no A/C. A loud droning sound at highway speed that leaves your ear ringing after a lengthy drive, and it tops out around 65 mph. The heater works great tho!

 

[JZiggy]

I've always liked driving my 3rd gen on the highway. Road noise is acceptable, vibrations are minimal, it feels stable and smooth. BUT it has 265/70R16s that are fresh and balanced, alignment is good, not lifted, and most suspension parts are new. My only complaint is that sometimes the steering wheel "jiggles" a bit on beat up roads.

Easily an 8/10, it's a great road trip vehicle.

 

[SeaBass8]

A solid 7
Smooth and straight at hiway speeds. I usually cruise at about seventy occasionally touching seventy five. No pull to either side, easy to steer and control with a very solid feel.
The only thing I would note is vibration when braking. Likely due to rotors that I plan on addressing in the spring.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I've always liked driving my 3rd gen on the highway. Road noise is acceptable, vibrations are minimal, it feels stable and smooth. BUT it has 265/70R16s that are fresh and balanced, alignment is good, not lifted, and most suspension parts are new. My only complaint is that sometimes the steering wheel "jiggles" a bit on beat up roads.

Easily an 8/10, it's a great road trip vehicle.

I'm jealous . I should have mentioned that mine is completely stock, not lifted, etc. The tires are old (~8 years), but have lots of treadwear still, so I'd hate to replace them (especially if that is not the issue). Wheels look fine, I guess I can check them for runout.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

So I'm thinking that in the order of lowest cost, I can start with the following:

- Remove rear driveshaft and see if anything changes with just the front (would rule out u-joint and double cardan wear, driveshaft imbalance)
- Check wheels for runout
- Maybe see if I can find a tire store to put on a different set of tires to try out

 

[thezentree]

Others have done that, it's not nuts

I've done 70mph (only for a few miles) with the rear driveshaft out. Not a big deal, just don't forget that Park won't do anything to keep your car parked if you're not in 4wd with the center diff locked!

 

[4Runner4Leon]

I've done 70mph (only for a few miles) with the rear driveshaft out. Not a big deal, just don't forget that Park won't do anything to keep your car parked if you're not in 4wd with the center diff locked!

Good point, thanks! That'll be the first thing to try.

 

[gamefreakgc]

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.

Vibrations through the steering wheel= steering component (tie rod, rack, etc.) problem.

Vibrations through seat/body = wheel/axle/driveshaft problem. I noticed you said you haven't changed the tires, if the tire tread is now uneven or "cupped" you will never get rid of the shake until you get new tires.

 

[4Runner4Leon]

Vibrations through the steering wheel= steering component (tie rod, rack, etc.) problem.

Vibrations through seat/body = wheel/axle/driveshaft problem. I noticed you said you haven't changed the tires, if the tire tread is now uneven or "cupped" you will never get rid of the shake until you get new tires.

Jerod, thanks. So I have BOTH steering/rack AND wheel/axle/driveshaft issues??? :frusty:

I do think I'll try new tires, I just don't like the age/look of mine. Just need to sweet talk America's Tire into letting me try a set...

 

[Kanoe]

I would say 7 for me.

Drives nice and solid and tight but I have a mild vib at 90-100 km/hr. Goes away over 110. I am blaming it on crap tires, seems to follow 1 in particular. They have been balanced several times but no real improvement. I'm waiting to see what new rubber does when I get a set.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Jerod, thanks. So I have BOTH steering/rack AND wheel/axle/driveshaft issues??? :frusty:

I do think I'll try new tires, I just don't like the age/look of mine. Just need to sweet talk America's Tire into letting me try a set...

I just lived with the wobble until it was time for me to change tires. I basically had to replace every steering component, ball joint, etc. to get my steering wobbles 100% gone. If the front tires are also cupped or uneven, it could also cause steering wobble as well.

If you tires are fairly new, it's not worth paying for new tires again though.

 

[Hepar]

Are the vibrations only at freeway speed? If so, that lends me to think it's something with your wheels. Process of elimination. I think I saw in a previous post that you may try to see if you can swap out wheels to test that out. I'd say that's a good place to start.

 

[thecole1098]

I'd say mine is a 7 on the highway. My only annoyance now after all that I've done is a slight vibration around 60-70MPH and I think it's either due to a worn u joint or my mud terrains.

Other than that, it tracks amazing and takes bumps really well but that's because I replaced virtually every single component on this thing and have SPC UCAs thanks to my lift. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure the only things that are still original in my suspension is the front LCA bushings, driveshafts and rear control arm bushings. Oh I also removed my rear sway bar.

 

[TylerW]

My 4runner clocks in around 7.

It handles great all the way up to the 70 mph threshold. But any higher and it gets a floaty feeling. It sits on 33" Toyo Opencountry ATll's with a 3" lift front and rear. (Eibach/Toytec coilers up front with SPC UCA). I recently replaced the inner and outer tie rods (both OEM), lower ball joints (OEM), sway bar bushings (Energy Suspension), steering rack bushings (Energy Suspension), and an alignment to go with. That definitely helped with the floaty feeling but didn't totally fix it. I think it's safe to say that the truck drives as well as it possibly can considering the lift and tires.

 

[pluton]

Mine is like most trucks: from mini-trucks(in which category the 4Runner sits) to big rigs, basically unsafe in emergency handling above about 30-35MPH.
The OME suspension I have is unnecessarily rough, except when fully loaded.