Steering wheel shimmy

[turkeyman]

My 2000 4runner has a pretty significant steering wheel shimmy at 60-65 mph. The shimmy is virtually nonexistent at any other speeds.

I have new tires and today had them road forced balanced on the Hunter machine with the Hawkea adapter. I watched my buddy check the tires and we had to rotate the tires on the rims on all but one. They took much less weight to balance than before...but the shimmy is no better.

I do have some movement in the steering rack bushings. But everything I read about these bushings really concerned a "loose" feeling in the steering or problems with the steering wheel returning to center. I have none of those problems.

I have checked the tie rod ends and ball joints and cant find anything loose.

Now what?

 

[econhonda]

New rack bushings solved the same problem for me.

 

[THEREALTOR1]

Try tightening up your steering rack guide nut? I did this to mine before I bought a new guide and spring but it didn't quite take all of the vibration out so I was planning on replacing it with a new one, however since then i've put my new wheels on and had it realigned again and most of the vibration has gone away now. I'm still planning on changing my guide out just haven't gotten around to it.

As usual, whenever I find an issue I usually try and research it like crazy, so here's some light reading for you:

Vibration Problems

Rack & Pinion issue - 2001 Taco - TTORA Forum

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/70884-how-replace-steering-rack-guide-pictures.html

Diagnose and Fix Steering Play/Rattle - TTORA Forum

Hopefully these will at least give you some ideas. Good luck.

 

[KSWAY]

Switch out your wheels and tires with someone and see if it still does it.
I went through multiple wheel balance and alignment on mine before getting a different set of wheels. Shimmy was gone after that..

 

[Baja Runner]

Bushings is my first guess, but here's a simple technique:

Jack front up, so tires are off ground.

Grab tire at 9 and 3 o'clock, and push/pull. There should be no movement. If there is, then its steering rack bushings or inner tie rods.

Next, grab tire at 12 and 6 o'clock and push/pull. If that moves that means that your upper and/or lower ball joints need replacement.

 

[turkeyman]

I own an 06 tundra also. I borrowed her wheels and tried them...still the same. there is no slack anywhere in the front end with the tires lifted on a jack. there is quite a bit of movement in the entire rack so I ordered a bushing kit. I checked on the tundra and saw no movement whatsoever so I know the bushings are at least contributing to the shimmy. I will update this thread as soon as I complete the job.

 

[econhonda]

Any 4runner owners tack weld the slip joint in the steering column? I assume it is just like the taco setup...? I'm thinking I may go that route if the steering rack guide doesn't eliminate the knock noise when I go offroad. My steering feels tight after I replaced the bushings, but it still knocks when I hit some good sized bumps.

 

[THEREALTOR1]

Any 4runner owners tack weld the slip joint in the steering column? I assume it is just like the taco setup...? I'm thinking I may go that route if the steering rack guide doesn't eliminate the knock noise when I go offroad. My steering feels tight after I replaced the bushings, but it still knocks when I hit some good sized bumps.

I thought about it econ, but its a little above my skill level. I'd also would like to hear from anybody that's done it and what kind of results they've achieved.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Any 4runner owners tack weld the slip joint in the steering column? I assume it is just like the taco setup...? I'm thinking I may go that route if the steering rack guide doesn't eliminate the knock noise when I go offroad. My steering feels tight after I replaced the bushings, but it still knocks when I hit some good sized bumps.

Hold on there... It doesn't sound like the slip joint is your problem. The symptom of a bad slip joint is backlash in the steering wheel (meaning you can turn the wheel a bit and it doesn't turn the wheels, like the steering wheel is loose). You havn't described any looseness, just a knocking. A knock could come from just about anywhere, not even suspension/steering components. You would be defeating a safety feature for no purpose.

You can do an easy test to confirm the slip joint problem. You need to be absolutely sure that it your problem before welding it. Read up on it on the TTora thread linked from the tutorial and document reference sticky.

 

[econhonda]

Hold on there... It doesn't sound like the slip joint is your problem. The symptom of a bad slip joint is backlash in the steering wheel (meaning you can turn the wheel a bit and it doesn't turn the wheels, like the steering wheel is loose). You havn't described any looseness, just a knocking. A knock could come from just about anywhere, not even suspension/steering components. You would be defeating a safety feature for no purpose.

You can do an easy test to confirm the slip joint problem. You need to be absolutely sure that it your problem before welding it. Read up on it on the TTora thread linked from the tutorial and document reference sticky.

Sorry, I should have taken more time to clarify. My onroad steering feels much improved and tight. Offroad steering feels sloppy and delayed. I feel the "knock" in the steering for sure. I just replaced LBJ's and OTE's less than 500 miles ago. I'm pretty sure it relates to the rack guide or the slip joint.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Sorry, I should have taken more time to clarify. My onroad steering feels much improved and tight. Offroad steering feels sloppy and delayed. I feel the "knock" in the steering for sure. I just replaced LBJ's and OTE's less than 500 miles ago. I'm pretty sure it relates to the rack guide or the slip joint.

You still need to to do the check for slip joint backlash. You could still feel a knock in your steering and have it coming from just about anywhere. The test is really quick and you don't have to disassemble anything.

 

[econhonda]

You still need to to do the check for slip joint backlash. You could still feel a knock in your steering and have it coming from just about anywhere. The test is really quick and you don't have to disassemble anything.

I guess that's true. I'll do the test. Thanks.

 

[1985taylor1925]

Sorry, I should have taken more time to clarify. My onroad steering feels much improved and tight. Offroad steering feels sloppy and delayed. I feel the "knock" in the steering for sure. I just replaced LBJ's and OTE's less than 500 miles ago. I'm pretty sure it relates to the rack guide or the slip joint.

Yours sounds like inner rods or the steering rack itself going bad. I had a knock in mine and the only thing that fixed it was the rack I just put on. Thread titled "jitters on bumps" might be helpful

 

[econhonda]

Yours sounds like inner rods or the steering rack itself going bad. I had a knock in mine and the only thing that fixed it was the rack I just put on. Thread titled "jitters on bumps" might be helpful

I sure hope that's not the case. Been through your thread a number of times. I'm going to try a new guide first to see if that does the trick. Then we'll see.

 

[kruegs]

I hope your right too econhonda... although I am in the same boat (feels good on the road, steering OK etc. but lots of clunks and issues offroad). I just did the guide and it unfortuantely did not fix the issue. I am convinced mine is the rack or inner rods. At this point however I will live with the annoyance when I wheel my Runner and save the cash. Next year at some point I will likely take another real stab at the true fix. Hopefully yours is cured via the new guide!

 

[econhonda]

I hope your right too econhonda... although I am in the same boat (feels good on the road, steering OK etc. but lots of clunks and issues offroad). I just did the guide and it unfortuantely did not fix the issue. I am convinced mine is the rack or inner rods. At this point however I will live with the annoyance when I wheel my Runner and save the cash. Next year at some point I will likely take another real stab at the true fix. Hopefully yours is cured via the new guide!

Ouch. Have you done the slip joint test in that TTORA thread?

 

[1985taylor1925]

I hope your right too econhonda... although I am in the same boat (feels good on the road, steering OK etc. but lots of clunks and issues offroad). I just did the guide and it unfortuantely did not fix the issue. I am convinced mine is the rack or inner rods. At this point however I will live with the annoyance when I wheel my Runner and save the cash. Next year at some point I will likely take another real stab at the true fix. Hopefully yours is cured via the new guide!

You can probably diagnose the problem if it is the rack. If you take off the boots you can grab the shaft of the steering rack on both driver and passenger side. Shake that piece rigorously and see if there's any play in it whatsoever. I was able to get mine to knock back and forth just a tiny bit shaking it by hand, on both sides. Also you can have someone turn the wheel back and forth a few inches while you observe the rack. Mine had some slight play with both of these tests. If you can see it move just by hand, or by turning the wheel while parked, just imagine how much that movement is magnified when the 5000 lb vehicle hits a bump while in motion. Basically any movement at all can translate into a knock, shake, or jitter when you hit a bump.

I replaced the rack guide in mine too before doing anything else. It didnt fix mine either. And even if it helps the driver side, there is no guide on the passenger side. So when the internals on that side go bad, the only option is a new rack unfortunately

 

[turkeyman]

An update...Just replaced the rack bushings. Absolutely no improvement whatsoever. I am disappointed to say the least. Still has the highway shimmy in st wheel.

Gonna have her lined up tomorrow.

 

[raidernation]

I thought about it econ, but its a little above my skill level. I'd also would like to hear from anybody that's done it and what kind of results they've achieved.

I just did the "roll pin" version of this mod last weekend since my welder went tits up a few months ago. It was a very easy mod. I used a 3/16 inch x 1 inch long roll pin. I drilled through both the solid shaft and the slip joint....first with a small bit, then with the 3/16" bit. Keep your bits lubed and it will go fairly quick. Then hammer in your roll pin and grind off the excess that sticks out from the side. It completely fixed my steering clunk. The steering feels nice and tight.

Check out this other thread from TTORA, pg 5. This is where I got the info for the roll pin version.

http://www.ttora.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11145&highlight=steering&page=5

 

[Nelsonmd]

I just did the "roll pin" version of this mod last weekend since my welder went tits up a few months ago. It was a very easy mod. I used a 3/16 inch x 1 inch long roll pin. I drilled through both the solid shaft and the slip joint....first with a small bit, then with the 3/16" bit. Keep your bits lubed and it will go fairly quick. Then hammer in your roll pin and grind off the excess that sticks out from the side. It completely fixed my steering clunk. The steering feels nice and tight.

Check out this other thread from TTORA, pg 5. This is where I got the info for the roll pin version.

Clunking steering column/shaft? - Page 5 - TTORA Forum

Let's not jack this thread to a slip joint discussion. The OP hasn't yet even tested for that, so let's shelve it until he has and confirm if that is the problem. That is a much more last resort mod that is permanent and disables a safety feature, so shouldn't be done until you are 100% sure that is the cause.