Steering Wheel Vibration

[verman84]

I can occasionally feel slight steering wheel “clacking” over bumps in the road. Feels like the steering column is loose. I need to strap a GoPro to my chest and drive down a washboard gravel road to show people what I’m talking about. This is a third vehicle now, used for pulling the boat, carrying bikes, and hauling cargo like kegs and stuff from Lowe’s or Home Depot. Current off road vehicle is a lifted Jeep Rubicon. Daily driver Honda Accord.

The easiest way to diagnose if its tire/wheel related is to rotate your rear tires to the front and see if you get the same issues.

As for road vibrations, what kinds of tires are you running, what PSI, and what is your suspension setup. Also, how old is your suspension? With certain tires especially in E load and aggressive tread patterns, you can feel more vibrations through the wheel but your shocks should be insulating you from most of that. Consider your shocks age and inspect them to see if they are leaking.

The steering column "clack" could be a few things.

I've felt this for a while. Some people solved it by tightening the first bolt where the steering shaft comes through the firewall down by the pedals (first thread). Other people had success with sliding the steering shaft coupler up slightly (second thread). The other fix that people seemed to have a permanent fix was from spot welding the slip connection in the column itself (third thread) to remove the play between those two pieces.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/124180-steering-column-clack-resolved.html

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/57115-steering-wheel-knock-2.html

Diagnose and Fix Steering Play/Rattle - TTORA Forum

 

[Ida4runner]

Nope. Any suggestions?

Bad CV joint?

Edit: just read your last response,forget the CV idea. Possible steering rack?

 

[4by4th]

Bad CV joint?

Edit: just read your last response,forget the CV idea. Possible steering rack?

Our 4R has had this issue for a few years now, long enough that I’ve gone from Nitto TG’s, BFG A/T’s, and currently BFG M/T take-offs from our Rubicon. The issue is not tire related. I’ve read every thread I could find on this forum and others. My best guess is the steering rack, just haven’t gone through the hassle and expense to have it replaced, since that might or might not fix it. Steering is tight on the road. Bilstein struts on the front are fine, recently replaced the rear shocks when the Rough Country 3 inch lift was added when we put the M/T’s on. The lift made no difference to the clacking issue. It’s not bothering me so much since most/all of my driving with the 4R is on road now. However, my sons both want this 4R when I let it go so I would like to fix it. Biggest problem with local mechanics and explaining the issue is there aren’t any gravel roads near here to show them.