Why Does my Driver Front Wheel Wiggle?

[RPC]

Had my truck on jack stands today and noticed a looseness in the driver front wheel. I have done a variety of work under the truck and never noticed this until now. Can only wiggle it left to right, top to bottom is rock solid. Passenger wheel is rock solid left to right/top to bottom.

2008 V8 SR5 w/105K mi, 99.9% of which is highway.

Put a video of it on YouTube here.

Can I get some help diagnosing this?

Thanks in advance.

-Rex

 

[AuSeeker]

Had my truck on jack stands today and noticed a looseness in the driver front wheel. I have done a variety of work under the truck and never noticed this until now. Can only wiggle it left to right, top to bottom is rock solid. Passenger wheel is rock solid left to right/top to bottom.

2008 V8 SR5 w/105K mi, 99.9% of which is highway.

Put a video of it on YouTube here.

Can I get some help diagnosing this?

Thanks in advance.

-Rex

My best guess would be tie-rod ends worn out.

Have someone else wiggle the tire and you look for movement in the tie-rod end, it might be more noticeable if you leave the tire on the ground and have them move the steering wheel back and forth.

Edit: I didn't watch the video before replying, but I just did and can clearly see movement in the tie-rod end, replace it ASAP, it not likely under easy driving but it can come apart without warning if you hit any rough spot on the road and the results would not be good at all!!

I think it would be a good idea to replace both sides, the passenger's side most likely is worn as well but not as bad as the driver;s side at this point.

 

[Ida4runner]

Looks like your tie rod end is lose or worn out,easy fix.

 

[RPC]

My best guess would be tie-rod ends worn

Edit: I didn't watch the video before replying, but I just did and can clearly see movement in the tie-rod end, replace it ASAP

Looks like your tie rod end is lose or worn out,easy fix.

Thanks guys.

Are tie rods repairable or are they just replaced? My default is OEM, but any other brand recommendations?

 

[f250ben]

Thanks guys.

Are tie rods repairable or are they just replaced? My default is OEM, but any other brand recommendations?

Tie rods aren't a repairable item. They're very straightforward to replace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq4T1YTrcHo

That's for a tacoma, but the suspension is all the same.

I'd go ahead and at least do outer tie rods on both sides, inner and outer if you're feeling real on top of things. Outer tie rods aren't a difficult job at all. I takes longer to take the tire off than it does to swap out the tie rods after you've done it once. This also isn't something I really bother spending triple for OEM on. Just my .02

Make sure you get an alignment after you do this work. Technically by counting threads/measuring and measuring your toe, you can replicate your settings without realigning. But considering the state of your existing tie rod, I wouldn't bother. You probably need an alignment anyways.

 

[RPC]

Great input, thanks Ben.

 

[AuSeeker]

Thanks guys.

Are tie rods repairable or are they just replaced? My default is OEM, but any other brand recommendations?

Tie-rod ends need to be replaced, it's your outer tie-rod end that is bad in your video, you want to use the best you can buy IMHO since control of where the vehicle goes while driving is of upmost importance, which would be OEM which cost $40+ for one, you need 2 if you do both sides which I would recommend, BUT some of the after market are of good quailty for much less money, you can compared many of the after market ones on RockAuto, here are links to OEM and RockAuto.

https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota....0cnVubmVyJnk9MjAwOCZ0PXNyNSZlPTQtN2wtdjgtZ2Fz

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,2008,4runner,4.7l+v8,1441495,steering,tie+rod+end,7428

You can replace the tie-rod ends yourself if you have basic mechanical skills and tools, 2 things to use care on when doing the replacement, first is to be very careful not to damage the speed sensor or wiring which is located next to where the tie-rod end connects to the steering arm, second is to take an accurate measurement from the center of the tie-rod end pivot point where it connect to the steering arm to the tie-rod sleeve where the end threads into, counting the threads sometimes won't work if using an after market end or if the one you're replacing is after market as the threads maybe different to the pivot point, if you don't get the ends installed with the correct measurement to the end of the sleeve it will change your toe-end and you will need to get an alignment shop to re-set the toe-end correctly, if you haven't had an alignment done recently it's not a bad idea to get one after replacing the tie-rod ends to insure the toe-end is correct.

 

[RPC]

Tie-rod ends need to be replaced, it's your outer tie-rod end that is bad in your video, you want to use the best you can buy IMHO since control of where the vehicle goes while driving is of upmost importance, which would be OEM which cost $40+ for one, you need 2 if you do both sides which I would recommend, BUT some of the after market are of good quailty for much less money, you can compared many of the after market ones on RockAuto, here are links to OEM and RockAuto.

https://toyotaparts.mcgeorgetoyota....0cnVubmVyJnk9MjAwOCZ0PXNyNSZlPTQtN2wtdjgtZ2Fz

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,2008,4runner,4.7l+v8,1441495,steering,tie+rod+end,7428

You can replace the tie-rod ends yourself if you have basic mechanical skills and tools, 2 things to use care on when doing the replacement, first is to be very careful not to damage the speed sensor or wiring which is located next to where the tie-rod end connects to the steering arm, second is to take an accurate measurement from the center of the tie-rod end to the tie-rod sleeve where the end threads into, if you don't get the ends installed with the correct measurement to the end of the sleeve it will change your toe-end and you will need to get an alignment shop to re-set the toe-end correctly, if you haven't had an alignment done recently it's not a bad idea to get one after replacing the tie-rod ends to insure the toe-end is correct.

Solid gold AU, thank you.