Squirrely Steering

Hey all,

Im in need of some help and advise! My 01 tundra 4x4 has bilstein 5100 on the third notch in front...otherwise everything else is stock. I got some 16x9s with 265/70r16 on them.
My steering is very squirrely over about 35 mph on gravel roads that are fairly decent. Its seems to like to pull all over the place, which is weird and makes me feel a little on edge. My dads stock 2000 doesnt do it at all so...yeah. It had gone through an alignment recently. Anyone have a clue what might be wrong?? I checked under and everything seems attached, Thanks

 

If the alignment is causing it, you need more caster.

 

@joonbug I had them set my caster to max but withing spec. I believe it is at 2° on both left and right.

 

I'm not quite sure on a 1st Gen, but on a 3rd gen, 2* is very low and definitely can cause that. Did it start happening right after your alignment? Some of the 1st gen guys would know better. @Casper421 happens to be here.

 

I cant remember it being squirrelly because I used to could go to normal speed limit on gravel with no fear. Now its like, I might go into the ditch if I got above 40ish. Truck does have 152xxx too. I was thinking the alignment too, because I dont remember the steering be squirrely at all. Couldve just been me, so thats why Im here

 

If you can't find any other problems, I'd probably start with getting another alignment and raising the caster. On a 3rd gen, caster spec is 1.9-3.4, but anything under like 2.5 will cause the truck to wander and pretty bad bump steer. But not bad enough to feel like you're going to get pulled into a ditch.

 

I think I will call the alignment place up and see if they will do it again for a lower price then and try to get 3°. Like I understand that loose sand/gravel would pull you around because its loose, but even when its just a gravel road, I feel like Im going go onto the ditch. I drove home and went on a gravel after a good rainstorm here and anything over 30-35 mph, I felt it alright. Nothing on pavement though, tracks straight when there is no crosswind and a little bump steering...this only happens on gravel so far.

 

Here was the recent alignment printout from a couple of weeks ago just for more information.

 

I don’t remember what my caster is at since I’ll be getting another alignment coming up.

I remember @Rheywood456 having good insight into caster #’s. He will chime in..

 

Check ball joints, tie rod ends, control arm bushings, steering rack bushings, and the steering rack itself.

A little play in one can make a big difference.

 

@Festerw those were on of the first things I checked when I rotated my tires this past weekend. Everything felt sturdy with no play. I will check again though when it dries up a little. And thanks for all the input folks, keep'em coming.

 

this happened to me after a recent alignment. They did not tighten down my alignment bolts enough. They worked loose. So I had very squirrely steering that would take me all over the place. I went back and had the shop owner do it and tighten everything correctly, no issues since.

 

@00TundraZ thanks for the input, I am going back to the alignment shop this Monday so I will make sure to tell them that. They probably hate me but I dont care haha I want what I paid for. Do you have your alignment numbers so I could reference?

 

Hmm, maybe. I honestly can't remember if he printed them for me or not. The guy is a buddy of mine and he actually lets me come back into his shop and hang out. So I saw the numbers and they were OK, but I can't remember if he printed anything. I'll check my truck and see if I have the paper!

 

The guy that wrote these specs was a Hunter alignment tech. They're what he recommended for the 1st gen Tundras after doing a lot of them.

 

Pretty much on with the caster DJ reccomended...I will ask them to go to 3° if possible or as close as possible. Toe is alittle higher.

 

toe out will also cause it to wander. I can't remember if that's + or - though.

 

Inner and outer tie rods and steering rack bushings well all cause loose feeling while driving .

 

Just went through getting good numbers. Shop maxed out my caster. Was hoping for 3+ but got 2.5...

How are your steering rack Bushings? When I replaced mine with some Poly Bushings that firmed up my steering quite a bit

 

Just had entire front end rebuilt by a shop after she started getting wore out. Billys 5100 at one notch up from stock height.

Brand new Michelin 285/75/r16. Truck rides/steers beautifully. Tire wear looks even with 5k miles so far.

Hope these specs help.

 

@Rheywood456 thanks for the input, and my steering bushings are still snug and in place. Had my uncle, a retired toyota mechanic, check it out again with me and said the steering bushings, tie rods, lbjs, ubjs, and sway bar links were still in a great shape. No clunks or rocking with both front tires suspended up and rocking the 9-3, 12-6, and tires spun normally.
Let him drive with me in the passenger and on pavement, he said it drove really good and seemed steady with tight handling. Then I said take a turn onto that gravel road...he did...then he kinda slammed on the brakes and said, "That is not good, should be more stable then this." So he looked at my alignment sheet and said try either higher caster (+2.6) or lower caster (+1.5).

@Professional Hand Model your caster is pretty much right in the middle of the range...makes me wonder if I should go more caster or less being at 2° right now. How does it handle on bumpier roads/gravel?

 

It handles very well on the street. Tows/Hauls nicely. I dont have much experience offroad other than sand/beach driving and no problems there, but thats usually low speeds of less than 25mph.

No expert here, but the guys did a good job on the front end and they set the alignment where they thought it should be. Having no expertise, I just put these specs up to give you a reference point. Hope you get it worked out.

 

Here's mine, I live down a dirt road and don't have any issues. I also have adjustable upper arms so I have more caster than you can get.

 

Thanks all! I am going to get the alignment check/adjusted this monday and if still wandering then im just going to replace the front end parts. I was going to do it anyways, just not this soon. They still are decent, but with 152XxX, I might as well change them out!

 

Thats the mileage when my front was really starting to give up.

 

@Professional Hand Model You went all OEM right? the tie rods are kinda pricey, any thing that might be a good alternative for those?

 

Yes sir OEM except the LCA cam bolts which the service guys said they wanted to use another brand because they could ‘do the alignment the way they wanted with them better than OEM’. Thats their job so I trusted and its holding well.

They kept my original tie rods because they were ok. Same with UCAs and joints. Saved some money there since still good.

Aftermarket new rotors and pads, front sway links, Billy5100.

All new OEM LCA$$$, lower ball joint$$$.