Front end tremble/shakes over rough roads and steering wheel shake

Hello everyone. I’m new here and am hoping other tundra owners have gone through this annoying mysterious feeling I have with my 2015 Toyota Tundra crew max. I have recently had a 4 inch lift with NB rough country premium lifted struts for the front(no top hat spacers) Bilstein 5100 struts for the rear, aftermarket upper control arms, and front diff drop mount kit. My tires are 35/12.50r20 open country at2(brand new).I’ve had this on going issue before and after my lift. Here comes my ocd concern. When I’m driving down rough dirt roads, free way bumps/small pot holes, old rough roads I can feel trembling/shaking in my front end that I can feel through the floorboard and also when this happens my steering wheel shakes left to right. I’ve checked upper ball joints/lower ball joints/sway bar bushings/sway bar links/inner and outer tie rods/ wheel bearings/hubs/ and they are all solid as should be with no play. Recently I have gone insane because I have drove other lifted tundras and they do not have this issue. I have ocd like no other when it comes to my personal vehicles. Last Sunday I was going insane just thinking about what could be the cause and decided to check the above mentioned parts. I had my friend turn my steering wheel left to right while I laid under the front end looking at the steering rack and noticed with each wheel turn my rack moved a inch to a inch and a half to both sides. I then viewed my driver side and passenger side rack mounting bushings and can see the rack is moving considerably due to the bushings. I also noticed my front diff mounting brackets are slanted upwards towards the rear and not flat. When I use a floor jack to lift the front end off the ground I noticed my front diff mounting brackets are sitting flat and not at a angle and am thinking that when the wheels are on the ground the diff drop mounts I have are not big enough causing the angle/slant. My question is can this possibly be what is causing my concern-worn steering rack bushings and The front diff mounting brackets not sitting flat when the vehicle is sitting on its own weight. To me this would make sense I’m thinking that when driving over rough roads my steering rack is moving around causing my steering wheel to shake left to right and the trembling is due to my front diff drop mounts are to small causing my front diff to move up and down causing the trembling/shaking. Has anyone ever experienced this or have any insight and also could this be what is causing my concern. Also driving without hitting bumps in the road it drives smooth as should be but once it hits rough roads it acts up.

 

You should NOT have a shift in the placement of your steering rack........especially that much

 

Thank you for the reply. Have you had worn steering rack bushings before and if so how did it drive/handle while driving down rough roads. I ordered polyurethane steering rack bushings a few days ago and they just arrived today. I’m going to have them installed at one of my other shops tomorrow and am hoping it at least takes care of the steering wheel shake or both.

 

That oughtta help but have you also looked over your wheel balances? Irregular tire wear?

 

Tires are new. Previous tires had no cupping or uneven wear, tires were just road force balanced.

 

What Uppers you run?

 

I believe they are rough country. I had to replace the upper control arms when I had my 4 inch lift installed due to my stock upper control arms would make contact. The new upper control arms give it more room so no contact at all. Plus I have noticed after installing them it rides a hell of a lot better.

 

Once you get the steering rack mounts fixed I bet you notice a massive improvement

 

That is what I am hoping for. I love this truck. With the ongoing issue I am having if the rack and pinion bushings and bigger front diff drop mounts do not take care of it Then i will consider replacing my upper/lower arm bushings with polyurethane bushings. I just thought I’d ask everyone if they experienced this issue since I can not find any forums about this.

 

Take a pic of the diff drop mounts...

 

I have my truck at one of my shops right now or else I would post a picture. I’ll give a update after I get it back.

 

Still having the rack and pinion bushings being replaced. Will be done tomorrow. My tech recommended a 6inch rough country lift kit and he said all my concerns would be taken care of. I was considering installing the 7inch bds lift with fox shocks sometime in the near future but the price he gave me on install/out the door on this kit is hard to beat. Does anyone here have this lift kit (rough country 6 inch lift) and if so how are you liking it- how does your truck ride on and off-road? Is it a good kit?

 

The old RC kits had many complaints. The newer stuff they have coming out is quality and I'm taking that from a guy who left Readylift's design team and now designs for RC.

 

That is comforting to know. Do you know what kit number would be the old kit and what kit part number would be the updated lift (good) kit or have they not release the new updated kit.

 

That I do not. Just make sure the kid's manufactured date is recent.