Steering Rack play

Hello,
New to this forum but I'm impressed by the responses and help I've already recieved here so here goes...

I've had a wiggle in my steering wheel for a while now. Side to side motion at around 65-75 mph. When I hit a bump in the road at highway speeds it would jerk the wheel and almost loose control.

I replaced the steering rack bushings and that made a heck of an improvement. It doesnt jerk as much going over bumps but the steering wheel wiggle is still there. Just had an alignment and tire balancing, but still the problem persists.

I just put the front end on jack stands and put my hands at 3 and 9 o clock on the front tires(both sides) and tried to work them to see if there is any play in the wheel. There was!

Best I can tell is that there is play in the steering rack module itself. Is this normal? I wouldn't think so but I hoping someone with better knowledge can shed some light on this. Maybe its time for a new sterring rack?

Any help appreciated

Thanks,
Dan

 

Could be loose tie rods or lower ball joints too? Can you look at those while wiggling the wheel? Start with easy and work back to the rack bushings.

 

Thank you for the reply. I have to confess my ignorance here.... seems the play I was seeing was from the wheel being locked. So I put the key in the ignition and unlocked the steering wheel and presto! The shake is gone in the rack and front end.

On to other culprits... I put the rear end on jack stands and turned the engine on and put it in drive so I could see the rear wheels rotate. There is a definite wiggle in both wheels. I switched the tires and wheels from front to back and the problem is still there. I took the tire off the rear completely and put it in gear and I can definitely see a wobble in the hub.

I shook the hubs to check for play and it has both in and out and side to side movement on both sides of the rear axle. Is this bad wheel bearings? Bad hubs? Bad axle?

Best,
Dan

 

Not sure about this one as a mechanic would know the ‘play’ tolerances. Might have to go have it checked out.

 

Maybe @01erionracing might have some thoughts. He replaced his rear axle seals or bearings recently, I believe.

 

Appreciate the feedback.

https://youtu.be/ALi64RQK3fw

In the video link, 10 seconds in, it shows the rear hub spinning with no tire. The hub is wobbling exactly like mine is when I took the tire off. So somehow over the years I bent the axle? Your thoughts?

 

Welcome.

How many miles on the truck?

Hopefully someone can help you out with the axle, I have no clue.

But If it was me. I would start with the low hanging fruit and replace all bushings, balljoints and bearings.

How is your tire wear?

 

165k miles. Runs excellent otherwise. The steering seemed pretty tight (minus the shaking at 65 mph) The tires are 7 years old but have good tread left. I was going to get all new wheels and tires but then this wobble is holding me back. Should I get the wheels and tires first before performing surgery?

So you think I should replace all the front end ball joints and bearings first? I'll have to find a diagram and parts list. Hopefully less expensive then the rear axle job.

Thanks for the feedback ,
Dan

 

I had a slight shake at 65 that was fixed by replacing the inner and outer tie rods.

 

I had all new tie rod ends put on at 148,000 miles. Could they be worn already. Mechanic I had do it probably used cheap parts.

Thanks for the replies

 

Did they replace just the tie rod ends or the inners as well? A worn inner tie rod would create the shake you mentioned. Even cheap parts should last longer than 17,000 miles but you never know. Is your truck lifted?

 

Might be worth taking it to a shop for evaluation. They might charge you for the eval but you will have a starting point.

 

They replaced both inner and outer. Is there a way to test the tie rods other than jacking up the front and shaking the tire?

 

You could always visually inspect the inner tie rod by removing the clamps on the bellow and sliding it down. When replacing mine I noticed a rip in one of bellows allowing water and road grime to damage the joint. This is what mine looked like:

 

Do you know what brand tie rods they used?

 

I'll have to try and find some hose clamps to replace those one-use clamps on the bellows so I can inspect. Not sure of the brand. Probably what ever Napa auto parts sells.

Edit: I still have the receipt (I save everything) it says 'ProDemand' maybe this is the brand?

Thanks for the help

 

Can’t find anything about “proDemand” parts. You can always use zip ties for the bellows, especially to inspect before getting metal clamps. The new bellows I got came with zip ties instead of a hose clamp. Gonna see how long they last.

 

Ah zip ties! Didn't know if they would hold. I'll try to give an update in a day or so.

Thanks a lot!

 

I doubled them up just in case and seem to be fine so far. Good luck with the project.

 

I decided to go ahead with the tires and wheels. The tires are going on 8 years old and starting to dryrot. One less variable that could be contributing to the issue. Still going to dig into the front end some more.

Best,
Dan

 

Good thinking. What tires are you going with?

 

Keep us posted.

 

I replaced inner/outer tie rod end using Moog brand. In the rear I replaced the oil seal and retainer from Toyota parts on both side because the oil leaking. There is no side to side movement on the rear wheel so I did not replace the bearing.

 

I decided on the Nitto Grappler g2.

 

Good choice.

 

Didn't get a chance to climb under the truck today.

Something I was thinking about:
Driving the truck after I got the (old) tires balanced and an alignment this past Friday, it was still shaking on the way home from the mechanic. I tried switching the tires around to see if something changed. I didn't notice any change really. But after driving back and forth from work today, it seems the problem is noticeably worse. The shaking is much more prominent then before the balancing. More arrows pointing to the tires/wheels?

Also I'm noticing side to side shake in the front end when hitting a bump or seem in the pavement. I'm contemplating replacing every bushing ball joint tie rod end in the front. I guess I should just be patient and see what the new wheels and tires do before committing to the front end work.

Best,
Dan

 

Start with the wheels and tires then start checking things off the list.

Btw, are you getting new wheels as well?

 

Curious if you have a front sway bar? Asking because I recently had some suspension work done and they reconnected the front sway bar with new links because the old had rusted and broken off a few years back. I’m noticing this ‘side jump/kick’ in the rear end when hitting a bump/crease at speed. Wondering if its because of the sway bar hook up. Didn’t do it when the bar was unhooked. I remember when the truck was new it did the same ‘side kick’ at speed.

 

KMC XD Cyclones in black. They have a center bore of 106.25mm which matches my Tundra's 106mm bore. Plus 0.25mm of rust... They were having a good deal on both the XDs and Nittos so I went for it.

As far as the sway bar, I do have the original front bar. I replaced the links, link bushings and sway bar bushings about....15,000 miles or so ago. I did this work because of the wobbly shaking I'm still experiencing. None of it improved anything notable.

Thanks for the replies,
Dan

 

Ok so I climbed under the truck to look at the inner tie rod ends...

Passenger side:


Driver's side


Looks like they are in good shape. The grease is rust colored so none of that brown is actually rust.

One thing I thought was odd was the driver's side looked like a seal might be missing going into the steering rack?

Passenger side:


Driver's side:


Maybe it's supposed to be that way?

Thanks,
Dan