Rear End Swaying

The rear end of my 96 Tacoma Extended Cab 4x4 has started swaying side to side when being driven. It has new shocks and leaf springs on it. I haven't had the time to get under it yet, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem before. Thanks for any help.

 

A little more info needed please, what kind of shocks ??, what kind of springs ?? Tire type/pressure/condition ?? etc:... theres a few things that could do this, are/were you carrying a load in the back ?? The more info the better.....

Welcome to TW BTW...

 

Were new U-bolts installed with the leafs, and have they been re-torqued yet? They should be after 100 miles or so.

 

The shocks are generic light truck shocks from a shop in Kansas, the leafs are the four leaf springs from JC Whitley, new u-bolts were used and re-torqued once since instalation, tires are i good shape with only 15K on them, no load in the bed, and the road was freshly paved. The swaying started as soon as I started driving. Thanks for the help.

 

That sounds really weird, almost like an alignment issue or the leafs weren't set on the pins correctly. When is the last time it was aligned?

Does it do this in a straight line at any speed? Constantly? Or only in turns or curves?

If you can take some good, clear pictures of the springs, the shocks, and the shackles from underneath the truck and post them up, we might be able to help better.

The leaf springs for this truck are side specific. One is longer and higher that the other.

Can you verify that you did indeed get a R and L leaf, and that they are installed on the correct sides?

 

It happens in a straight line at any speed, and the shocks were installed three years ago and the springs were installed two years ago. This just started when I picked my truck up after my sister used it. It's still down at her place and I haven't had the chance to check it out yet. I'm wondering if it might be related to the frame rust issues that some tacoma have had.

 

OK, if you need help, you need to be careful about accurately presenting the facts. It sounded like you just had the shocks and springs installed, and this swaying was a direct result.

The fact is, the truck was fine after the install a few years ago, and your sister did something with the truck recently that messed it up. I'm betting she had a yard of gravel dumped into it or something stupid like that, and it damaged the springs or shocks.

1. Ask her what she did with it.
2. Take some pictures of the rear suspension.