Shocks, struts, or springs?

250,000 miles and my 2004 2wd Tacoma is awesome....except for the ride. I drive with fists wrapped around the steering wheel. What do I need?!? Or where do I start? The mechanic said to start with front shocks but they were replaced 40,000 miles ago (by another mechanic). I just dont think he really looked it over.

Is there a common procedure that needs to be done to my high mileage Tacoma to get my good ride back for the next 250,000 miles?

 

Control arm bushings, tie rod ends, rack and pinion bushings, sway bar bushings, wheel bearings, strut mounts, possibly ball joints -- basically anything that is rubber or that will wear could be suspect. Going through and replacing all of these items should definitely tighten things back up. Most are not very expensive, and doing all at once should save some labor cost rather than doing one thing and then going back to do another.

Also, not sure what shocks they put on, but the really cheap ones can make things ride even worse (Monroe, Gabriel). Bilstein's or the better KYB's are not much more expensive and will give a much better ride and handling.

 

Thank you for your reply. Those terms sound correct! It's definitely a handling problem, not a bouncy problem. "Jarring" would help describe it too. Thanks again.

 

x2