2002 Tacoma Fishtailing

Hey everyone, I have officially joined Tacoma World after always reading threads without officially creating an account lol

Question! I have an 02 Tacoma PreRunner (2WD) that I’m having fishtailing issues with. When I’m driving on the freeway and even in town sometimes the truck feels very flimsy in the rear despite a canopy and two 50lb bags of sand that I have on.

My tire size is 265/70/16. The truck has a leveling kit in the front only (not sure which one) and the truck therefore appears to sit a little higher in the front than the back. I bought the truck like this and am unsure if the leveling kit in the front affects the overall suspension of the truck in a negative way. I’ve scheduled an appointment at Les Schwab for this week to get the shocks and suspension checked.

Has anybody had a similar experience to what I’m dealing with? If so, any suggestions?

 

Frame rust usually causes that sensation when the frames get really weak near the leaf hangers. If not it’s likely just worn suspension and the added weight won’t help either feel more “planted”

 

In addition to what @Empty_Lord mentions, you neglect to tell us what the road conditions are when you experience this, the age, wear level and type of tires you have.

 

Get underneath with a flashlight and make a video or some pictures.

We can't really see what is going on without that...

 

My gut instinct was to say tires... but the sure sign of bad traction is when the rear end breaks free when accelerating from stop. If you are fishtailing on the freeway... it might be multiple things going on. Either way, I wouldnt get on the freeway anymore until its fixed. Breaking traction at speed means you are a gnat's hair away from a life endangering catastrophe.

 

Need to know more about the conditions of the roads and your tires.

Regardless, if you're losing traction at freeway speeds you're either overdriving for the road conditions or there is something wrong with the vehicle and it shouldn't be on the freeway to begin with.

 

My internet bucks are 100% on old suspension.

 

Does this have a diff lock? Any chance the rear end is locked in posi? That will definitely feel odd at xway speeds.

 

I will definitely have Les Schwab look into this as I personally haven’t seen any rust. There’s been zero mention of rust as well when I’ve gone to get my oil changes done.

 

The truck feels flimsy in general regardless of the road conditions. If it’s windy then I feel it more. I currently have the Goodyear Wrangler’s that came off a 2017 trd off road. The tires do need replacement. Based on other responses I should probably start off with that.

 

I agree. I will definitely be looking into new tires asap as I do need some new ones. Helpful information to a newbie like me as I didn’t know this could cause this!

 

Here are pictures of the bottom and top of one of my rear shocks. They appear to be the OEM ones that originally came with my 2002 Tacoma. Feedback? At how many miles did you all install new shocks? My truck is sitting at 159k.

 

Those bushings are definitely toast, which means the shocks probably are toast too.

I replaced mine at 50k.

 

Non-rebuildable shocks have a lifespan of 30-50k. So at best, you're 109k overdue.

 

Well I have a project on my hands now. Thanks!

 

it does not have it

 

The rear shocks are a piece of cake. Two bolts per side- 10 minute job, 20 if you drop the spare tire to give yourself more room. Just get some 4600's and don't over think it. The front coilovers are a slightly different story. 4600's are your best bet for stock height, however, because you have to deal with the compressed coil springs, It's easier to have a shop either swap the coil, or get complete pre assembled units ready to go. Places like Wheelers offroad can preassemble a new coil and shock for you. At that point it's just 4 bolts, and a job you can easily do yourself.

 

Appreciate the feedback I’ll definitely use this!

 

change ur balljoints, its not that but change em and fuck schwab

 

Got the 4600s installed today on all 4 with the pre assembled units up front! Brand new falken wildpeak tires also. Fish tailing feeling is completely gone! Good looking out with your recommendation man