Steering wheel easily moves to the left or right when going over any bumpy terrain

Hey y’all.

so I’ve noticed for a while that whenever I’m going over anything bumpy my steering wheel easily wants to turn itself to the left or the right.

I’ve also noticed when going over 60 the steering wheeling shimmies left to right as well. I’ve had my tires balanced, shop says the tie rods, control arms, LBJ pinion look good. So… I have literally no idea what is causing this, and they don’t seem interested in finding out.

any advice, thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

Check the u-joint on the intermediate shaft too. Lots of posts with pics regarding that bad boy. Mine was super crusty but wasn't in as bad of shape as I had thought when I replace it, but some folks have shown some that were definitely bad.

 

Given the symptoms you describe, I kind of doubt it's the intermediate steering shaft. Personally, I'd be looking at the steering rack. How many miles on your truck?

 

160k. I know they aren’t the best when it comes to steering rack longevity. However, that’s an 1800$ repair I’m not anxious to do lol. They advised the rack and pinion seems alright, but idk.. :/

 

Have you replaced your front wheel bearings yet? I didn't see that on the list of things the shop checked and they generally go any time after about 115,000 miles. A seriously bad wheel bearing (or two) would cause loose steering. What kind of shape are the front shocks in?

Basically, you really need to get under the truck and start poking, prying and pulling on suspension parts.

 

what you described is verbatim for what I have going on as well. I’ve been pushing it for a while but really should figure it out too lol

 

I had the same problem. My truck would jump all over the place if I hit a bump or hole. It turn out to be the steering rack bushings. I changed the stock to these https://www.energysuspensionparts.c...MIzIvPmaOV-QIVmBfUAR0mAA7aEAQYASABEgJRf_D_BwE
Never had problem since.

 

something pretty easy to do yourself? Thank you !

 

bushings are not that expensive.. but it's gonna take a little work. Here's a link I used to change the bushings https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/05-v6-tacoma-steering-rack-bushing-replacement.289436/

 

Mine was doing similar, not horribly but noticeable. After finishing replacing all sway bar bushings and end links, it's much better. But the end links were all toast, super sloppy and leaking.

 

vehicle moves over bumpy terrain
has 160k mi

and shop takes a glance at the control arms saying they're fine

How does that work?

 

Mines in the shop right now for this exact issues. I'm getting a new rack put in.

 

I realllllly don’t want to drop 1.8k for a new rack.


I just had the swag bar linkage replaced, helped a little (I think). Still there though.

im going to investigate the bushings on the rack and hope I can swap those.

 

yea it was about 1500 CAD for me. I was going to do the bushing/tie rods myself, but they found a leak in my rack so I just had them swap it. I gotta say it completely resolved my issue though

 

Mine does the same thing did you get yours fixed?

 

Did it fix the issue?

 

Yea mine has the same issue going over bumpy or even terrain the steering wheel will contort and move with ground. it reacts like someone tickling your neck for a second. Toyota said I should replace the rack but there’s no play it’s only going over cracked pavement and gravel. Is it really just the rack bushings and if so how can you test to see?

 

Steering rack bushing check? | Tacoma World
Tacoma steering rack bushing loose. how can you check
To check if your Tacoma's steering rack bushings are loose, you can follow these steps:

• Shake the steering wheel: When you shake the steering wheel from side to side, you can feel if the bushings are worn out. If the bushings are worn, you will feel a 'play' in the steering wheel and can see the rack move.
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also I would just change the oem bushings out. The bushing is not that expensive. I had this problem when I was towing a boat. My friend had the same issue when he was towing his boat. This bushing change solve the problem.

 

What “play” should I be feeling for when I shake my steering wheel side to side? When I click the link it takes me to an empty bing page. Mine has 115000 miles on it and it’s had tons of different bushings worn out already so I’m sure it could be the rack bushings

 

If you jack up the front end and simply grab a wheel and shake it side to side (front / back - hard to explain). If your rack bushings are shot - you'll have some 'play'and you can actually peek your head underneath the truck and watch the entire rack move