Do trucks usually have loose rear ends?

Hello,
I'm not new to RWD vehicles but this is my first "oem lifted" truck with access cab. I use to drive little Ford Rangers for parts deliveries but they were base model low single cabs and felt nothing like this Prerunner Tacoma. Maybe the length of the truck has something to do with it?

I've noticed that while the drive wheels are propelling the truck forward and going over road abnormalities (potholes, ruts, cracks etc) that the back end feels squirmy. It's extremely noticeable if I'm accelerating in a high speed turn like a looping on-ramp. If I spot the pothole and coast over the obstacle things feel normal however sometimes those bumps sneak up on me and I don't let up on the gas pedal in time.

I know the truck has been in a rear end accident and I noticed brand new leaf springs installed when inspecting the truck at the dealership. Carfax says that rear wheel hub bearings were changed

Truck has ~137,000 and as far as I know original shocks. I'll have to look em over. Hopefully it's just worn shocks.

 

I'm not sure exactly what you are trying to describe. However, since it's been wrecked and has new leaf packs on it............... and I'm going to assume it does not have any aftermarket 'lift' parts on it.

1) make sure the axle is perpendicular to the chassis.

2) make sure all the u bolts are properly torqued

3) consider that the shocks may need replacing

 

I'm also unclear what you are describing.

You mention ruts on the road. When driving down rutted dirt roads my rear end will bump sideways. That is likely due to my having very stiff aftermarket rear leaf springs though!

Stiff suspension plus light weight rear means it'll skip to the side. You can't race these trucks.

 

Could also be you're not used to the lack of weight over the rear wheels.

Trucks have light rear ends since the beds are lightweight and over the drive wheels, so they can sometimes feel squirmy. Especially when they're made of plastic like the Tacoma.

But, if it's been in an accident then there can be a lot of possibles and unknowns.

 

its a truck and not a sports car

take it to alignment shop to check if frame is bent

 

Sounded better in your head.

 

they look at me funny when I talk to the screen at work

 

So did my exhaust upgrades. LoL

 

Likely poor parenting. I had to take my truck off the pole more than once.

 

That's why I made sure the truck was in the spotlight rather than title it "It feels like I have a loose rear end" XD

And yea I come from a stable small sometimes sporty cars so I'm use to taking turns with maniacal fervor without even batting an eye. Now I'm saying my hail maries every time I go into a gentle turn trying to keep up with 55mph traffic.

 

Yah, nothin's sacred.

 

are you still on stock shocks? at 137k those shocks are DONE if so.

 

In a handling sense, yes they do. The rear springs are sized for hauling and if you're running empty, the lack of weight over the rear axle can make it pretty lively back there over bumps. Also, with the power/torque sizing in the engine often being oriented toward hauling/towing, being empty in the back makes it fairly easy to break traction in the back with engine power, especially on starts and the higher aspect-ratio tires change the road feel significantly compared to passenger (and especially sports/performance) cars.

Also, trucks often don't have rear sway bars, and the body/bed on frame construction is a good bit less torsionally stiff than a unibody/spaceframe construction (especially in modern cars with the higher rollover safety requirements). Combine that with a relatively high C.G. and it's a recipe for a good amount of body roll.

In my experience though, the Tacomas actually have a more car-like feel to them than other trucks. Any full-sized model will be even harder in the back end (although the super-duty sized ones may be balanced differently since they're less likely to be used for real trail diving), and the rangers I've driven (both late 1990s models) had a much more "truck" feel to them than either of the Tacomas I've owned.

 

Don't let them get you down, this was my first thought too. Sounds like @jogirob likes to take it to the max. Nothing wrong with that, but it is a small pickup. I had a buddy in college that drove his dodge dakota like it was a m3, it always made for one hell of a scary ride.

That being said, if it is giving you problems at regular traffic speeds there is likely an issue.

 

Check air pressure in the tires.

 

My Tacoma has way more rear traction than my Ranger ever had. If it was raining I usually spun the rear tires at a stoplight on the Ranger but the Tacoma does not. Both trucks had the 4.0L and same tires.

 

I have to turn out of my neighborhood onto a relatively fast road so I usually rip out to merge into traffic and more often than not I'm spinning the back tires with stock wheels.

Never had that issue with my 4Runner. Hopefully it goes away when i get 265s