Help me diagnose steering issues on my 2nd gen

Thanks for reading. Got a 2015 TRDOR with 90k on it. I purchased in 2022 at 26k miles and it’s always had steering drift. Recently steering has gotten worse. Two (non 4X4) mechanics have looked at it and didn’t find anything. I got an alignment and new tires recently, still have worsening issues.

Bilstein 5100s all around with .5” of lift up front, stock suspension components besides cheapy sway bar links

Symptoms: bad lane drift especially at 70+ mph, pulls right unless wheel is at 1130 position, clunk when turning hard at low speed, slightly louder clunk when braking 50% of the time

I’m leaning towards replacing the steering rack bushings with polys, LCAs with OEM and UCAs with JBA/Bilstein but I’d hate for it to be a CV or steering shaft/tie rod issue after doing all that. I was under there tonight but it’s hard to see anything with the woolwax. Nothing looks bent. Thoughts?

 

Can you post a pic of the alignment sheet? Should have a before and after for comparison.

Did you notice excessive outside edge of the tire scrubbing/wear on the passenger front tire prior to replacing them? Or cupping in the tread pattern?

Does it "wander," where it changes which side its pulling towards as you are driving or if driving on different road surfaces (e.g. asphalt vs gravel) or does it always pull to one side?

Can you jack up the front end, check for 12 and 6 o'clock movement/play (would indicate either a bad ball joint or bad wheel bearing), and also a difference in the amount of play from one side compared to the other if you wiggle the front tire at the 3 and 9 o'clock position.

Trying to wiggle the front tire around could also let you *potentially* notice if you have a lower control arm bushing that has failed, if you get play and can hear any sort of clunking from the frame end of the control arms.

One other thing you could check is the distance from the center of the front and rear wheels, which could maybe show if the rear axle has been shifted (which could cause a consistent pull even if the front end is aligned and in-spec).

 

Counter person at the tire shop could barely find my keys so I didn’t ask for the sheet. There was one alignment sheet that had a lot of red on it behind the counter

Last set of tires had more wear toward the outer edge of the front passenger tire (same side it’s pulling towards now). I think the passenger side wheel/tire is half an inch farther out than drive side as well

It always pulls right but the steering is loose and I’ve never been able to drive highway speeds without making small corrections in both directions to maintain my lane

it’s pouring pretty good today but I’ll jack it up tomorrow morning and measure the distances. Thanks for the long reply

 

That alignment sheet would've been helpful here...

The drifting/wandering kindof sounds like insufficient caster angle (pulling is often related to mis-adjusted caster as well, almost guaranteed if the tires are new). The clunk could be almost anything. If the clunk can be easily reproduced on demand, maybe have someone turn the wheels back & forth while you look for something shifting around under there (LCA/UCA bushings/bolts, steering rack, tie rods, upper & lower ball joints, etc.).

 

Sounds like the LCA cam bolts are popping. Mine are too

You can check torque on them but theyll probably be seized and the torque wrench will click at 100 lb/ft.. even though theyre still shifting around

The tell is popping under hard braking and sharp turns at low speed. Mine pop also when I pop up the small curb pulling into my driveway.

All the weight of the vehicle goes through those arms when braking.

I can recreate the noise by braking hard in reverse and then going forward and braking fairly sharp in that direction

If they're seized they will need to be cut out and you'll have to source new cam bolts and sleeves. Be careful wrenching them around because when the sleeves freeze up the alignment tabs on the frame flatten easily