Loose steering over bumps

I love the way the truck steers, however, when I go over bumps the steering/wheels are loose and jump. I feel like the truck wants to do a lane change every time I hit a pot hole. Im not sure if its my suspension or steering that needs to be adjusted/fixed/replaced.

Any help would be appreciated

 

I had a '98 tacoma that was driving like what you're describing. Problem was fixed with new shocks/struts and some tires with tread.

 

I bet it's the steering rack. Could be the rack bushings but I put them in and didn't notice a damn thing.

 

How much for new front suspension (off road type with nothing much more than 1" lift)?

 

get a set of 4 bilstein 5100's and an enegry susp steering rack bushing kit

that should help alot

 

You should really find out what it is first before throwing money at it

 

minor deatils...

 

lol!

 

Newly purchased truck?

What did you drive before the truck? The truck steering isn't going to be as stiff/crisp as your mom's sedan.

I'd do some mechanical checks of the steering & suspension and see if you can find any issues. Jack the truck up, check the steering rack bushings (known to get loose) and the overall function of the steering rack. It's not uncommon for a rack to go bad on the older 1st gens especially if its had a hard life.

Before throwing money at it, INSPECT it mechanically.

 

my steering had a little slack in it and i put a new steering rack in it now its all good and tight.

 

Thinking about picking up the brushing kit from Wheelers. My question is, should I get the anti-sway kit also? Im sure most of brushing are bad.
What other brushing could be change to enhance your truck?

 

Ok, looked at the front end. The bushings are def bad and need to be replaced (not sure if this is the issue, but it is a issue). Ill start with the bushing kit above and add these as well:


Question: Any DIY guides for replacing bushings and installing the anti sway kit? Thanks!

 

I 2nd the DIY guide for this. Been looking online I found this link

http://www.keystonekrawlers.com/Mods/Toyota/SteerBushing/TacomaSteeringBush.htm

But it is for steering rack....

 

I found this:

http://parksoffroad.com/tacomamods/kristacoma/rackbushings/rackbushings.htm

Any help for the sway bar bushing replacement?

 

If you replace the rack bushings your clunking may in fact get worse if it is the rack itself that is clunking. The rack moving around absorbs some of the clunk. Once that is tight and solid the clunk may be worse. (Ask me how I know)

 

May not necessarily be the rack... This is a very common problem and the fix is easy/inexpensive. Pull the upper steering shaft assembly out (only takes a few minutes), do a quick tack weld (or install a roll pin), put it back together, and problem solved.

Here's a link to the first page of a thread where they find the solution, but they don't track down the source of the problem until a few pages later so keep reading... there is a lot of good info here:

http://www.tacomaterritory.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11145

 

Did you ever figure out what the problem was, I have been on deployment for 7 months now and I guess my truck back home has recently started this same problem. Looking to get it fixed before I return home. Any help would be awesome. Thank you.

 

I was gonna suggest that too... I think I have this problem too (anyone know if 5 lugs are the same as their big brothers in this case? I would assume so but you never know) I can feel something thunking back and forth in my wheel when off road... like something is spinning a little before hitting something else inside the steering shaft. Although my truck also has the same symptoms OP described... bumps will really throw things outta whack. I always just assumed it was because of how little and light the truck is (I learned to drive in several different family suburbans, not exactly light). I'll stick around to see what ends up being your problem OP.