Steering Issues (Alignment, Tramlining, other?)

Hello,

I am new to Tacoma World and a New Tacoma owner.

I drove a Ford Ranger for 20 years before buying a new 2019 Tacoma TRD Pro in November 2019.

Absolutely love the Taco!

However, in February I went mudding and something changed. Nothing serious off-road and I have still yet to engage 4 Low (4 High Only).

Now with 4000 miles the steering of the truck feels different than it did before.

I asked the dealer and they did perform an alignment but I still feel that the steering wheel's reaction time is not the same. The truck shakes, unusual steering movement from a zero start, and the steering wheel’s return to center is slow and choppy.

Stock truck and 35 psi all around.

I asked the dealer and they said that nothing appears wrong and in fact the drive is normal to them. But it is not the same truck that I had for the first 3500 miles.

Is this extreme tramlining common? Are my tires out of balance or has something gone wrong with the steering?

Can someone please help me with the what might be wrong so I can go back to the dealer and explain myself better.

*Wheel movement from a zero start
*Extreme tramlining
*Alignment Issues
*Poor return to center
*Extreme shaking in the steering wheel at high speeds on paved road

Thank you!

Desert Voodoo

 

Welcome aboard

Love that blue.

You have a lot going on there. Couple questions before I can help:

Can you post the before and after alignment #'s? Does the truck have a left or right pull when the road isn't causing the tramlining?

Have you or anyone else rotated and balanced the tires?

What does tramlining mean? EDIT: Got that, thanks Google

And the truck had absolutely none of these issues, particularly the steering wheel shake at hwy speeds in pvmt before the light off-roading, correct?

 

Thank you!

265/70R16 Tires. I attached the Alignment #s.
The truck does not pull after the alignment but will jerk if I hit a small rut or bump. Feels a bit dangerous and I have to keep hands tight on the wheel. When on dirt roads the tires really have a mind of their own now. I had zero issues with steering or wheels prior to that one day in late Feb. The tires have not been rotated or balanced. Shamefully, I have not put a lot of miles on the truck.

 

Well your passenger side was definitely way toed in when you had the alignment done that's for sure so something happened when you mudded.

At least swap the tires around. Do a rotate and balance if possible. Alignment wont cause a steering wheel vibe generally and that part of the picture may be resolved with a good balance.

Our trucks benefit from having excess positive caster, particularly when lifted (which I realize you're not), but it's because of the increased driveability on hwys and they track so much better. It's in spec for you and shouldn't be causing your problems but it's also something you can improve with a more experienced alignment tech and will provide an improvement for sure. Lots of owners here run 4+ degrees of positive caster.

No tech should've missed anything being bent, but there are occasional complaints about steering racks giving people grief but those trucks are ran hard and modded to the gills and if all you did was get her dirty in 4HI I doubt anything is failing with the rack.

You had a good look underneath the truck yourself?

 

Thank you very much Natetroknot for the information and advice. I'll make sure to do that and take another look underneath the truck. I have taken a look underneath the truck before and did not visually see anything wrong.