WhiskeyTacos ongoing suspension/alignment nightmare thread

Edit: I've changed this thread title to make it about my continuing issues. I guess ignoring some of these symptoms for a couple of years has led to this frustration.

Current parts replaced:

Energy Suspension Steering rack bushings
Energy Suspension Sway bar mount bushings
Complete Moog lower control arms

Next up:

New front struts (driver side is leaking pretty bad)
New wheel bearings
Either support weld alignment cam tabs or have a shop do the TC tabs for me




I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I've read a couple of threads about having to recalibrate the VSC after a lift, but my truck has been lifted for almost 4 years and today I had the VSC light come on for the first time after an alignment, and it won't go away.

Truck info:
2014 Tacoma TRD Off Road with 65000 miles.
Bilstein 5100 shocks, OME 886 springs, Total Chaos UCAs.

Last weekend I was in Vermont on a farm road and hit a pretty deep pothole, which jerked my steering wheel to the left and it stayed that way at almost a 45 degree angle. The truck still tracked straight with only the slightest pull to the left.

After the alignment today I was driving home and hit a small bump in the road, which jerked the wheel to the right, with the truck pulling hard to the left. I took it back in and they checked it out. After dropping the skid plate they found a lot of play in the steering rack and said no matter how many times they do the alignment, once it's on the road it's going to be off again, so I need to get the rack replaced.

Could the VSC light be related?

My question regarding the rack is this. Can I just replace the bushings and maybe the inner tie rods and hope that takes care of the issue? I can't imagine the entire rack is shot. I'd also rather keep the OEM rack and upgrade the bushings than drop almost $1k on a new OEM rack or around $200 for an aftermarket rack that will die in 50k miles.

Thanks for any help. I wish I had some pics or video, but the play is identical to many videos on youtube.

 

If you do end up replacing it, check out this thread for a part number from rock auto. It’s not advertised as reman OEM, but the markings on it are all identical to OEM. I replaced mine with it 10k miles ago and no issues.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-change-the-rack-and-pinion-steering-2nd-gen-v6.293781/

 

Thanks, I'll consider that.

 

Start with the inner tie rods (4550309550). Mine had to be replaced at 70k miles. Agree that the rack shouldn't be toast at your mileage; change your power steering fluid once in a while. Also check your cam tabs to see if they've been flattened. Might help explain why your truck isn't holding alignment.

 

I ordered a set of bushings from Energy Suspension, we'll see how that plays out. If that doesn't solve the issue, I'll just get a new rack and transfer those bushings over. I hope this gets rid of that fuckin light too, because I really don't want to go to the dealer to pay whatever exorbitant fee for them to recalibrate the VSC.

 

One of the cam tabs on the passenger side is flattened for sure. I'm pretty sure if we try to bend it back it's just going to snap.

 

Is your ABS light on too? Maybe somehow one of the front ABS wires got snagged and that’s throwing lights.

 

Have you seen the total chaos alignment tabs?

 

Nope, just the VSC. I have an ABS kill switch and I tried to trick it into turning off using that, and also by disconnecting the negative battery terminal for a minute. No dice.

 

...researching

 

Not too hard to install. An angle grinder and $13 air hammer from harbor freight made quick work of the old ones.

 

I did the weld reinforcement thing on my tabs, worked well for me. TC tabs are the better solution.

 

There is a thread here, that will walk you through the process of racalibrating your VSC
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...ibrate-your-vsc-computer-the-easy-way.467485/

 

That's what I needed, thank you. Once I get the rack figured out and truck aligned I'll do this.

 

Ok! Finally got this all done. @REDdawn6 thank you for the VSC calibration link.

I was unable to seperase the steering shaft and didn't feel like taking out the AC compressor. Took my mechanic (and a couple other guys) almost 3 hours to get the bushings swapped, including the use of a pneumatic hammer. Old bushings barely had any rubber left in them.

Anyway here are a couple of pics. When I replace my struts this summer I'll have a shop weld in the Total Chaos alignment tabs. So far so good, except that the alignment tech didn't give me enough forward caster so I'm still rubbing a bit when I parallel park.



Thanks again to everyone for all their help and advice.

 

Nice man! Glad it worked out.. Those old bushings are trashed I bet it drives a lot nicer..

 

So I'm still having alignment issues. I drove to work yesterday and it was great. No steering issues, felt nice and tight. When I got into the truck to head home, I made a left out of the parking lot and heard a couple of familiar clunks, and the wheel settled at 2 o'clock, with a very slight pull to the left if I don't have a hand on the wheel. I'm wondering if this is a tie rod issue, or maybe the bushings in the lower control arms. Here are a couple of videos of the noise.

In the first video, the noise happens as the wheel is turning left, in the second, it happens as the suspension cycles.





I'll probably replace the tie rods this weekend, and possibly the lower control arms if I can get them for a good price.

 

Played around with the front passenger side on a jack. Does this look normal? It doesn't feel like any "play" and I didn't hear or feel any clunking. Tie rods seem to be ok. I'm going to try to replace the LCA bushings this weekend. I think the cam bolts may be seized in the factory bushings and that's why everytime I hear the big clunk, my alignment is thrown.

 

Changed the title of the thread to make it relevant to ongoing issues.

So I've determined that the bushings in the lower control arms need replacing, but the ball joints are leaking grease pretty seriously too. My passenger side strut (Bilstein 5100 with OME 886 springs) is also leaking quite a lot. Outer tie rod ends are leaking grease, so those will get replaced with OEM units. I'm looking at a weekend of work once all my parts come in.

My question is this. Should I replace the Bilsteins with OME Nitrocharger struts? The reason I ask is because I am not running a full bull bar, just a hidden winch mount and winch with steel line. Will the Nitrochargers be so stiff that I'll have a bit of bro-lean?

The other question I have is regarding the Moog LCAs I'm waiting on. Is it worth burning/pressing out the moog bushings and just putting in the Energy Suspension polys right away, or should I wait until the Moog rubber bushings inevitably fail a year or two from now? I figure there may be some benefit to doing it straight away as the units will be clean and unused.

 

Not to add to your hell @whiskeytacos but when you jiggled the wheel with it in the air it almost looked like there was top to bottom play too (not just side to side) which would indicate a bad wheel bearing. Again, hard to see from the video so I figured I'd ask. With the wheel in the air have you attempted to move the wheel by grabbing the top and the bottom and moving them in and out?