Help with diagnosing steering pull

[AlpineAccess]

Thank
Thanks for the words of wisdom, appreciate it .

Without tearing into it too much couldn't I jack up the tire and give it the ol' wiggle test OR is it still possible the bearing nut isn't torqued properly but the wheel is solid.

Does that make sense?

You can jack the front end up and do a push-pull test to see if something is under torqued. This will only show you if the wheel bearings are grossly under tensioned, which is good information anyway, but your focus now is actually on if they didn't grease it properly and/or they over-tightened as well. The best way is to just do a wheel bearing service which should take about 2 hours start to finish using some of the good tutorials on here.

If you do want to save some time, one thing you could also do to confirm the issue is:

As you are working your way in towards the bearings, you will need to remove the hub flanges. Once you remove the hub flange, put a chalk mark on the tire and give the tire a good push and count the revolutions it makes before stopping. Then do the same on the other side. It's important to have the hub flange removed as the driveline will still be engaged with it attached. This would be a caveman edition of checking the wheel bearing tension and is entirely inaccurate but should work if you've got such a big disparity like you're talking about with it pulling hard to one side.

Personally I'd just do the service because it takes one tub of wheel bearing grease for both sides, a few rubber gloves, and a c-clip. You can reuse your C-clip for now, while you wait for the new ones to come in. Cruiser Outfitters sells the kit of them for like $15? So all in, probably a $20-25 service that Toyota recommends doing every 30k.

 

[medtro]

Personally I'd just do the service because it takes one tub of wheel bearing grease for both sides, a few rubber gloves, and a c-clip. You can reuse your C-clip for now, while you wait for the new ones to come in. Cruiser Outfitters sells the kit of them for like $15? So all in, probably a $20-25 service that Toyota recommends doing every 30k.

May need some of these: flange gasket, bearings, inner bearing seal, claw washer, adjusting nut, lock washer, lock nut.

 

[Mike NXP]

You can jack the front end up and do a push-pull test to see if something is under torqued. This will only show you if the wheel bearings are grossly under tensioned, which is good information anyway, but your focus now is actually on if they didn't grease it properly and/or they over-tightened as well. The best way is to just do a wheel bearing service which should take about 2 hours start to finish using some of the good tutorials on here.

If you do want to save some time, one thing you could also do to confirm the issue is:

As you are working your way in towards the bearings, you will need to remove the hub flanges. Once you remove the hub flange, put a chalk mark on the tire and give the tire a good push and count the revolutions it makes before stopping. Then do the same on the other side. It's important to have the hub flange removed as the driveline will still be engaged with it attached. This would be a caveman edition of checking the wheel bearing tension and is entirely inaccurate but should work if you've got such a big disparity like you're talking about with it pulling hard to one side.

Personally I'd just do the service because it takes one tub of wheel bearing grease for both sides, a few rubber gloves, and a c-clip. You can reuse your C-clip for now, while you wait for the new ones to come in. Cruiser Outfitters sells the kit of them for like $15? So all in, probably a $20-25 service that Toyota recommends doing every 30k.

Cool thanks for the advice I did some more digging on the forums and have a better understanding if what to do now. Doesn't seem that bad at all , unfortunately going down this rabbit hike is going to make me want to change out my CVS and flanges as well because they have some wear at the splines.


Sound like a good summer project ,will report back once completed

 

[AlpineAccess]

Cool thanks for the advice I did some more digging on the forums and have a better understanding if what to do now. Doesn't seem that bad at all , unfortunately going down this rabbit hike is going to make me want to change out my CVS and flanges as well because they have some wear at the splines.


Sound like a good summer project ,will report back once completed

I think it's as much as you make it. The wheel bearing service is straight forward - once you get used to doing it, it can be done quite quickly.

I ordered the wheel bearing service kit from Cruiser Outfitters which included a lot of the stuff Medtro listed above. I would recommend that route, but I was throwing out an option by which you could diagnose what sounds like a dangerous pulling effect. If you've got a bearing way over tightened or way under tightened, it can lead to wheel bearing failure.

 

[gnob]

Those alignment numbers are definitely enough to cause a pull, especially with wide tires.
Its going right because of the higher right camber and weaker right caster.
Vehicles should be aligned (and many are spec'd from the factory) to push a little left for road crown.
If i were aligning this vehicle i would be shooting for zero camber or slight left. And basically trade the caster numbers side to side.

 

[Mike NXP]

I think it's as much as you make it. The wheel bearing service is straight forward - once you get used to doing it, it can be done quite quickly.

I ordered the wheel bearing service kit from Cruiser Outfitters which included a lot of the stuff Medtro listed above. I would recommend that route, but I was throwing out an option by which you could diagnose what sounds like a dangerous pulling effect. If you've got a bearing way over tightened or way under tightened, it can lead to wheel bearing failure.

Good point, I don't need to get too crazy just yet and will work on inspecting bearings and preload first and focus on steering pull.

Thanks for the input on the alignment print out. I've got an appointment in two weeks at a speciality alignment shop and I'm hopeful they will be able to help. I'll check out the other possible culprits in the meantime .

Thanks all

 

[Red Beard]

Not sure if this helps anyone considering I changed a ton of stuff, but I figure I'll post my results from my earlier post. I had a pull to the passenger side before, but now its gone.

I replaced steering rack, tie rod ends (TRE), bearings, passenger side upper and lower control arms, front sway bar bushings, drive flanges, and axles, and the steering pull was still there. I put on the TREs exactly where they were before, so I wasn't expecting a difference.

BUT, once I got the alignment, the steering pull is gone. So I'm not sure if its just a proper alignment job was done or was it the alignment + the new components. You can see the camber, caster, and toe adjustments below.

 

[Mike NXP]

I've been dumping way too much time and money into this issue. After some highway driving last week the pull is apparent and really sketchy.

Current status

Toyota installed:
New tires and brakes ( my old ones were shot )
New / Reman Steering rack ( my bushings were worn )
Outer Tie Rods
Performed Alignment twice

Still pulls hard right

Went to specialty alignment shop, they claim
- They can't get the vehicle to drive straight with alignment numbers in spec
- They tweaked the alignment to make it drive straight ( claims this will not prematurely wear any parts )
- The wheel is not centered but it drives straight as an arrow ( kind of a monkeys paw situation )

- They also noted the steering rack bushings that I just paid Toyota to replace are worn out and the rack is moving and this is most likely the cause of the problem

Back to Toyota next week.........To be continued.

 

[Mike NXP]

I wanted to add some more info to this topic.

I finally removed my skid plate to have a look at the newly installed rack and bushings to confirm the alignment shop was correct. If I could figure out how to post a video here I would, but long story short the rack moves about a half inch side to side.

• Is it safe to say this is not normal and could cause all sorts of steering issues ( the boat like feel and improper alignment)
• This rack was just replaced due to having this play in the bushings.
  >> Why would a brand new OEM ( remanned) rack be so worn out? We replaced the D bushing and the rack had new bushings pressed in for the other 2 bushings.
• What am I overlooking? Is there a chance the holes that the hardware mounts up to is worn out or would that not be a factor here? I can't tell how it's secured to the vehicle.

Any help would be appreciated, headed back to Toyota soon and hoping they will remove and replace under warranty

 

[OwnerCS]

I wanted to add some more info to this topic.

I finally removed my skid plate to have a look at the newly installed rack and bushings to confirm the alignment shop was correct. If I could figure out how to post a video here I would, but long story short the rack moves about a half inch side to side.

• Is it safe to say this is not normal and could cause all sorts of steering issues ( the boat like feel and improper alignment)
• This rack was just replaced due to having this play in the bushings.
  >> Why would a brand new OEM ( remanned) rack be so worn out? We replaced the D bushing and the rack had new bushings pressed in for the other 2 bushings.
• What am I overlooking? Is there a chance the holes that the hardware mounts up to is worn out or would that not be a factor here? I can't tell how it's secured to the vehicle.

Any help would be appreciated, headed back to Toyota soon and hoping they will remove and replace under warranty

The new rack should have came with new bushings. What type of bushings were pressed in for the other two?

 

[AlpineAccess]

My rack doesn't move at all where it bolts through the bushings to the cross member.

 

[Red Beard]

Before replacing my rack, I confirmed it moved when I had a friend move the steering wheel. I had the same sketchy driving on the highway as you described. Weird feedback while adjusting the wheel at high speed. New rack from Toyota came with new bushings and all that. Steering is stiff and under control now.
I hope you get it figured out. Super weird your rack still moves even though you paid to get it replaced. Something is up.

 

[87warrior]

I installed a new Toyota Rack in my '99 and noticed the same situation. The bushings that came preinstalled in the rack were very soft and allowed a ton of side-to-side movement, even with a new D bushing. I replaced the stock, under 10k miles bushings with Whiteline Poly and it really firmed up the steering responsiveness. (it did not cure the right hand pull).

 

[Mike NXP]

The new rack should have came with new bushings. What type of bushings were pressed in for the other two?

Everything installed was OEM, even replaced all the nuts and bolts. I thought there was 2 bushings pressed into the rack which aren't available from toyota and the 1 D bushing. Either way they were all replaced.
>>Parts List for Steering Rack Replacement (1998-2003) - https://tlcfaq.com/main/2016/03/parts-list-for-steering-rack-replacement-1998-2003/

My rack doesn't move at all where it bolts through the bushings to the cross member.

Are you working with all Toyota parts? Good to know for reference, I really don't think it should be moving at all, give the steering a boat like feel.

>>If the hole it bolts through is worn/rounded out, could it cause the rack to move or does it not matter since its got a nut on the other side?

>> Is there anything relating to the install that could have been overlooked to cause this.

Before replacing my rack, I confirmed it moved when I had a friend move the steering wheel. I had the same sketchy driving on the highway as you described. Weird feedback while adjusting the wheel at high speed. New rack from Toyota came with new bushings and all that. Steering is stiff and under control now.
I hope you get it figured out. Super weird your rack still moves even though you paid to get it replaced. Something is up.

I'm hoping it's a simple as the remanned rack is defective and the bushings are just worn or not right for whatever reason. I've had a few remanufactured toyota parts recently that were not working like an alternator that failed in a few weeks so.

I installed a new Toyota Rack in my '99 and noticed the same situation. The bushings that came preinstalled in the rack were very soft and allowed a ton of side-to-side movement, even with a new D bushing. I replaced the stock, under 10k miles bushings with Whiteline Poly and it really firmed up the steering responsiveness. (it did not cure the right hand pull).

Interesting, to me if your steering rack is moving that translates to sloppy steering and never being able to get the alignment straight. This can't possibly be normal, can it?

I recently had a speciality heavy truck alignment shop get my rig to drive straight as an arrow but the trade off is my wheel is not centered. Either way I am going to chase this down so my rack doesn't move and the truck drives straight

 

[Mike NXP]

Not sure if this will work but below is a google drive link with a short video showing the issue.

First alignment shop pointed this out to me, so I replaced all the hardware, and it's still doing it. Could it simply be a defective part, maybe a bad install, or is there something else happening. Am I just overthinking it and this is normal? doesn't seem right, I can't imagine how you could ever have a proper alignment if your steering components are moving.

 

[87warrior]

Not sure if this will work but below is a google drive link with a short video showing the issue.

First alignment shop pointed this out to me, so I replaced all the hardware, and it's still doing it. Could it simply be a defective part, maybe a bad install, or is there something else happening. Am I just overthinking it and this is normal? doesn't seem right, I can't imagine how you could ever have a proper alignment if your steering components are moving.

That is the exact movement my brand new Toyota rack had.

 

[Mike NXP]

That is the exact movement my brand new Toyota rack had.

Well....It can't possibly be normal, right? Doesn't this translate to a direct movement into tie rods then on to the tires. Seems to be a direct relation to steering pulling / bad alignments/ boat like steering.

 

[87warrior]

Well....It can't possibly be normal, right? Doesn't this translate to a direct movement into tie rods then on to the tires. Seems to be a direct relation to steering pulling / bad alignments/ boat like steering.

I think Toyota realized there was a problem with the early 100 rack design which is why the newer trucks don't have the D bushing. I was able to firm up my steering response and rack movement (thus eliminating that boat feeling) by installing Whiteline Poly bushings.

 

[AlpineAccess]

I have the white line bushings

 

[Mike NXP]

I have the white line bushings

Interesting, I wonder if this is normal with OEM bushings. Hmmm