Truck feels like it drives sideways?

[reznunt]

Hi all. I went wheeling in some deep rutted mud and once I got on the highway afterwards, it feels like my truck wanders in the rear. It tracks straight with no hands on the steering wheel, and the steering wheel itself is straight. Drove for a good 15 miles and it felt a little floaty in the rear all the way home. We went into some deep ruts where there were quite a few lateral impacts to the rear tires.

What should I check for in the rear? Track bar/mount/bushing damage? I'm asking because it's too late to look tonight and it's all covered in mud, and I need to go somewhere tomorrow morning. I'd like to know what to look for. Suggestions?

 

[feddomw]

No suggestions from me, but I doubt something is out of alignment if the truck tracks straight. What happens under hard braking? Does it also stay true/straight?

It always pays to check it out of course. From your description it sounds like a potential suspension issue, not an alignment or "out of whack" problem. If it tracks straight and true and also under braking, then I doubt something somewhere is out of alignment. Look for the problem in the vertical, not the horizontal, my $0.02. I am not a tech, YMMV.

 

[reznunt]

Thanks for the reply. Braking is totally normal. Also, no other strange issues like sounds, vibrations, etc. It's just the floaty, wandering feeling.

I thought it maybe had something to do with all the mud caked in the tread voids. But by the time I got home the BFG AT2's self cleaned. I can't remember if it was still wandering/floaty at the very end of the drive because I was so tired. I'll test drive tomorrow after a quick inspection of the rear, and verify the issue is still there with the clean tires.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

Could you have some worn bushings in the suspension?

 

[reznunt]

Recently replaced front and rear sway bar bushings and all new oem shocks with bushings, but still haven't done any link bushings or steering rack bushings. That's why I suspected the bushings in the track bar first.

She drove like a champ with no issues before this short wheeling session.

 

[Julian Stead]

Tire pressures, maybe you picked up a puncture.

 

[ihadmail]

I would start by making sure there isn't a bent a lateral link or even the pan hard bar and got the rear end shifted to one side or the other.

I have no other ideas than that.

 

[spressomon]

Try this test: At highway speeds with no oncoming or other vehicles near by give it WOT. If it feels like torque steer pulls dramatically to left or right then your rear upper control arm bushings are probably toast.

If your rig has ~150k or more miles on the odometer and the rear upper control arm bushings have not been replaced...that is more than likely your culprit and easy to inspect. Same symptom when I discovered, years ago, my rear UCA bushings were toast.

You do need to remove the control arms to properly inspect. And while you're at it might as well check the rear lower control arm bushings.

Here's what worn looks like: #154

And it would be a good idea to inspect all rear control arm bolts to be sure they're tight*. Ditto for inspecting the 5th control arm for bushing wear and mounting bolt tightness.

*To protect Toyota's unique locking points, that serve to keep the control arm mounting bolts/nuts tight, apart of their control arm bolts/nuts bone up on the proper procedure for doing this.

 

[NorCalFJ100]

Well hopefully at this point you have all the mud cleaned off. You could have some mud caked up on the drive-line, on the inner part of the wheels, etc...these could all throw off the balance of the moving parts and make it seem like it's driving funny.

 

[reznunt]

Thanks for all the replies!

Well hopefully at this point you have all the mud cleaned off. You could have some mud caked up on the drive-line, on the inner part of the wheels, etc...these could all throw off the balance of the moving parts and make it seem like it's driving funny.

As soon as I have time I'll pressure wash the whole undercarriage and see if it helps.

Tire pressures, maybe you picked up a puncture.

Tire pressures are normal, no punctures or tire damage. BTW, the BFG K02's work great in mud!

I would start by making sure there isn't a bent a lateral link or even the pan hard bar and got the rear end shifted to one side or the other.

I have no other ideas than that.

I checked every link and bushing, steering components, suspension mounts, sway bars, etc. but I found nothing out of the ordinary.

Try this test: At highway speeds with no oncoming or other vehicles near by give it WOT. If it feels like torque steer pulls dramatically to left or right then your rear upper control arm bushings are probably toast.

If your rig has ~150k or more miles on the odometer and the rear upper control arm bushings have not been replaced...that is more than likely your culprit and easy to inspect. Same symptom when I discovered, years ago, my rear UCA bushings were toast.

You do need to remove the control arms to properly inspect. And while you're at it might as well check the rear lower control arm bushings.

Here's what worn looks like: #154

And it would be a good idea to inspect all rear control arm bolts to be sure they're tight*. Ditto for inspecting the 5th control arm for bushing wear and mounting bolt tightness.

*To protect Toyota's unique locking points, that serve to keep the control arm mounting bolts/nuts tight, apart of their control arm bolts/nuts bone up on the proper procedure for doing this.

Since I haven't replaced any link bushings on this 98, I'll be doing that very soon and tighten everything to spec. Hopefully that will solve the issue. I agree with you that it has something to do with the upper/lower link or track bar bushings. I'll report back with any findings.

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[bhicks]

I had a similar issue on my Wrangler a few years ago after a day of wheelin. It ended up being a bent rear track bar. It already had a factory bend in it but I added another few degrees of bend to it. At first glance it looked totally normal. It was until I stood behind the Jeep from about 20 feet back and realized the entire axle was about 1" off center. It was the perfect time to upgrade to HD track bars front and rear.

 

[reznunt]

So after checking everything in the rear and finding nothing wrong, I started to look at the front. The outer TRE boots were cracked and seeping grease. I was already aware of this but I didn't think that it was the issue since the floaty feeling seemed to be a rear end issue, and it only came after wheeling it the last time.

Anyway, I swapped them out since it needed to be done. When I removed them I noticed I could easily pivot the ends with two fingers. The new TRE's were not movable by hand. After the replacement, the floaty feeling was gone. It was weird because the car tracked straight and the steering slop was minor. The rear end was what felt like it was sliding out slowly when traveling at speed, even though the car tracked straight. Maybe my castor really on point.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[feddomw]

Thanks for the update. Good you got it solved and figured out.