Suspension Upgrade?

[akbarnes]

I have a 1999 4Runner with about 90K miles on it. The ride quality was great for the first 50K miles, but has since degraded. The car feels like it bounces over the smallest bumps and the steering wheel seems to shake at most speeds even though we've had the tires balanced and rebalanced enough to rule tire balance out as the problem (I think).

I am thinking that this may be suspension related, but honestly don't have a clue. Does anybody have any recommendations? Any suggestions for shocks/springs that would make the ride quality good for typical rural road driving (no off-roading with this 4Runner)?

[Brian R.]

I have heard it is very difficult to correctly balance the tires on the 4Runner owing to the fact the wheels are lug-centric instead of the normal hub-centric. Take it to a dealer and get them balanced there and see if it solves your problem.

You tire pressure can have alot to do with the feel of the truck also. Make sure you are not too far from the recommended pressure on your door sticker.

[Spineffects]

I had soft springs in my 4runner too. I got a set of 2" lift springs and a set of track ryder shocks from pedders. It now handles awsome, on and off road, Well worth my money.

[stephen.jones]

I had this problem also, the cause was that one of my tyres was damaged, probably while off roading, this then caused the shake. Other things to check are also the rims (alloys) for damage and wheel allignment, which you already have.

The suspension should not be the cause on tyre wobbling. The suspension sagging sounds like Toyota have still not fixed the problem of sagging, older 4runners tended to sag after 50-75000 miles beause of inferior metals used. You can buy replacement toughened springs for around $100-$150 on the net easily, which will last longer and give you better stability with heavy loads in the back. I have done this with my Hilux and have not had a problem since, even after 100,000 miles in a year.

Hope this helps.

Stephen

[Mrbikerman]

check out www.gadgetonline.com and look under vibrations, he explains the lug centric business and what type of machine the dealer is supposed to use to correctly balance it