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**charvell** · 19 August 2009, 20:52

Hello mate roughtrax of milners do the kits, if its wandering its worth checking the lower ball joints to make sure there is no play in them

**KERRSURF** · 19 August 2009, 21:01

I'd go further, check all ball joints for play, pitman arm link, steering droplink and track rod ends.

Poly bushes are a bit overkill but if you were going to replace the front end bushes anyway I'd compare prices with standard bushes, it might be quite a difference.

**Ptarmigan** · 21 August 2009, 03:32

Also wandering...

Hi Cooler, it seems I have a similar problem so maybe we can help each other find a resolution. After replacing some suspension pieces on the front recently, I got the shop to make an alignment on my truck (C,C+T) front and rear. It made a huge difference to the drive; now it has stopped pulling to the side and the steering wheel is also dead-on.

What I did notice, however, is that the truck wanders when I`m on the motorway (50 or 60mph). It`s not that it pulls to one side, it`s just that it always needs constant corrections... a little push to the left, then a little to the right, then to the left again, constantly repeating. It get`s pretty tedious on long journeys. Off-road I can`t fault it though.

Am I asking too much? It had a lift to fit the 33s so maybe I should accept it?
I thought the culprit at first might be too little castor, then I sort of changed my mind to thinking about shagged shock absorbers...

My local mechanic said the rest of the suspension (and I specifically asked about changing the bushes) were OK recently so not sure what to do now. Is it a reasonable DIY job to check all this stuff, without access to a ramp/pit?

Cheers,
Jon

**Cooler** · 21 August 2009, 18:33

right i have been round the truck with a bar and levered every single ball joint. with the tyres on the ground and off the hubs as well. what i found was the lower ball joint on the left hand side has the most minute bit of play in it. not enough to notice. none of the othe ball joints have play at all.

however when i first jacked the front end up so both wheels were off the ground i found that if i violently turned one wheel it seemed to be a lot of movement in the front steering mechanism, and took a bit to move the other. when you move the front wheel the steering bar and the two conecting bars to the weels seem to move up and down about ten millimeters.

my mate and i have also tightened up the steering box by the screw on the top. it still wanders. im at a loss. any suggestions

**KERRSURF** · 22 August 2009, 00:03

Have you had the steering recall done by toyota yet?

Even a tiny bit of play in ball joints is too much.

Here's a pic of the one I changed recently, it only had about 2mm of visible play when the truck was jacked and the wheel lifted up and down.
I had noticed it was a bit noisy over rough tarmac.

You can see it's totally wrecked and you might expect more play from one in this condition.

**Cooler** · 22 August 2009, 12:21

i dont know about the steering recall, how do you know if it has been done, and what is it they actually recall? when i first had this truck it was handling beutifully like on rails. but over the past year just seems to have degraded. i have checked and checked the steering constantly. i will get the lower bal joints offf the truck this weekend to have a look and see what thay are like.

i would like to add that this truck is used off road and rather frequently airborne during fast runs through the forest track on rally days. as well as slower offroading and greenlane days.

**KERRSURF** · 22 August 2009, 13:17

you need to get your VIN and call toyota.

info here

**Cooler** · 22 August 2009, 15:42

just had a look at the vin and the frame number is smack in the middle of recalled vins. so i must ring up toyota and see. there is no yellow mark next to the vin so that indicates it has been done yet. do you have to take it to toyota or can they just send me the control arm and do it myself. my nearest dealer is a fair way away

**stormforce** · 22 August 2009, 15:48

you will have to take the truck to have them do it as it is a recall and they are paid via Toyota's insurance to complete the job.Alot of Toyota dealerships hate having to do the recall work as they are not paid the going rate and only what the insurance of the company pay them

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