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Steering Stabilizers

SilverBullet3g

3️⃣ Silver
Joined
Mar 3, 2021
Messages
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Age
26
Location
Mississippi
2017 Sport DCSB Auto
Silver Sky
So my truck is constantly pulling to the right and nothing I’ve done will help. I’ve paid for alignments and it literally does nothing. I’ve gotten the tires rotated because sometimes if one tire is more worn down than the others it can pull that way, and it still doesn’t help.

My buddy has a Rough Country steering stabilizer on his F-250 that has hardly any lift (maybe a leveling kit) and I’m just wondering if anyone on here has had any experience with them.

Will this fix the constant pulling?
I literally can’t let go of my steering wheel for more than maybe 3 seconds or I’m going in the ditch.

They don’t seem that expensive, even the King stabilizers are only around $270 a piece but I think you have to have two of them up front, I’m probably wrong.

If anybody has any information on this it would be greatly appreciated!
 

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I made a post a lil while back about this but I thought you were supposed to buy an aftermarket power steering rack, now I’m pretty sure a steering stabilizer is the way to go.
 
I made a post a lil while back about this but I thought you were supposed to buy an aftermarket power steering rack, now I’m pretty sure a steering stabilizer is the way to go.
Steering stabilizer wont help with that problem of pulling one way or the other. Sounds like something is bent or you need to go to a different alignment shop or tire shop first

Also im curious how you were going to connect a steering stabilizer to an IFS truck. F-250's I believe are solid axle, so a steering stabilizer will help him...but thats not really an option for you and the tacoma
 
Ok. Well I’ve went to 2-3 different alignment shops, one of them being my local Toyota dealer.
So what could I do to help with the pulling if nothing is bent?
And what exactly could be bent?
 
What height is your truck sitting at? do you have aftermarket UCA's if so what brand? Are your tire pressures sitting equal?
 
What height is your truck sitting at? do you have aftermarket UCA's if so what brand? Are your tire pressures sitting equal?

So I have a 2017 Tacoma TRD Sport 4x4 with 35x18x12.5 Atturos with a 6” Pro Comp Lift

Ok. Well I’ve went to 2-3 different alignment shops, one of them being my local Toyota dealer.
So what could I do to help with the pulling if nothing is bent?
And what exactly could be bent?

Did you mention to the dealer that it pulls? Do they just align it and just return it without saying anything? Have UCA's? Have an alignment sheet?
 
What height is your truck sitting at? do you have aftermarket UCA's if so what brand? Are your tire pressures sitting
Did you mention to the dealer that it pulls? Do they just align it and just return it without saying anything? Have UCA's? Have an alignment sheet?
Yes. I mentioned that, and yeah that’s pretty much what they do at every alignment shop. I didn’t even know there was such thing as an alignment sheet.
And no I don’t have any aftermarket UCA’s unless they’re pro comp and I don’t think the lift came with any.
But yeah they usually say the same shit ‘these lifted trucks are hard to align’ and then I pay $90 and it doesn’t change anything.
 
And no I don’t have any aftermarket UCA’s unless they’re pro comp and I don’t think the lift came with any.
But yeah they usually say the same shit ‘these lifted trucks are hard to align’ and then I pay $90 and it doesn’t change
What height is your truck sitting at? do you have aftermarket UCA's if so what brand? Are your tire pressures sitting equal?
And no it’s not the tire pressure because for it to be that I think the tire would have to be damn near flat.
It pulls really bad.
I thought that’s what it was the night I got the truck and even stopped to put air in the tires and it never fixed anything.
 
I don't think there's a way to put a steering stabilizer on a rack-and-pinyon steering setup. Those are designed to help dampen feedback from the wheels to the steering wheel on a pitman arm steering for a solid axle. They also help with death wobble, which is also a solid axle problem.

In short, there's something else wrong.

Brakes rubbing?
Is it pulling all the time on all roads at all speeds?
I would take it somewhere and say, "It's pulling." Rather than, "It needs to be alligned." It's entirely possible that it's perfectly aligned and still pulling. Like if a ball joint is super warn and only shows under load. And there are upper, lower on both sides, as well as inner and outer tire rod ends on both sides. And then there's the steer tin rack bushings. In short, the front end mystery on these trucks is a long and winding road and it pulls to the right.

-M
 
Ok, yea that’s kinda what I was thinking is it is probably a ball joint that went out at some point with the previous owner.
I’m thinking of taking it to a mechanic I have and seeing what he can find out. And if I have to, eventually buy upper and lower control arms, or whatever needed to improve handling.
Thanks for the input though!
 
I believe you have a bad tire, rub your hands around all of your tires and if you have a bad one you'll feel a knot.
It’s not that. It has been doing this since I got the truck back in 2018 with a different set of tires.
 
Ok, yea that’s kinda what I was thinking is it is probably a ball joint that went out at some point with the previous owner.
I’m thinking of taking it to a mechanic I have and seeing what he can find out. And if I have to, eventually buy upper and lower control arms, or whatever needed to improve handling.
Thanks for the input though!
If you buy adjustable UCA's you knock out two birds with one stone. New ball joints and more adjustability. If the mechanic finds its the ball joints to be the problem, a lot of time its cheaper to replace the UCA over just the ball joint so you could be paying that labor twice.
 
If you buy adjustable UCA's you knock out two birds with one stone. New ball joints and more adjustability. If the mechanic finds its the ball joints to be the problem, a lot of time its cheaper to replace the UCA over just the ball joint so you could be paying that labor twice.
Ok good to know, thanks. Would it also be worth it to go ahead and get lowers as well?
 
Ok good to know, thanks. Would it also be worth it to go ahead and get lowers as well?
No. Very unlikely it’s the ball joints in the lowers and it’s never cheaper to change the whole lower over a ball joint. It’s most likely the stock UCAs don’t have enough adjustment or a steering component, or spindle is bent. Should be relatively easy to check. Just look at both sides and see if one of the things is not like the other.
 
No. Very unlikely it’s the ball joints in the lowers and it’s never cheaper to change the whole lower over a ball joint. It’s most likely the stock UCAs don’t have enough adjustment or a steering component, or spindle is bent. Should be relatively easy to check. Just look at both sides and see if one of the things is not like the other.
Ok, thank you for the info!
 
Jack it up and see if there's play in the wheel at all. if the play is on the vertical axis, it's ball joints, if it's on the horizontal axis it's steering.

I don't have experience with these lower ball joints, but the lower ball joint failed catastrophically in my 3rd gen 4Runner and it was bad. That won't happen on the Tacoma, but it could stop go bad.

-M
 
One other thing I didn't see mentioned yet - The spindles on these trucks can be relatively weak.

In your diagnosis, lift it up and test the different things

Wiggle your tire left and right / horizontally. Play here would indicate a bad inner or outer tie rod ball joint. A bend in the rod without a bad joint could in theory cause pulling, but also should be able to be compensated for with adjustment as a bend is essentially just shortening the rod and it could be lengthened through adjustment.

Wiggle up and down /vertically or in and out from the top or bottom. Play here would indicate a bad upper or lower ball joint, but could also be indicative of bad bushings. UCA ball joint is smaller, and if it is still stock, should be inspected closely because they aren't designed to droop as much as the lifts tend to. Aftermarket UCAs of some kind are a must for big lifts. The UCA and LCA will both have a pair of bushings that could be shot and be causing divergence from what would otherwise be a perfect alignment. The problem there is that when at rest, they will look fine and align alright, but under-driving load could flex enough to pull the vehicle.

Lastly, if the alignment just can't get into spec at all, the most likely bend in the system is with the spindles. Companies like DRT Fab (my fav), Total Chaos, and icon make a gusset kit. If you're running bigger tires, they're pretty much a must.
 
One other thing I didn't see mentioned yet - The spindles on these trucks can be relatively weak.

In your diagnosis, lift it up and test the different things

Wiggle your tire left and right / horizontally. Play here would indicate a bad inner or outer tie rod ball joint. A bend in the rod without a bad joint could in theory cause pulling, but also should be able to be compensated for with adjustment as a bend is essentially just shortening the rod and it could be lengthened through adjustment.

Wiggle up and down /vertically or in and out from the top or bottom. Play here would indicate a bad upper or lower ball joint, but could also be indicative of bad bushings. UCA ball joint is smaller, and if it is still stock, should be inspected closely because they aren't designed to droop as much as the lifts tend to. Aftermarket UCAs of some kind are a must for big lifts. The UCA and LCA will both have a pair of bushings that could be shot and be causing divergence from what would otherwise be a perfect alignment. The problem there is that when at rest, they will look fine and align alright, but under-driving load could flex enough to pull the vehicle.

Lastly, if the alignment just can't get into spec at all, the most likely bend in the system is with the spindles. Companies like DRT Fab (my fav), Total Chaos, and icon make a gusset kit. If you're running bigger tires, they're pretty much a must.
Ok, thank you for all the info!
 
After my lift I had a wheel alignment…and passenger side tires ..had bad rubbing ..(driver side ok )…so I had the alignment guy more the passenger’s side tire 1/2 inch forward…it stop the tire rubbing ..but the steering started pulling heavy to the right. …
I Went back and talk to the alignment specialist…only thing he can do is move the driver’s side forward 1/2 inch…now “Perfect alignment “ and NO Steering pull, YES ..back to normal..steering

Maybe you might have this problem too? One tire is too forward..or backwards?
Try moving passenger side tire 1/2 inch forward..if does not work …go back and then try moving driver side forward..? If not go back and move passenger side backwards…etc..my wheel alignment shop had a six month plan, and I can go back multiple times , with NO added cost…

A steering pull is very annoying…. Hope you will be able to find the right solutions…
Aloha
 
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