Seeing as how you have the money, I agree with this 100%. Buy a steering stabilizer. Odds are good it's not doing a whole lot of damping at this point. All the other components we are discussing (tie rods, ball joints, wheel bearings, idler arm, etc) should only be changed if they are bad. You don't just want to start changing good parts. Spend your time and money putting on parts that will improve your ride.

 

HAHA!! I am the sole provider and have 4 kids, trust me, i dont have money. Just wasnt sure what i would be looking at spending if i did it all. Yeah ill prob get the steering stabilizer, and def check the rest when i get a day of clear skies. What am i looking for as far as the steering stabilizer being bad?

 

In that case, definitely spend some time figuring out whats wrong rather than spending money replacing good parts.

Once you remove it, push the shaft in and out, if there is not a lot of resistance it's bad. It's probably bad, since they are almost always overlooked. You will probably be able to slide it in and out with very little resistance. I said earlier over half these trucks probably have bad steering stabilizers, but really I bet it is even much higher of a percentage than that.

 

my next move to try to stop the tramlining is making sure my camber is right (my inner tire wear is heavy) and I am also going to a 215/50/17 tire from my current fronts 245/45/17

 

i know people are helping with the low budget mindset, but alot of tire shops around here will have a guy take a check underneath and let you know whats in need and whats not. just say "cool, ill get it in next week" or something and replace whats needed yourself. after you do, have them align it. i usually only align stuff when i have problems. even if i lower something, i dont unless it pulls or wanders. im all for budget fixes. for now, id say swap those 14s back on if it wasnt as bad. looks vs safety isnt a contest.

good luck with the fixes. and when all is said and done, grease everything up really well. it helps fill the slop in parts and makes sure they dont wear out too soon

 

Pictures......

 

BEFORE

AFTER

Gonna give it a 3/3 drop for sure. But the look is soooo much nicer now. Plans are (other than fix the current issue): drop, tint (windows & taillights), some serious paint detail (some paint is oxidizing).

 

ALRIGHT. I got under the truck today to get the steering stabilizer off. I couldnt get the pin out for the life of me. So i went to the end bolted to the frame. My socket set wasnt deep enough to get to the stinking nut. so i was pissed, went over to inlaws, and father in law (former ford dealership mechanic) helped me check everything. Everything looked good. He said, "it ain't a ford, but it looks to be in the steering box". Is there a way to adjust it? and i am going to replace the steering stabilizer/ damper either way.

 

Twins!!!

Lookin BAD A$$.
So I had a problem with my truck kinda wandering on the freeway when I first got my truck. My brother(MacRib) showed me how to adjust my steering. I would like to say that this IS your answer but it's free so give it try. I dug up a FSM on our steering assembly for pictures. Take a look:

http://www.ncttora.com/fsm/1993/steering/7manualge.pdf

You'll want to jack the front up so there is no load on the front tires. Loosen the thrust washer and tighten up your adjusting screw just enough to be snug then re-tighten the the thrust washer. Lower the truck and give her spin around the block. Good luck. and hurry up and lower that thing... HA HA. Oh, and here is picture of my truck.

 

ok so I stopped reading halfway through when people started complaining about attitudes, its the internet. Grow up.

It is most likely not the stabilizer shock because I dont even have one on my truck and the suspension is tighter then ever ! but I have all knew parts.

second, I bet you it is most likely either of the two or a combination of the two. IDLER ARM or CENTER DRAG LINK. Almost every toyota pickups idler arm is shot by now. My truck had 80k miles when I got it, and mine was GONE. Also the center drag links go bad as well. I replaced both of mine and now my wheels go straight and do not wander.

If you dont beleive me and want to argue, dont because it wont solve the OP's problem. If you are unsure of the issue I suggest you go on ebay, buy and ENTIRE front end rebuild kit for 120 bucks.. the seller is in florida but I dont remember much else. And replace it ALL. NO more problems when you do that. It is cheap and easy to replace. PM me for more info if you need help changing it all once you order the parts.

Also if you want to go into detail to find out whats really wrong, listen up.

Idler arm - have your ignition locked and your wheel turned to the right. On the jack or on the ground try to turn your wheel left and right just like it would turn if you were turning the steering wheel. If it moves and you can see the idler arm move at its pivot. It is bad.

Center drag link - go under the truck and grab it... if it moves around, up, down, left, right.. It is bad.

And to those sissies who I offended I'm sorry. I will try not to hurt your feelings again. Then again this is toyotaminis.com not Drphil.com

 

This the kit? Says 4wd ONLY, wasnt sure if it'll still work.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SUSP...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item4a99ccaffc
The center drag link wont move up and down or left to right, but it does rotate very little, but i figure that is a little normal. Supposed to rain again today. Hopefully i can et off work before it hits and check it all out again.

 

Ill check that out today. i hope that IS the answer

 

here is the steering kit on eBay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...0340515688&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT
I bought this same one and will be installing it soon myself, it's everything you need except the tie rods links, you could probably just reuse yours. I got new ones from Rockauto, best price I could find on the internet.
if you get new links it's easier to setup the new steering since you can match the new tie rods to the old, if you re-use the old links make sure you measure the tierods before you take them apart...

also if you think you may need new balljoints the same guy sells this setup with a complete set of balljoints too.... just check his other items

btw are you power or manual steering???

 

manual steering. i might end up getting that kit. but for now ill adjust at the steering box, and prob get the stabilizer.

 

dont get greedy adjusting the box, if you tighten it up too much it might lock up on ya. I would leave it so there is an acceptable amount of freeplay. Enough so you can drive it safely and not get tire wear...

 

that one had me

i've heard the same. there is a certain amount of play that needs to be in the box.

 

so really confused, got it all lifted up. pulled out the intake tube to get better access. i see the nut to loosen, with the adjusting screw (has single slot in it). when i loosened the nut, how much do i loosen? when i turn the adjusting screw, it will go (with no resistance) until i get to where the nut stops it.

 

GOT IT. I was just worried because the adjusting screw wasnt tightening. so i loosened the nut almost all the way off. THEN tightened the adjusting screw. It was 3 or 4 full rotations till it tightened. i tightened the nut back down. Got in and drove. HUGE DIFFERENCE!!!!!!
It does seem a little tight but ill fix that tomorrow. i can now let go of the wheel and it doesnt go anywhere. THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOOO FREAKIN MUCH. now i feel good giving it a 3/3 drop.

 

sweet. after you drop it, id suggest getting it aligned at a shop. 18" low pros arent cheap. and since its had a few changes, just to make sure everything will wear properly on the tires.

 

And it was FREEEEEEEE!!!!!