3”/2” lift - front end rocking side to side

Hey all - I am at my wit’s end and really hoping I don’t have to get rid of my 2014 I’ve had since 2016. Taken it to multiple shops with no resolution unfortunately.

I have a 3” lift in front (Bilstein 5100s, OME 2884 coils, JBA UCAs) and a 2” lift in rear (Toytec Aluma 2.0 shocks, Toytec Superflex coils, panhard correction bracket).

The last couple of months, the front end of my 4Runner seems to rock side to side (makes the whole cabin rock side to side) over even mildly uneven pavement at any speed. Multiple shops have taken a look at it and claim that this is just how lifted vehicles drive. I don’t think that’s true because this is a recent issue and I’ve had it lifted for a couple of years now. Recently a shop redid my alignment and claimed they were only able to get 2.6/2.7 degrees of caster so that’s where it’s at.

Do you all think that the caster on a lifted vehicle being at the bottom end of the stock Toyota alignment spec could be the cause for my front end wanting to rock back and forth over any road imperfections? It’s been driving me crazy to the point where it’s kind of exhausting to drive, and I’d love to avoid getting rid of this because I love it other than this one issue no one seems to be able to help me resolve.

I’ve searched on this forum and the other 4Runner forum for hours and hours and haven’t come up with anything - any help here would be very greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

 

If you have aftermarket UCA's, that shop should be able to max out the caster. BTW, I believe minimum spec is 2.9°.

I'd try a better alignment shop. Low Caster could make it want to wander back and forth.

 

I suspect that it’s not uncommon for shops to just get the numbers “green” and then stop there…but I agree I do need to find a new shop.

The reason I’ve been having trouble finding an answer on this is that rather than a lot of wandering in terms of not tracking straight (what I’d typically assume to be a symptom of not enough caster) what it’s doing is the front end will hit any kind of slightly not level surface on the road, and the front end as well as the cabin will tip to one side or the other kind of rocking back and forth. It’s like riding a damn raft.

Does that kind of thing seem like it could be caused by not enough caster? I was originally thinking no, but I’ve kind of exhausted all of the other possibilities

 

How old are the 5100's? Is it possible they could be on their way out?

I could see the caster making it wander, which could feel like it's swaying.

 

The Bilsteins are 2 years old with about 20k miles on them so I think they’re still good to go. Very sparingly I’ve seen people on the forums say that 5100s are really only meant to be paired with the stock coils up front (who knows if that’s true). Guess maybe it’s time for me to decide whether it’s worth it to spend around a grand to give coilovers a try or just cut ties with this thing

 

If you've had the same coils since you got the 5100s, but the wandering/ roly-poly feel is new, then that shouldn't be the issue. Issue. My Bilsteins have almost 60,000 mi on them and they still feel good, so yours should be fine.

 

Bumping this as a last resort to see if anyone else is generous enough to chime in.

Just to reiterate - my main issue is that my 2014’s front end tips/rocks side to side very noticeably (in a jarring way) over any uneven pavement/imperfections as well as dips or humps in the road. It’s been lifted for 2 years and this problem just recently started maybe 4 months ago.

All of my shocks, springs, and aftermarket UCAs are pretty new, and no one in my city seems to be able to help get it diagnosed. The vehicle does have about 120k miles on it.

Could something like a worn lower ball joint or front sway bar bushing or link be causing this? My alignment doesn’t have as much caster as I’d like (3.5 degrees) but that’s all anyone has been able to squeeze out. I really don’t want to do it but I’m on the verge of having to part with this due to how badly it’s driving just day to day. Hoping someone else has experienced something similar that can help. Thanks.

 

I would check your bushings just in case. If they're worn, which is very possible at that mileage. It can cause some weird things to happen. You would think some of the shops would've checked them though.

They're super easy to change out too if they are the culprit.

 

Weird one. Sounds like you need a good mechanic

 

I'd lift the front wheels off ground and poke around to see if anything seems loose or broken. Maybe even use a pry bar to help.

 

Even though this doesnt sound helpful, I agree. Either that or decide id you’re willing and able to get in there yourself to look for something broken, worn, etc. If you can take your time with it, you could probably find out more than the people you’ve taken it to.

If I had uncontrolled rocking side to side, my first suspect would be the shocks. Their job is to control compression and rebound motions. True, they aren’t that old, but you have a problem that would be solved by having better control of the rebound stroke of the suspension. Well blown shock wouldnt control anything. Look for leaks. Does each corner move the same when you push down the corners? I heard some Old man emu coils suck bad, which could lead to shocks being overworked as well. Heck, maybe something wrong with the rear is being reflected in the front.

However, you need to look for other things that might be causing the problem. Start with the simplest and cheapest possibilities and work up from there. Descriptions over the internet don’t always translate, and it could be that you mean something completely different than I think. So anything with the suspension should really be checked. I would think a mechanical problem could be easily spotted. Start looking for broken things, torn rubber bushings on the moving parts, broken sway bar links. Broken swaybars…lol. Are there any noises? At 120k miles, the suspension components should all be inspected anyways, including all the ball joints

It’s either get in there yourself, or start calling mechanics until you get one that seems willing to solve the problem for a price you are willing to pay. Or buy a new car. Or an old one with it’s own set of problems and list of maintanance needs.

Who installed the suspension?

 

Also, watch some of the Tinkerer videos on youtube for inspiration. The guy is super good at showing how all the suspension components interact on toyotas with IFS.

 

Oh…you have KDSS…. That’s whole seperate layer that needs to be looked at. And it could be the cause of the problem by itself. Are you familiar with how that works?