Hey all, hope everyone is doing well.
For about a year now, I've been just dealing with my Hilux handling like crap. Decided this needed to be sorted as its terrible for long trips and really lowers my confidence in the car.
It's an 05 model running 265/17/70's with a 2 inch suspension lift (fulcrum shocks and kings(?) springs) and a 1 inch body lift to mitigate some tyre rubbing issues. The lower control bushings are polyurethane Nolathane's opposed to the rubber oem bushes. While replacing these bushes, the front right hand LCA mount was damaged and had to be re welded (doesnt look great but it is the correct dimensions) . The lower ball joints are starting to wear, but not out of spec yet.
When driving over any bumps (even very small ones) in the road, my steering wheel jerks. This is throughout all speed ranges. The steering isn't super light, yet is very sensitive to road input. This, mixed in with a very bouncy/rough ride and feeling road noise through the steering wheel, really takes the enjoyment out of the car.
So far I've replaced:
Steering rack (Mounting bolts are correctly torqued)
Tie rod ends
Wheel bearings
Sway bar bushings/links
New adjustable upper control arm
CV joints
Small spacer for centre bearing to reduce some vibrations after lift
All wheels have been balanced and I have taken it to 4 different shops with no better results, the last being Pedders (good blokes). Below are the specs that may help figure out these steering gremlins Note - None of the shops have adjusted the alignment using the adjustable UCA's yet.
Left Right
Toe - 0.4mm 0.5mm
Camber - -00 16' -00 14'
Caster- 03 32' 02 58'
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I'm really starting to give up on this car's suspension issues.
If anyone one knows a good knowledgeable wheel or suspension shop I could get my next alignment at please let me know