My '08 HL rides a little rough. So I was under it and noticed the tie rod ends are tilted instead of flat at the ball joint. The DS is tilted back and the PS is tilted forward (or the other way around, I don't remember, but they are opposite). Is this normal? Doesn't seem right to me. When I center or flatten them, the ride seems to be bouncier. Maybe they need to be centered then an alignment needs to be performed. Thoughts?
My 06 At full lock either direction shows Tie rod end shift at the ball joint.
This IS NORMAL. The caster angle does change at full lock end.
What is your real question??
This has nothing to do with a "hard ride"
Check your tire pressure and adjust to spec. (lable on door drivers door jamb.)
Dealers rarly adjust them down to spec., as they are supposed to do at "pre-delivery inspection" !
The tires are shipped hard with higher pressure for shipping purposes so they don't "FLAT SPOT unto it is sold/delivered to customer.
Bear in mind they are low profile tires as well. And if pressure is ok ,the ride yu have is normal.
The Sport Model has a stiffer suspension if this is the model yu have.
Mine has no shift. My tie rods are always DS locked forward PS locked backward regardless of tire direction. See images with wheels facing straight. When I fixed them, my wife says it doesn't ride right. It is bouncy with road bumps as if the alignment is out. I just can't image it would be any other suspension related issue with 2600 miles. I will check tire pressures when the tires cool down see I just got home. BTW it is a limited, not a sport. Thanks for the response.
I still must insist that your tie rods are normal. Your issue of a hard ride may be true of course...but yu are looking in the wrong place.
Get back to me for more direction if yu need.
The tire pressure is the first thing to check before yu do anything else!
Let me know how many PSI the tires were off by.
Just 5 PSI -/+ will yield a different ride feel ,especially on the 19"/tire/wheel combo yu have on the 08 Ltd.
Yu know to check "cold" with an accurrate guage....i'm not a fan of the "pencil" $3.00 type gauges though , they are known to be as much as 10 PSI out of calibration. A round type guage with a dial of no more than 60PSI max is preferable.
Tire pressures are all at 29. So they are actually low by 1 psi. Check by the round type guage with dial of no more than 60psi. I think I may have described the ride poorly. It is bouncy after hitting bumps not stiff or hard. I was thinking alignment since the likelyhood of a component failure is slim. It sort of feels like the toe might be off and the road imperfections accentuate it. Any other thoughts?
with 2600 miles the struts will soften a bit. I notice this with many new struts. They will tend to loosen up and loose theat bouncy feel.
My 06 softened up a bit too from when it was new.
I have driven an 08 Limited for approx. 15miles round trip local driving, and found it slightly stiffer than my 06 ltd. Of course now these are two different Highlanders. With a longer wheel base, wider track and 500 pounds heavier over the 06.
Your ride might be normal.
I find that when I have a full tank of fuel my 06 rides less bouncy over the rough stuff.
Thanks I guess I will pursue this elsewhere. It has been there from the get go but thanks. I originally thought it was tires and still believe it may be. Two of the tires had higher Road Force variations, but the dealer screwed that one up. It is a long story. I have had a Toyo dealer rebalance to correct what the dealer did, but they just don't seem right. These lower profile tires on these newer vehicles are more sensitive to harmonics. Unfortunately, the dealerships are causing more customer disatisfaction with brands than is fair to the manufacturers. Any way, thanks for your help.
Just my 2 cents worth from experience...we live in snow country and I wanted a very aggressive tire to handle that. When we bought our '05 HL last year (used) we swapped out the stock tires with ones the dealership could order (from a list in the parts dept). We went with the Goodyear Wranglers because the channels in the tire extend all the way out to help move slush away from the tire. While it handles well in the snow, we also see a "harmonic" vibration at 39 - 42 mph. At this speed, the tread creates a bouncing feel through the seats.
So, what LifeTech is saying is very relevant. Tires and their pressure and even tread pattern have a huge impact on ride quality (experienced similar problems with BFG Rugged Trails on my Tacoma before switching to BFG All Terrains...the ride with these is now very much improved although you would expect the opposite).
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"Think Outside the Box!"
'05 4x4 DC LB SR5 Tow Pkg BFG All-Terrain T/A KO, Leer Tonneau, Westin Platinum Nerf Bars, Fog and Map Light Mods, Orig. Owner 12/3/04
Proprietary rubber compounds and tire construction vary greatly from brand to brand and even from Same brand different model.
Unfortunately it becomes trial and error. What works for one person/vehicle doesn't necessarily work or meet the criteria for another person.
And yu may be happy with one specific tire ..then when yu replace 4 or 5 years later and replace with the same exact tire ,then yu might find that the Tire Mfr. changed the compound, tread design and other suttle features and find yourself with a down graded tire by comparison to the original tires of same model.
I've seen this time and time again. Michelin and the rest.
2008 Tie rod ends
Linear Mode
