Still chasing that perfect steering feel…

To recap, I’d been fighting a bit of side-to-side movement in the steering — nothing wild, but enough to make highway driving sketchy once I hit 70+ mph. It felt like the front end just couldn’t make up its mind about what direction it wanted to go.

So, I lifted the front end, gave the tires a wiggle test, and sure enough — there was a little play. At that point, I’d already been through most of the usual suspects, so as a last-ditch effort, I decided to swap out the steering guide for the updated version.

And let me tell you — what a difference. The vague, wandering feel? Gone. The new design is a solid piece instead of the older style that allows a bit of slop, and the improvement was instantly noticeable. The 4Runner finally tracks straight and steady again, even at speed.

The only hiccup was getting the new cap installed. None of my tools fit quite right, and as you can see from the picture, the socket paid the price. I’d like to snug it down a bit more, but I’ll need to find the right tool before I give it another go.