1989toy4wd

I had it done, it takes about 4 hours. I drive a 89 toyota pickup 4wd and they replaces the rod bhind the bumper. It looks like it was an easy job. I think i could have done it myself!!

littlerunner

in fairnessthis is a pretty easy job until it comes to the alignment,some of these trucks are pretty rought & rust,one of our techs broke 2 snap-on 1/2 breaker bars getting the
bolts loose to adjust camber/caster.i know some of you guys may not believe this but not all dealers out to steal your money,we just have to make double sure we cover our butts,about 1 in 6 of the trucks we have done needed idler arms,very few neede tie rod ends,one was only because we damaged it getting the sleeve loose

Riverboy

I just bought a 4runner and a friend of mine is a ase dealership mech for a Toyota dealership. All you have to do is go to your local dealership and the take down your info and vin #. They will mail you out a recall card. Then go to the dealer and get it fixed for free and get a free alignment out of the deal.
Supposedly its the steering connecting rod. My friend that told me about it says he has down alot of them and has never seen one busted or even cracked.

tc

Yes, that's how it's supposed to work. Actually, you don't have to wait for the card - just give them the VIN and schedule the appointment.

Did you read all 13 pages of various difficulties people have had? you better ...

Bobakazi

So I removed my extra steering stabilizer, got the 50n done, went home and put the stablizer back on. It pulls pretty hard to the right when braking now, and my wheel is a little off center. I have an appointment to have it checked Tues morning. I do not know how they are going to do this because they do not have an alignment machine. They are probably just going to drive around the block. I am not leaving it there all day for that. I heard if one puts up a fuss, Toyota will pay for another shop to align it if your dealer does not have an alignment machine. That is what I am going to do. What sucks is that it took a few minutes of discussion for them to admit they do not have one. I do not care that they do not have one, I just want the job done, and done right.

tc

ANOTHER Toyota dealer without an alignment machine? What up wit dat?
(Actually, I would prefer they did it old-school without the machine, but people who can do that are getting few and far between)

littlerunner

they should be able to sublet out the alignment no problem,our machine was down for a while,we just let our customers know we were having to snd out the align & it would take a little longer

Bobakazi

I hope it goes good. Even though it clearly shows the toe needs to be checked and adjusted on the 50n PDF that was posted up a while back, my dealer says this is not something that needs to be done. They said with all the recalls they have done so far, only a couple needed an alignment after. It seems to me if the new rod was EXACTLY the same dimensions as the old one, you might be fine without an alignment. But after 16 years, and spec allowances, I can see why the alignment is needed. I'll see how things go Tues. I mainly just feel bad for everyone else that went to that same dealer (Broadway Toyota in Portland, OR) and left feeling good, without knowing all the facts.

Bobakazi

Well, I overslept. . Got another appointment for Thurs morn. I did ask today, however, what they were going to do to check the alignment since they do not have a machine. They said they would have a tech look at it and make sure the alignment problem was not something that they caused. That does not sound to hopeful. I will bring a copy of the PDF and show it if need be. Does anyone out there work at a dealership and could back me up? Please ? A name and contact number would be great so they do not think I am talking out of my butt. Thanks so much in advance.

littlerunner

i dont know man-we get such a bad rap from some of you guys-ok here goes,let them have a look at it,take the campaign letter only as a back up if they start to give you any grief,do you do any business with a local alignment shop?if so ask the dealer if they would pay to have them check it,i would about guarantee you that they charged toyota for the alignment,or if they have an alignment shop they do business with see if they will sublet it out to that shop-good luck-if all else fails get the 800 # for toyota just keep in mind if you do that & ever need anything else from that dealer they may not be very willing to help---sometimes also it doesnt hurt to occasionally do business with the dealer---never know when u might need them

Bobakazi

Thanks for the advice. Just to let you know, I am not going to put up a stink no matter what. I am not that kind of person. I would rather lose out than lose a friend/connection. If they refuse to do it, I will pay to get it done somewhere else. I personally do not have anything against dealers. I prefer to go there for repairs if I can afford it, or if it is not something I can do myself. I always take it to them on insurance claims. I have never had a problem with them in the past. I just feel in this case they are trying to pull the wool over everyones eyes that goes in for the 50n at that specific dealership. Part of me wants to believe they really just do not know an alignment will be needed. But if what you said is true in your last statement, "i would about guarantee you that they charged toyota for the alignment", I would be a little PO'd. Not only would they be shorting the customer, they would also be purposefully and willingly ripping off Toyota. That would be like buying something by the pound, and the store owner knows his scales are off. Like going to a restaurant and they charge you for something you did not order, hoping you would not see the bill. I really hope this is not the case. I will find out tomorrow.

littlerunner

im sure it will all work out well

tc

I had to have my alignment redone - getting paid back was the easiest/quickest part of the ordeal.

Don't just roll over for them - that makes it bad for the next guy.

Bobakazi

Well, Kudos to my dealer after all! I brought it in, they checked it out, and sent it a few blocks away to Les Schwab to get the alignment done. They did a full alignment, or at least checked all 3 adjustments. My camber and caster were already within specs, but my toe was off. The specified range for the toe is 0.08*-0.16*. My left was 0.02*, and the right was 1.19*. Now the left is 0.13*, and the right is 0.15*. It drives much better now, and my steering wheel is back to center. I am very happy about all that, but it still pulls to the right when braking. I am going to check tire pressure. Any other ideas why that would happen?
-Another thing: I do go wheeling from time to time, and sometimes pretty hard. I heard it is good when you bring your rig back home to really tighten down the adjustment nuts. I am not sure where they are, or how much to tighten them. I have done some searching on this, and will do some more. Anyone have some input or a link if there is one? Thanks!

Turd Ferguson

I know a lot of you guys have horror stories about this. I took my rig into Russel Toyota in Catonsville, MD, and told them to do the recalls, and flush the diffs/trans/xfer case and lube it all up.

I told them if they found anything specific, to call me and I will approve the repair. No calls. They did suggest I replace the spark plug wires and plugs but didn't need it. Belts were okay, timing solid. Fluid flush cost me $300. (100% swap, not that 3/4 BS.)

I also found out my head gasket was already done... uhoh!

1989toy4wd

I had it done like a month ago. This only takes about 4 hours, they do not re-align your wheels, it is the bar that goes across the front of your diff. It was for all 89-95 toyota pickups, and i dont know what else, no it doesnt affect solid axles.

Hope this answers all questions.

Injohneer

I took mine in at 7:30 this Monday morning to the new dealership about a mile from my house (Riverside Toyota of Tulsa). They said they'd have it ready this afternoon; I walked back to the house because I didn't see any FJs to test drive for the day =(

Saturday/Sunday I put new ball joints, ball joint spacers, tie rods, pitman arm, and ilder arms on. Measuring before and after, to see how much lift I got, I thought it was pretty weird that the driver's side was about 1/2 inch higher than the passenger's...was still off when I got done. Guess I'll adjust the torsion bars when I get it back.

I didn't put new shocks in because I hadn't bought any, I wanted to see how far off my old ones were. So I left the shocks in, but the top end is not fastened. And I left the skid plate off, so the mechanics will have easier access.

So we'll see if they try to sell me new shocks...that would be funny, as their stock shocks aren't going to fit. I plan on throwing some rancho 5167's on tomorrow, and uncranking the torsion bars.

celica

They do align the toe per the toyota recall notice

celica

You will need to do an alignnment after changing your torsion bar settings

Injohneer

I hadn't thought of that, thanks.

Always, or just because I have BJ spacers?

The ideal A-arm setup is simply a four-bar mechanism. Equal lengths on the bars would result in parallel movement of opposite sides, wheel moves up and down, without changing the vertical alignment. Since tweaking the torsion bars would simply change the "at rest" angle of the A-arms, the wheel will remain the same angle IF the A-arms are the same length .and. parallel. Of course, I don't know if the original design was "ideal," or how far from "ideal" the setup is after adding BJ spacers. But I can find out.

I will get some measurements off my rig and calculate how far out of plumb the wheel will go as a function of the change in rim-to-fender gap due to Torsion bar tweaking... that will be a fun project, I haven't actually crunched numbers since I got out of school