lilyota91

Sooo here goes my first post...

Couple days ago I bought a 1991 Toyota Pickup Single Cab with a Rough Country Lift. Now as I was looking at it I noticed it was leaning to the passenger side a little front and back. Buddy said it was probably a torsion bar fix and after taking it into get aligned and "fixed" they said they tried and could not get it to sit right. Now granted this was at the local Big O store so not sure if it was even a real mechanic that did the work. My buddy thinks I should check the springs now but I'm freaking out as I just bought this vehicle.
So my question is, any thoughts on this?
My next step is taking it to the body shop to check the frame. And I've read some different stuff about the "toyota lean" and I know the gas tank is on the right but it's pulling hard to the right especially since the Big O stop and it just doesn't look right. I just want to hopefully get this fixed and get my piece of mind back.

irab88

iTrader: (4)

the torsion bar (front "springs") adjuster bolts are located just under the front door:



tighten the bolt to stiffen/raise that side, loosen to soften/lower. a 4-way tire iron works very well, just make sure to spray the entire adjuster assembly with pb blaster and let it soak. after adjusting, drive it around a bit (over bumps helps) to "set" the springs. then pull back onto a flat surface and re-adjust if needed.

once you get the torsion bars set about level, take it to a reputable (not a ntb, costco, sams club, etc) tire/alignment shop to get it re-aligned properly. spraying the steering components with pb blaster the night before will help them make adjustments on the 22 year-old truck

lilyota91

Thanks that's apparently what Big O did yesterday and they said it didn't work and then the owner said it was most likely in an accident which is the part that's really freaking me out. So should I break out my rusty tool set when I get home and try myself? And it's the whole passenger side leaning.

lilyota91

Also before one side had some threads showing now both are looking "tight"

irab88

iTrader: (4)

not many tools needed: pb blaster (lots, like 2 cans) and a 4-way tire iron. so yeah, go for it.

got any pictures of it? take a few from different angles and post them here*

*(we all like using photobucket.com for hosting pictures. make a free account, upload to photobucket, copy the [img] code, paste it here: [img]your picture url here.jpg[/img]. we all like pictures )

lilyota91

I'll be off work in a few hrs so I'll just let my brain run wild until I can try the torsion bar fix myself (fingers crossed). Meantime here're some pics hope they help a little.

lilyota91

If any more specific pics would help let me know my truck is 5ft away from me

Edit: also looks like both bolts are tightened all the way

irab88

iTrader: (4)

hmm, what about the rear suspension? is there anything going on back there?

first impressions: those t-bars do not look like they've been tightened all the way. if they actually have been, then they are either broken or misaligned. or the bolt is seized.

and wow, that's a clean front-end! must not have been driven much since the lift was installed. and nice paint! i know it's not original, but wow is it clean

lilyota91

I'll get some pics of the rear right now but it looks like it's leaning front and back but I know front for sure. And I'll still plan on trying the tightening T bars myself with the PB blaster
And yea I'm very happy with it overall specially with how clean it looks, minus the leanin which is just freaking me out : /

lilyota91

highonpottery

iTrader: (1)

With that fresh of a lift kit I would say installation was the problem and the tbars probably weren't adjusted properly. I don't see how the tbar couldn't be adjusted unless its off by a spline or two and the adjuster bolt ran out of threads. Also, make sure the tbars match as one could be new and the other old (stuff happens and people overlook simple things sometimes). The rear looks fine but you need to look further back to check the arch of the leafs. I would suggest taking a tape measure to your truck and check every corner, measure from center of axles to bottom of fender lip - this will help determine which corner it is and go from there.

bruno4turbo

first welcome to yotatech! nice to see another brightly colored yota runnin around

just gotta say that is a beautiful yota, diggin the color! and its a very well engineered lift you have on there (i have a RC on my 86)

also its hard to align our trucks with this lift, its more guess work that a generic shop can't really do. take it to an old man shop, I did mine at my school and the alignment machine kept saying it was off, and my boy has perfect alignment because the large tires and height difference confuses the machines' specs for toyota trucks.

don't freak out about a lean. if its saggy springs t-bars and leafs are not that hard to swap out, and they're not that horribly priced.

if its a bigger problem don't worry until you've weeded out all other problems. deep breath you'll be okay. I blew the head gasket a month after i got mine, then the transmission filled with water a month later (I run auto) so theres much worse things to happen than a lean

lilyota91

Thanks for the tips...I'll check the T bars to see if they're the same and measure the gaps as soon as I'm off work then. Oh and actually try to adjust them. Just hope it turns into something like you said that was just overlooked.

lilyota91

Thanks and yes I just gotta remember to breathe. Kept me up all night after the last tech said there was nothing else to do and it was probably a bent frame. Glad I stopped by here first!
I'll try and focus on happy thoughts at least till I try the few things on my list now.

bruno4turbo

also the first t-bar pic, driver side, is clean black and nice looking...

the second, passenger side looks old dirty and used.

if its not just the way the pix where taken, or just the other one was whipped off, that may be your problem. also that is the cleanest belly of these beasts i've seen, that rear axle almost looks new, or at least freshly painted.

lilyota91

I just emailed trd toyota of dallas to see if they could get me a new torsion bar cause one does look really old compared to the other.

irab88

iTrader: (4)

http://www.swayaway.com/torsionbars.php

p/n: 1646

$231

bruno4turbo

get 2. replace them together. even if the other one looks new, it might be off a used truck just cleaned up before installation. any suspension parts should be replaced in pairs.

the problem with pretty clean under sides of old trucks is usually someone either put a lot of money on new stuff, or $10 in spray paint.

not saying you bought a problem truck, just sayin watch out for cut corners.

i found some cut corners on my truck that lead to the demise of my engine then my TC in my trans. the rest of the trans prob was my fault lol.

lilyota91

Nice thanks for the link

lilyota91

Oh man I can already feel my wallet getting lighter haha. Well guess I'll save some money and buy the new torsion bars first after trying to adjust them myself and see where that gets me. Looks like I'll be getting 2 though thanks.