edeslaur

Caster on the left is way out, like the PO smacked something and pushed it back. I swapped in used Blazeland control arms, that didn't change anything, so I expect it's not the control arms.

The alignment shop is pretty useless on this right now.

How can I determine what is bent and how much?

scope103

Ouch! This is the '87 4Runner you've had for (just about) 4 years? What caused you to notice the problem now?

The dimensions (for a '93) can be found here: http://personal.utulsa.edu/~nathan-b...13bodydime.pdf You may be able to find the same thing for an '87. But you don't really need the absolute measurements (because you think the right side is okay), just what's different about the left.

The problem is that these measurements are almost impossible to make without a jig designed for that. There are high-end body shops that do these measurements all day long, but it won't be cheap. Once you find out which end of the A-Arm mount is bent, you'll be faced with straightening that part out.

And in the end, your truck will be one of the most expensive 26-yr-old trucks around.

Good luck!

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

If your front end shop can`t tell you just what is wrong run for another one and be careful the wheels don`t fall off.

Find one that knows 4 Wheel drive vehicles.

Some don`t even have the specs in their system and just guess.

edeslaur

Thanks, that will help!

Yeah, that one. I knew it had a problem before I lifted it, but assumed it was just out of whack. Drove it a lot on original tires, then on 245s when I got the 16" wheels, always ate the left front. Lifted it, aligned it, yelled at the shop for missing a completely wasted left tie rid that had me climbing the rail in the local Costco car wash. I upgraded to Total Chaos steering bits at that point and called all the wear up to that point due to the severely wasted tie rod end. Err, no. it actually made the wear worse.

Since it got relegated to 12 miles a day kid school duty, I didn't notice the LF was getting ground down, assuming the last alignment was done well. Turns out they f'd up my wife's truck too. And they left one of the heim lock nuts fully loose. Great shop....

Now i'm driving it again, sometimes 200 miles a day.

Plus I have a Total Chaos kit coming, so before I weld anything, I need it straight... Whoop!

edeslaur

Turns out the frame is straight. Took it to Roger Daniel's in Santee. They checked the frame, it's all good (walked me back and showed me). Called the alignment "out of whack" and were confident they could bring it in.

Decided to just jump into the TC kit, so the Blazeland is now for sale in the classifieds section, including two brand new axles.

Thanks for everyone's help!

BlazeN8

You started out with alignment problems, you continued to have them the with Blazeland, and it will continue to have them with Total Chaos. Its not related to your control arms its something to do with your frame. We discussed this before you bought the long arms. I suggested you fix the problem while the truck was in stock form. No alignment shop will take on a rig with modified suspension without making a stink about it. You might try to find a frame shop or specialist. A tire shop with an alignment rack won't do. Best of luck!

edeslaur

The original shop told me they had problems setting the castor when it was stock, that's correct. The frame was fine, the Blazeland was fine, I was just dealing with a poor shop before. The alignment was pretty far off when it went in (the noun "whack" was bandied about). Heck, they screwed up my stock Suburban's alignment.

Sorry if I didn't make that clear above, Nate.

Roger Daniels has full frame alignment and adjustment capabilities - they were working on a gorgeous GTO which had come in bent - and also comes highly recommended by many of the 4wd clubs down here. "Not cheap, but he'll make it right." +1

They put their frame toys on and showed me it was straight.

The Blazeland was an improvement over the stock setup, but I still bottomed out pretty easily with upgraded bars and shocks. I'm looking to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Ball joints and stamped steel concern me for that kind of use, since I was going with a shock hoop, Total Chaos seemed the right next step.

BlazeN8

All right, I'm glad you figured it out! I can't keep track of all the various customers I've sold to especially when the kit changes hands and ends up on Craigslist. I've know a few second hand owners and now it looks like a third hand owner may be on its way.

I do understand your desire to up grade to a higher end set up! Blazeland is better suited for an entry level to LT. Its for a budget builder!

edeslaur

My last truck was a class 1700 JeepSpeed Cherokee. With lockers, it was also a solid wheeler - Rubicon Jeeps would need to be locked in at both ends to get up stuff I just needed the rear locker for. Some days I'm not sure why I sold it.

My intent is to build a 4runner that will outrun and outwheel the Cherokee, so I've swapped to Total Chaos.