fs8459

Hi, I have some question about the wheel alignment on the 2002 4Runner, I did the wheel alignment earlier today and the tech told me that the 4Runner's rear end does not require an alignment because the rear ends have "fixed design". He told me only the front end needs wheel alignment. Is this correct ? Before the wheel alignment, when I travel at 60 mph on a flat freeway and I let go the steering wheel, the car moves slightly towards the right side. And after the wheel alignment, I test drive it again on the flat freeway, it's the same thing. As the car is traveling straight at 60 mph and I let go the steering wheel, the car moves slightly towards the right side. Do you guys have this same problem with your 4Runner ? I don't know if all 4Runners are made like that. I have a friend with the Highlander (a sedan-based SUV with smoother ride) and when he lets go the steering wheel at 60 mph on the freeway, his car travels in straight direction, no leaning towards the right or left side. Let me know what you think ?

jtm994

i did for a while...but the problem with mine was that it was out of line so long the tires on the drivers side were lower that the ones on the passenger side. i got a alignment and it still pulled off to the right. but when i got new tires it was pefrectly stright and i havent had problems with it since.

gn86r

from what i was told that it doesnt need a four wheel alignment, but a thrust alignment, which includes the front. i also wondered how the rear would be adjusted. i watched the tech do my alignment and he says usually it should pull slightly right if it pulls at all due to the roads having a slope. maybe someone that knows wheel alignments could chime in.

arielb1

I have a 94 4X4. I have not found a mechanic, including STEALERSHIPS, that can do my alignment correctly. My truck has always pulled slightly to the right with new or old tires. I tried four different places and wasted money. Just my .02 cents

jimbo74

if its pulling to the right or left could easily be a caster problem... sometimes there is no way to ever completely correct caster though... many manufacturers donnt even have a spec for it.... the rear end is more or less a fixed design... the front is the important part... however it is nice to have the rear checked because it can help solve or rule out problems later... like say you have a rediculous amount of - camber on the rear, that i can almost say for sure is a bent rear axle housing...... sometimes a pull will also go away jsut by swapping the left and right side front tires..... camber problems and toe issues will also cause a pull..... toe is the most important adjustment as it can destroy a set of tires in literally hundreds of miles... camber problems usually take thousands of miles to surface....

BruceTS

For starters, the rear can't be aligned, unless you have aftermarket adjustable control arms. With that said, if your rig was aligned properly, it should drift to the right. Now your going WTF????? The answer is in the way highways are built, they aren't flat and have a crown, so water sheds off of them. What I've done in the past was to align my vehicle properly then take it for a test drive, afterwards, I add a slight amount of camber to compensate for the roads, but having this slight drift is actually a good thing, because if you fell asleep behind the wheel, you won't drift into head on traffic, so these days I leave it alone and have gotten used to this.

jimbo74

you can fix the caster adj with an adjsuter.... you dont have to tweak the camber to do it.... well thats if the caster is adjustable, on my truck the camber/caster is adjustable with shims....