ok, my truck is an 87 runner with stock ifs... when i bought my truck it had horrible camber on both wheels, one was negative other was positive... wound up having to replace both knuckles. one side went straight while the other didnt... went to firestone and got the lifetime alignment from them, they did what they could, was told the one sides camber was perfect, and they have no idea whats wrong with the other side... the other day i was under my truck and saw something funny and would like opinions if this could be a reason or if theres another possibilty. included is a picture of what i found

 

and heres the good side

 

thats how you adjust camber and caster. they do not have to be the same on both sides. the top pic is pulling the camber all the way in. if it is maxed out then there is nothing they can do. i suggest taking it to a shop that can align it to different specs than the factory ones while still wearing the tires normally

 

look at the part that is circled in red on the first pic compared to the second one, i know that one is maxed out, just look at it closely where is has been circled. something doesnt seem right

 

now im no expert but something looks really off...

 

My bet truck has been wrecked.

:wabbit2:

 

It's common for the cam adjuster supports to bend if the spindle and LCA takes a hard hit. Loosen the adjuster, move the cam over, then try and straighten out the supports with a screwdriver or prybar and a hammer. Then you can lay a weld bead behind it to give it extra support.

 

i hope not...

 

i will give this a try and hope for the best

 

Two things come to mind:

1) The bushings in the control arms are shot,

2) the frame is bent.

 

judging by the pic i agree with scuba

 

Do you not see the fact that the cam alignment tabs are bent?
Sure, bushings could be bad. But, the obvious problem is in picture 1.

 

ok so, just so I'm clear with this, that could be the cause of the bad camber?

 

Yes.

Happens on MKIII Supras as well. I had to bend all mine back out and lay a weld bead behind each one so it doesn't flatten out again. My alignment tech loved me for it.

 

Wow, the alignment guys had no idea what was wrong with that?? I wouldn't take my truck back there (after you get it redone for free, of course). Yes, it should not be bent like that, and is probably the cause of the problem.

 

We tend to get alot of ppl from firestone coming to our store for alignments, lifetime alignment is the dumbest idea. They tend to go out of alignment especially for a offroad rig. Something definetly looks bent, just replace it, get it aligned and call it a day.

 

ok, well thanks for the help everyone, I shall get to this weekend, and I'm hoping fpr the best

 

looks like the whole entire "bracket" (dont know what its called) is different then picture two.

 

I'm also wondering if the eccentric bolt is seized to the inner bushing sleeve, and someone put an impact gun on it to loosen it, thus causing the inner sleeve to tear out of the bushing, and then spin the eccentric bolt too much, too fast and bend that tab out.

I certainly wouldn't put it past most shops to do that...

Can you tell if they actually took the nut off the back side of the bent one? If so, pull the nut off, and try to knock the eccentric bolt out with a small hammer. (small because you don't actually want the bolt to come out, just see if it moves forward/backward)

If it moves, then the truck can still be aligned. If it doesn't, it's likely seized to the center bushing sleeve, and will need to be replaced along with the bushing (which is probably torn out at this point form someone using an impact gun on it).

Let us know what you find.

 

well the bolt moves freely, which sounds like is a good thing from what I read... but I'm having a hard time pounding that bracket back to how it should be... it looks like the bolt wasnt tight enough when it was aligned last, before I bought the truck, so now it has a small lip on the inside as well... suggestions?