tommytuttle

Ok.. been putting off doing an alignment. Finally had one done.

Told that the vehicle "toe" adjustment was way out, tech did what they could to bring it back (got the print out of all measurements, don't know if that is of any help)

So hopped in, started driving same route home from work.. still pulls to the left. Tried each of three lanes.. still pulls. no pull in my corrolla so I'm assuming it is not just the road. other seemingly flat roads, still a little to the left.

I took a look underneath.. and it looks like there was a bolt on the dirvers side rear lower A arm that was worked on, and you can see at the ?camber adjustment circle, that there was some work there and the circle moved. Other than that it looks like any other bolts associated with the A arms were untouched (undercoating and rust in place)

I don't know what would be involved in an alignment but I expected to see more evidence of activity.

What typically is adjusted during an alignment?
What else could cause this drifing? ball joints, bearings? (brakes were just done and it does drifts all the time not just with the brakes on).

Advice?

bwhyit

I have a 98 and it is very sensitive to the road angle. The roads around here slant left so mine pulls left on about all the roads. I don't have any problems with any of my other cars. I think the suspension and tire setup on these vehicles make them sensitive to the road.

Just to clarify: do you have to hold the steering wheel to keep the vehicle driving straight (ie Pulling) or is the steering wheel not straight?

As far as the alignment, it's probably a good sign that there was little to no adjustment. This would mean there have been little wear of suspension damage to your vehicle.

I'd like to see your alignment readings. Scan them in and post them up if you can.

LarsDennert

If it's pulling left you either have to much positive camber on the left and/or not enough caster on the left and/or dragging brakes and/or misinflated tires and/or bent rear components affecting thrust angle.

97ltd4x4

All the front angles can be adjusted in the front,Camber,caster and toe..If your toe was way off,I would suspect the camber/caster bolts loosing and moving,small movement here could throw toe way off.

Sounds like a minimun alighment job was done.One side effects the other.they probably adjusted one side to get the toe back in spec,but left the other side alone.Its not only if a side is in spec,but the Differance from side to side that effects how the vehical tracks and tire wear...

Did you get a printout? with before and after alighnment angles? Did they do a 4wheel alighment or just a thrust angle?

(meaning if the rear is out,a 4wheel will compensate the front,while a thrust will only set specs for the centerline of the vehical..You want a 4wheel,even though the rear is not adjustable,pluss it checks the rear for any bent,worn componants)

On the pull issue.Meaning steering wheel is center,but vehical drifts to one side....And align specs are in specs and are close side to side.slight pull to right is normal because of road crown,but The LEFT there is something deffinatly wrong,I would start thinking about tires causing the pull,or possibly a brake dragging....Quick check,Swap the front tires left to right..does it pull the other way? ...Still there on same side..Drive the vehical hard,get it to continiously pull,stop quick and feel the rims(carefully),one side a lot hotter than the other?The hotter side is dragging....If all is fine,and it still pulls,Time to find a real alighment shop and not a "set the toe and let it go" one....May be difficult,but persistance will pay off.

I have my alighnments and mount and balances done at the lexus dealer because they have the latest Hunter equiptment,After dealing with a few other shops including the Toyota dealer,I am glad I found a place that knows what they are doing.

Ron Helmuth

97ltd4x4 obviously is a master of the alignment dark sciences-he is dead on in saying the set of one side clearly affects the other.

Yes you need a printout of before and after. Those things are difficult to understand. The shop should certainly be able to explain their reasoning for what settings they left it at.

You can't underestimate the effect the previous tire wear can still be having on your newly aligned ride.

Rotate the tires and put some miles on them before you try to make a seat of the pants judgement on which way it is still pulling.

Inflation makes a big difference in feel-what tires are you running and what pressure? I would bet half the guys here would say "That's too high-he's rounding/crowning the inner tread" while the other half will say you are running too low and crowning your sidewalls.

I always found it kind of strange that most alignment shops don't really divulge that they have added more air pressure or removed it. I know to this day dudes will practically fist fight whether to go by the tire pressure stamped on the sidewalls or the one recommended on the door sill plate! and they are running tire sizes sometimes and inch or two larger in circumference and rim!

Ask the Chevy/Dodge/Ford guys with the lifted monsters who they recommend near you. Even if you are not lifted, locked and loaded- that shop may understand the Runner a bit better than the one you use now.

Perhaps you have no choice...I take the variety of shops here for granted.

bwhyit

If a car has a slight pull left that doesn't always mean something is wrong. We dont want to lead this guy down the wrong road. Depending on your area you may actually have left hand crowned roads. We do in my area.

tommytuttle you need to post the alignment readings you have so we can say if the shop made the correct adjustments.

tommytuttle

Attached is the report I got from the Dealer doing the alignment. (first time attaching something so I hope it works) edit (file size too big trying again)


Thanks for all the help.

Edit ok.. suggestions on how I get this scanned pdf to be clear and small enought?
Edit trying again.

97ltd4x4

From the caster,it should pull the other way to the right,although the rear toe angles would cause a drift to the left(probably minimal).Looks like they didn't sweep after the toe adjustment,(And the cross caster at .4 is a bit much for me)so true caster is unknown....I would be suspecious of a tire pull,swap tires,LF to RF....RF to LF,Pull to the right now?

mt_goat

Would you explain what you mean by the true caster is unknown?

Team420

was just gonna say....change the tires around, I just did an alignment on my truck...I did it myself at a buddy's shop, so I know it was done right, and my rig still pulled to the left, so I swapped tires from side to side...now pulls to the right...no its just a matter of determining which tire, but this is usually accompanied by cupping, or strange wear patterns on the tire.

LarsDennert

Yea I agree. The Caster and Camber numbers should have it pulling right yet you say it pulls left. I have the same problem. It just barely started pulling left. I'm going to try swapping the front wheels. I had rotated them front to back before the alignment. Tire pressure is 35psi all around which keeps the 33s from squirming in the corners.

Also I had the problem of the truck pulling really hard left when braking. I figured that was due to the slight left pull from the alignment. I also had warped rotors. I upgraded to the Tundra rotors and 231mm calipers and it brakes straight and smooth but with still a slight pull when not braking. Just a heads up that brakes can affect things too especially if a caliper is dragging. It was scarey towing a travel trailer and having the brakes vibrate and pull horribly on steep grades.

97ltd4x4

About the true caster remark,Its just good form to do a last sweep after toe is adjusted.As you can see the toe adjustment caused camber to move slightly,Even though the camber bolts were not moved... Usually caster will move slightly after camber moves as well,even toe for that matter on a dramatic adjustment.

In my pervious career when I did alighnments,I would sweep caster,Adjust caster,resweep caster(make sure its still good),adjust camber,set steering wheel,adjust toe,unlock steering wheel,resweep caster for final adjustment angles......On our toyota trucks with 4 centrics up front any small movement in them effects everything,especially when they are adjusted and torqued down,they will move slightly,hence all the caster sweeps I would do,as any mechanic knows comebacks are not good....

This takes a lot of time,and most mechanics I know will not take the extra time needed to do alighnments correctly....Flatrate dictates in most shops.

So finding a good shop that has up to date equiptment,that has guys willing to take the time to understand there equiptment,and are willing to do alighnments correctly is a rare thing indeed....If you find one in your area treat them like gold,cause they are really hard to find!

mt_goat

Thanks for the explaination.

Yeah the last alignment tech I had told me yes the caster was out of spec but my truck didn't have an adjustment for caster. Now that I know how to adjust it myself I'd love to catch a guy trying to con me like that again