5th Gen 4Runner Alignment

Hi all,


Went in to the Toyota dealership to get an oil change and had them do an alignment as well. Long and short- my car feels worse now. Steering wheel is off center, steering feels more mushy and loose than before and not as responsive, and when you come out of a turn the wheel doesn't self straighten as fast and freely as it did before. The numbers on the print out do not match up to factory specs....Anyone had this issue on a 5th gen? I have an 18 limited. Printout from dealer below:



Thoughts appreciated.

 

Doesn't sound like whoever did your alignment knew what they were doing. Can you take it back and have them redo it?

I was thinking of doing the same with my 4R, I think I'll skip the Toyota dealership alignment...I thought they would know how best to align their own vehicle, but I'm not so sure...

 

Welcome to the forum, and did they actually charge you for that?

 

Thanks.

GLWOOD54:
I normally would but they scratched my door on top of the crappy alignment (I keep my runner perfect). Thankfully, I was able to buff it out. Not sure I want to go back.

SLVRSLUG:
They charged me $160 for the "Pot Hole Special" on the website.

 

Is your 4runner lifted? Any suspension modifications?

Caster is what keeps the truck wanting to track straight, and you're below spec on driver and barely at minimum spec on passenger.

Unless your suspension has been modified, they should be able to get it in spec. They did nothing with the caster. I would try to get them to fix it.

 

Its completely stock. So I need more caster?

 

Yes, you need more caster.

You'll want them to be on the upper end of spec, so around 4 degrees of caster.

I would go back since they didn't even get all of the numbers in spec.

When you do go back, specify that you want the caster closer to the 4 degree range and you want everything else in spec as well.

If they can't do it, tell them you want your money back and you'll go somewhere else that can get it in spec.

This is assuming your 4Runner is stock (or close to it) without some crazy lift on it.

 

I would say. Driver is at 2.3, while specified range is 2.9-3.9. If everything is stock, they should easily be able to get it in spec.

And, I'm lifted and paid $105. Plus, my caster is 3.3 and 3.5. I think you can get a better deal. Or, take it back and make them do their job. They should be willing to fix it, since you paid for an alignment.

 

This^^

 

They didn’t do an alignment, they set toe and shipped it.

 

Hey guys, I realize this thread is old but it seems like the best place to ask this without starting a new thread.

I've ordered a 2021 ORP and have decided to level it with a 1.75" Bil 5100 front and 1" spacer rear once it arrives at the dealership.

In regards to the caster, what is the typical factory setting and what should I be asking them to set it to when they do the alignment? It seems like asking to get up around the higher limit (3.9) is the suggestion. How will this affect the steering?

I'm planning on running a 285/70r17 on the factory ORP rims (I love those things...not sure why everyone wants to change them out!).

TIA for the guidance!

 

The max caster you'll be able to get at 1.75" in front and stock UCA's is something close to 3.5 degrees. I would ask your alignment tech to get it as close to that as possible. Higher caster numbers will make the steering feel a little tighter and the wheel snaps back into place quicker.

It also moves the tire forward in the wheel well to get you away from rubbing on the mudflap and body mount. When you push your caster forward, you may rub on the fender liner/fender flare forward of your tire....... which is why a lot of people push their fender liners forward and trim their fender flare a tiny bit.

 

Perfect. Exactly what I thought. Thank you for your assistance! It's very cool to have access to all this information and knowledge through the forum.

 

You're welcome!

 

I think the best visual to picture how caster works is examples of the extremes. Caster is basically the angle of pivot point where the wheel steers, or an imaginary line drawn through the upper and lower ball joints.

A top fuel dragster has crazy high caster, it can’t turn for shit but it can stay very stable under 3G’s of acceleration at 300 mph. The polar opposite would be a shopping cart, that thing is very mobile and can turn on a dime but you’d be hard pressed to control something that unstable at speed. In fact the front wheels of shopping carts are called casters.

The issue with caster during an alignment is that you can’t adjust it looking at a live value. You have do a caster sweep on the alignment rack (full lock and hold to the left, then full lock and hold to the right, then recenter) to get an accurate caster reading. The caster reading on an alignment printout is only accurate of you re-sweep caster after each attempted adjustment. Lazy alignment techs will adjust it based on the on screen reading and not resweep to verify that adjustments. It’s typically a few tries to get it dialed in.

 

These are my current specs this is my third alignment in under a year probably going to need another one the thing does not track straight at all and I'm dealing with stupid vibration between 60 and 65 mph. Probably need my wheels and tires rebalanced for the second time as well all this under a freaking year.... Does anybody see anything on my alignment numbers that would explain why it has a slight pool and doesn't track well

 

Thrust angle

 

What does that do?

 

Thrust angle is how far off the straight ahead position of the rear axle is compared to the centerline of the vehicle. If your thrust angle isn’t zero, the rear is trying to aim itself to the side.

 

Is that something that can be adjusted on the 4runner? Alignment stuff is kind of out of my wheelhouse but I didn't think fixed axle vehicles could have that adjusted.

 

With factory parts it’s not adjustable. You’d need adjustable rear links (I used dobinsons on mine)

 

I have a similar thrust angle. Has this caused you any issues? Did you ever get this resolved?

 

No
But I may have another one done in the coming months and try to get more caster

 

So it hasn't caused any odd tire wear or any other problems for you?

 

Don't think so
Not sure it's adjustable anyways