Severe alignment issues -with photos

My truck was pulling pretty bad to right, so I took it into Toyota for an alignment. They called me back to say that the rear was unalienable and they couldn't get the numbers into the green. (see spec sheet)



My axel is off center causing the rear of the truck to drag along the road and pull to the right.

Right side:


Left side:


They want to take apart the leaf springs and try and realign them and then put it back on the alignment machine in hopes of getting it back in spec.

I spoke with the tech that worked on it and he's still unsure that will even fix the problem. He said it could be a number of things: Leaf could be broken, Center pin could be sheared off or The entire differential may need to be replaced.

I'm not sure what could have caused this. I've never been in an accident and the truck has a clean car fax. I drive it on the beach quite a bit, but nothing harsh enough do to damage like this.

I did a little digging and found this service record from 2010. Maybe this is where the damage came from? (before I owned it)



I'm looking for some advise. Should I have toyota do the work? Should I take it to a body shop and see if the frames bent? Or should I try and make this a positive situation- get a set of OME leaf packs and 5100's and take to an independent shop and hope that there aren't any other underlying problems.

Side note: I have an extended warranty through fidelity and nothing is covered through them.

Thoughts? Thanks!

 

To me the first thing I would check is the leaf spring alignment bolt. That is what keeps everything aligned when putting the leafs on and attaching them to the axle. Where the axle lies is in reference to leaf spring mounts and shock attachment.

 

If the attachment points of the shocks or leaf springs to frame are bent, then this would cause your alignment issue also.

 

My guess is the center pin is broken. Had the same problem on a Ford PU that was hit while parked in my driveway, broke the center pin.

 

Yeah I would be checking the leafs. Also is it lifted at all? Your front alignment seems to be lacking in caster. I feel like it would have been a pretty major accident or something to bend the frame and cause that.

 

I see you have a AAL installed. Who ever installed it very well may have mucked it up. If there are no signs of frame damage, I would venture to guess that is the most likely scenario.

If you are competent with a wrench check the centering pin yourself.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

Do I have an AAL or the TSB done? I haven't touched the rear leafs since I bought the truck. The front has 5100's set at 1.75.

I don't have any tools, so I'm going to have to bring it somewhere.

 

Well you already know the rear can't be adjusted, if this was my truck I would want to know why the rear is so out before I start throwing parts at it. You could spend top dollar on all new suspension parts and that not fix your problem. If this was my truck I would spend the $100-$150 a frame shop charges to inspect my frame/rear end.

PS- I would also complain about the lazy alignment tech who didn't adjust my camber/caster. It's not a whole lot off put he could have at least centered all the readings

 

Did you just buy this truck? Has it been pulling since you bought it?

 

Alright, so I'm going to start with having the frame inspected. I'll bring it somewhere in the morning.

What should the camber/caster readings be?

 

I've owned it for 2 years. Haven't had any problems with it pulling until recently. The tech told me that the alignment numbers could have been so off from the previous tech trying to compensate for not being able to align the rear.

 

I don't recall the specs but just look at your print out of before and after, caster/camber did not change meaning he didn't adjust them. I would have had them with the arrow pointing in the middle of the box

 

What numbers is he referring to? Even your initial front end readings aren't horrible. My main concern would be why that left rear is so off

 

Well, if it just started and you haven't had any recent accidents it probably not the frame. Won't hurt to get it checked. Definitely sounds like the leaf springs shifted from the alignment bolt/pin being sheared off. Especially from your work order saying rear bent shock.

 

I have the recall done for the rear lift spring, after it done, my passanger side wheels stick out more than driver side. they cannot fix anything.

 

That was a work order I found from 2010, before I owned the truck.

 

the leaf packs have definitely been messed with. I bet whoever did that extra leaf was a lazy bones and didn't quite do it right

 

Interesting. Would it help if I took some more detailed photos of the leaf packs?

 

mmmmm i doubt it. removing the u-bolts and bump-stops would tell us if the pin is even there, if it is, then the axle would have to be lowered away from the springs to make sure its riding in the center hole on the axle.

it is also very possible if not more likely that when whatever happened to bend the rear shock happened, it sheered the pin where it rides in the axle.

 

Alright, so I might skip bringing it to have the frame checked.

My main problem now is that I was planning on doing an AAL this summer. I thought I had the TSB done, so I was going to do an AAL on top on that.

I just don't want to pay the labor rate of having the leafs off the truck without replacing parts while they are off, you know what I mean?

Maybe I'll just have the AAL that's on there removed, and replace it with and then have the pin replaced as well.