Alignment after lift

I put a Dobinson’s lift on my 2011 trd or this weekend. 111 springs in the rear (overload leaf removed) and C59-352 shocks in the front with the 1” higher seat shocks, which equates to 3” of lift, according to Dobinson’s. I also put on JBA UCA’s.

I also had 285/75/17’a mounted. The truck is still at the shop, but when I was up there I saw that he had 2.6deg of caster, and the “allowable” spec is a max of 2.8deg. It also rubs the fender flare when turning, on the outside rear of the tire.

I don’t mind cutting the little corner of the flare if I need to, but is that caster right? I’ve seen most guys here at over 3deg, and usually a split between the two. Mine was the same on both.

He also said the rear is shifted to the right, which, after looking, I could see. Could that have been because of my spring install? And is there anything that can be done?

 

You need more caster, somewhere between 3-4 degrees. Had you gone with a 285/70/17 you would have about an extra 1/2” of clearance. On the rear end they made need to loosen everything and center axle then set the truck under its own weight and torque to spec. Although I have found on the Toyota’s for the rear to sit 1/4-1/2 “ left or right can be normal.

 

Also remember the rear axle is a live axle it has the ability to move left and right and probably much more than you would think. There is no panhard bar that keeps it centered.

 

you want over 3 degrees of caster, take it back and have it aligned again. The allowable spec if for stock trucks with no lift. The rear shifting could be, just make sure the springs are in the centering pin holes on the axle and the ubolts are tight and you'll be fine.

 

They still have the truck, and I did ask him to get it to 3deg of caster. Good to know the rear end is probably normal.

What about the fact that most people seem to have a big difference in caster numbers, left to right?

 

Have them set both sides the same. Shoot for 3.5. I run 4 on both side and it drives great.

 

^^^^^This. If you want and what I told my alignment shop was to reduce caster half a degree or so on the driver’s-side wheel, or add half a degree or so of caster to the passenger-side wheel to account for road crown. My last numbers were around 3.2 on driver and 3.7 passenger. But if they are both the same you'll be fine.

 

Just for my own knowledge, aside from clearance in the back, what are the cons of the extra caster?

 

It could feel a little floaty or light if you get it to high. 4.5 probably has high as you’d want to go but I’d see no need for that.

 

Thanks. I’ll ask about getting the caster closer to 3.5 on Monday. I always feel like I’m telling them how to do their job.

 

Just picked the truck up. I probably wont be using this shop again. They kind of developed an attitude as soon as I asked about doing 3-4deg of caster. The truck drives ok, and the fender flares rub a little when I turn, but I’m mostly worried about tire wear. What’s up with that toe?

 

You can account for the crown of the road by offsetting with caster or camber. If both are dead on even you will feel everything in the road and it will want to drift a little on you. It looks like they accounted for your with camber since you requested the high caster of three degrees. Not sure what your UCA limitations are but everything looks good. Your TOE did not appear to brought into specs though. I would definitely want that fixed. If you don’t recalibrate your speedo for the larger tires as well then don’t forget that your wheel rotation cycles will be a little long as well.

 

I’m working on finding a reputable alignment shop around here. They all seem to suck. I’m getting real close to learning how to string align the damn thing.

 

As an option, I bought the lifetime alignment from Firestone. Some of their shops are better than others, but I have completed 11 alignments on my truck for the cost of 2. It is about $180 total for the lifetime of the truck.