Wheels not lining up?

Guy who did my alignment said suspension is all thumbs up. He also told me I was seeing things when I questioned the wheels. Other thing is I just rotated & now I'm getting vibes around 65-75. They go away above or below. Pics are with the steering wheel centered, passenger wheel ends up straight. Just clarifying cuz the pics are pretty shadowed on that side.


Oh, & we've had a DIY (50 footer) makeover....

 

Did they give you an alignment sheet printout with your numbers? Any alignment shop worth it's weight will give you a printout, if the numbers look good then I wouldn't worry. If the wheels are visibly off then the alignment numbers will reflect that

 

He did not. It's only been in recent years that I try to keep up on the alignments & have been in search of a go to. The "good ol' local" types are the ones that come highly recommended, however I did go to Town Fair a few years back & they are the only ones that did give me a readout. Never thought much of it. Now I will thanks to you.... I'll take it there & see what they have to say.... I just didn't know if maybe there are other things that I should look at that this wheel thing could be a symptom of....

 

Yep, definitely ask about the alignment report if it was done recently. If its been any length of time, might have to take it in to another shop. If the steering wheel is off center, should also be corrected as part of the alignment.

 

Some shops will not center the steering wheel unless it is on the work order
Surprised me that it now needs to be requested .

Both wheels not being straight is not correct something is wrong for sure

 

So I was doing a little rooting around & ended up venturing out in the feels like 12 degrees night to check the steering whee play. I am guesstimating it at 1-2 inches. I guess mt next move will be to head to the list on here of things to check. Question is, would not most/all of these have to do with front end suspension? Or is there something excusable that this alignment guy missed? Twice? (He gives the suspensions a once over as part of the allignemnt I brought it back & he checked it again.) Is it possible the pinion gear is off? I don't know how long it's been like this. I now am noticing how I rarely see my truck straight on from the front. Parked in the driveway, in a parking space, etc., usually the visual is from a side or the rear since i typically . Anywho, the guy who screwed up the cab mounts a couple of years ago had the cab off the truck. Funny thing though, I have no pull, the steering does not feel loose at any speed. I have fixed a variety of things over the past couple years & have had vibrations typically at high speeds which helped with these & at times eliminated them. The one that does seem to be a consistent is vibration after rotation. I cannot recall what the heck I did 5,000 miles ago that took care of that.... It may have been the center support bearing.... See, it all gets messed up cuz fixing something that needs to be done can mask another problem....

 

How many miles are on it? When was the last time the tie rods, ball joints and bushings were replaced? If they're all original, I'd consider doing all that. I'd consider the steering rack bushings, too.

A while back I did all new bushings (control arm and steering rack), tie rods, and ball joints and it felt like it was on rails. A whole new truck.

If after that, the steering still feels loose, you can look into something called the tack-weld mod. That will take care of any leftover slop in the steering.

 

My advice - take it in to a reputable alignment shop in your area. Check yelp and go from there. Once you find a decent shop, most do a visual check prior to alignment. They'll furnish you a report and let you know if there are any issues.

You can guess all day long and its very easy to get sucked in and start throwing parts at the truck but I'd rather check the numbers and see where it was before embarking on other maintenance items.

I've never had that come up - its been off before and the tech went and told me about it (that he resolved it). All areas are different of course. Should be included imo.

 

Jack up the front end. Make sure the steering wheel doesn’t lock. Gently wiggle the tire side to side like you are trying to turn them left or right. All your doing is checking for play. If you feel any play or thump, check where it’s coming from like the inner toe rods or outers. Any play at all and you will never have a legitimate alignment. Usual wear and tear will call for lower control arm bushings, inner and outer tie rods, possible lower ball joint (boots torn), around 100k miles (normal road use).

The vibration after a rotation is normal if you didn’t balance the tires going to the front. Have the balance done and should get rid of the vibration.

 

& for anyone who is familiar with the body mount saga, I have let it go. The guy did do a number on my truck though.... just sayin'.... & I guess if it didn't keep coming back to haunt me by discovering collateral damage, it'd be nothing but a distant memory.... compartmentalized with all the other not so pleasant things in life, so I can just go & enjoy exploring in my truck with my camera riding gunshot. Can't argue though with the fact that the mounts were what got me on TW & now I have fixed stuff I otherwise may not have attempted....

 

I remember reading about that. Good start - keep going.

 

Sounds good. & I am not one to start fixing this & that, but what I do like to do is familiarize myself with what may or may not be loose, off, reasons why, etc, prior to going to a pro, even if it's just so they can have a looksee....

 

addendum - Guess I never added alignment shop to my list of pros I should do this with....

 

Didn't think so but you'd be surprised (maybe not, I'm sure you've come across them already) how many start jumping head first into a whole slew of areas before focusing on the main issue so I wanted to mention it. Hey, come on - after what you went through dealing with the body mounts on that tacoma, yeah - pro.

 

They should've provided you with a report - thats why I'm suspicious about the work.

 

Yeah I'm always wary about alignment shops that don't give the customer a printout with numbers...hell even Firestone does that.

 

I hear you. I think that is part of what has been great about being on TW. I can easily see how by only using the internet to troubleshoot doesn't leave much room for thinking outside the box & so trying this & that is more likely. On here, you get tips & tricks & ways to troubleshoot that just aren't out there. I was so thrilled to find out the Tacoma Takeoff Shudder had a name & I was not alone.... & once in a while, I get an Aha! of my own & can share. I just figured out the slight rumbling when idling in gear was my hood!

 

I get the takeoff shudder as well, haven't really looked into yet but it's on my never ending list of things to try and fix lol

 

I didn't have much reason to be concerned. He's been in business forever, comes highly recommended, you'd be lucky to get an appt the same day you call, etc....

 

Got rid of mine somehow. After I did the cab mounts, I did the tranny mount, then center support bearing (just realized I did that in 2018 & 2019). I think it was sometime shortly after that 1st support that I just happened to notice the TTOS was gone....