1. Welcome to Tacoma World!

    You are currently viewing as a guest! To get full-access, you need to register for a FREE account.

    As a registered member, you’ll be able to:
    • Participate in all Tacoma discussion topics
    • Communicate privately with other Tacoma owners from around the world
    • Post your own photos in our Members Gallery
    • Access all special features of the site

Alignment and steering wheel

Discussion in '3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)' started by ejewels, May 21, 2020.

  1. May 21, 2020 at 10:36 AM
    #1
    ejewels

    ejewels [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2017
    Member:
    #238387
    Messages:
    1,669
    Gender:
    Male
    CT
    Vehicle:
    2018 MGM TRD OR 4x4 DCSB
    6112/5160/Dakars/Pro Tacoma Wheels
    Hey guys,

    got an alignment done with my JBA UCAs. 4 degrees caster, .6 camber and .04 toe. After I drove off I noticed the steering wheel was pretty crooked going straight. Went back and they said they were near max with the toe. So I said it’s fine and to leave it. Made it sound like a PITA to do as if they would have to start over with the alignment. Lazy technician? I might call and say I want it fixed. Nice guys, just don’t get this whole alignment thing technically and how toe affects the steering wheel alignment.
     
  2. May 21, 2020 at 10:39 AM
    #2
    su.b.rat

    su.b.rat broken truck

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2016
    Member:
    #193316
    Messages:
    9,874
    if i paid for it then they will do it right and stand behind their work or i'm finding a tech who will (and that is worth seeking out and keeping). the tech is being lazy AF.
     
    Big tall dave likes this.
  3. May 21, 2020 at 10:39 AM
    #3
    EatSleepTacos

    EatSleepTacos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Member:
    #151688
    Messages:
    59,605
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Randy
    West Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2017 4Runner
    Personally I would want a straight steering wheel. I drove around with a crooked one for a while and when I finally fixed it I was super giddy. Having a straight steering wheel is fantastic.
     
  4. May 21, 2020 at 10:48 AM
    #4
    gotoman1969

    gotoman1969 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2018
    Member:
    #254966
    Messages:
    6,266
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Steve
    San Antonio, TX United States
    Vehicle:
    2015 Silver Tacoma PreRunner
    3" ToyTec coilovers, JBA UCA's, Bilstein 5100's
  5. May 21, 2020 at 10:55 AM
    #5
    whatstcp

    whatstcp currently drunk so don't listen to me

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2018
    Member:
    #261584
    Messages:
    11,591
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Ed
    Fontana, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Tacoma Regular Cab 2.7l 4x4
    King + Archive Relocation Wheeler's bumps +hydros
    What probably ended up happening is that they were only adjusting one side for toe which ended up maxing it out. Center your steering wheel and then look underneath your truck at the rack and pinion boots, my guess is that one side is going to be smooshed in and the other extended. They need to center the steering wheel and then make sure the rack and pinion/inner tie rods are centered. Then slap on the outers and adjust for toe from there. It's easy but tedious work and most of these shops just want to do a lazy quick "toe n' go"
     
    Chew, MadKatt, Sungod and 2 others like this.
  6. May 21, 2020 at 11:04 AM
    #6
    ejewels

    ejewels [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2017
    Member:
    #238387
    Messages:
    1,669
    Gender:
    Male
    CT
    Vehicle:
    2018 MGM TRD OR 4x4 DCSB
    6112/5160/Dakars/Pro Tacoma Wheels
    Sounds lazy to me. I had them set caster to 4 since I’m on 33s and rubbing the cab mount. That seemed like Chinese to them. I called them and going back. He said they will try to play with the toe as it was already close to “maxed out”

    mis it a bad thing if one side is smooshed? Or just a lazy thing?
     
  7. May 21, 2020 at 11:06 AM
    #7
    Pilsner

    Pilsner Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2018
    Member:
    #277424
    Messages:
    1,152
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    18 TRDOR
    255/85r16 ST Maxx 6112/5160 w/ Dakar RCI armor, sliders, and rear bumper CBI hidden winch mount w/ Smity 20k

    Edited my post because I can't read and am retarded. But sounds like a lazy tech. Your other numbers look do look good. Toe should just be adjusting tie rods and should be easy, but maybe take a few more minutes for the tech.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2020
    ejewels[OP] likes this.
  8. May 21, 2020 at 11:09 AM
    #8
    ZekeR7

    ZekeR7 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 19, 2018
    Member:
    #241779
    Messages:
    1,280
    Gender:
    Male
    Vehicle:
    2018 TRD Off-Road 4x4 Quicksand
    That's cause you went to a regular tire shop. Go to a shop that specializes in offroad vehicles or at least a shop familiar with lifted trucks.
    When you go to a regular tire shop, they go off of the manufacturer database. It's literally a monkey wrench turner doing what he was trained/told to do without actually knowing the system inside/out. If you go to firestone and they give you their little handout/spec sheet, a 4 degree caster will be in the red saying it's bad lol. Took it once over there... never again.
     
  9. May 21, 2020 at 11:10 AM
    #9
    EatSleepTacos

    EatSleepTacos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Member:
    #151688
    Messages:
    59,605
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Randy
    West Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2017 4Runner
    It just means they didn't adjust equally. So for 0 toe, you want both tires dead equal with each other between the front and back of the tire. As illustrated, you can see the front of the tires are closer together. To correct this, they need to lengthen the tie rods to push the front out/suck the back in.

    The correct way to do this is adjust each tie rod equally. The lazy way is just adjust one a whole bunch. This is what can lead to one being "maxed out" and a crooked wheel.

    upload_2020-5-21_14-9-11.jpg



    Now if it were like this, they would be shortening the tie rod. This would bring the front end closer/widen the back. Hopefully this helps you sorta conceptualize what's going on here.

    upload_2020-5-21_14-13-30.jpg
     
    ejewels[QUOTED][OP] and whatstcp like this.
  10. May 21, 2020 at 11:11 AM
    #10
    3JOH22A

    3JOH22A Toyota Gigolo

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2019
    Member:
    #288172
    Messages:
    10,426
    Gender:
    Male
    District 6ix
    Vehicle:
    3G Tacoma on 35"s, 5G 4Runner
    Bad thing. You want the rack centered or you'll get unequal amount of steering angle left vs right. Step one of alignment in a shop is to lock the steering wheel at center (either with a tool or wrap seat belts around the rim). The tech didn't do that.

    When you dial in more caster on our trucks with the LCA cam bolts, the lower ball joint is pulled inward, inducing quite a bit of toe-out that needs to be straightened.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2020
    ejewels[QUOTED][OP] likes this.
  11. May 21, 2020 at 11:21 AM
    #11
    anthony250f

    anthony250f Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2012
    Member:
    #73066
    Messages:
    16,541
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Anthony
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 dcsb trd offroad 4wd
    I would not be happy with .6 camber
     
  12. May 21, 2020 at 11:22 AM
    #12
    EatSleepTacos

    EatSleepTacos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Member:
    #151688
    Messages:
    59,605
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Randy
    West Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2017 4Runner
    Why though, oem range is +1.2 to -0.2

    +0.6 is fine.
     
    3JOH22A and gotoman1969 like this.
  13. May 21, 2020 at 11:25 AM
    #13
    cosmicfires

    cosmicfires Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2012
    Member:
    #82824
    Messages:
    3,190
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    David
    Everett, WA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Regular Cab SR5 4cyl 5speed 4x4
    Snugtop cab high canopy.
    Lazy technician. To straighten the steering wheel adjust one tie rod end longer and one shorter. If you turn both the same number of threads in the opposite direction you won't change the toe in.
     
  14. May 21, 2020 at 12:20 PM
    #14
    anthony250f

    anthony250f Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2012
    Member:
    #73066
    Messages:
    16,541
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Anthony
    San Diego, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 dcsb trd offroad 4wd
    I had a alignment recently and it had 0.5 camber and I just didn’t like the way it drove. Also looked funny. Got it down to just below zero and it’s perfect now. Just because oem says +1.2 I would never run that.
     
  15. May 21, 2020 at 12:27 PM
    #15
    3JOH22A

    3JOH22A Toyota Gigolo

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2019
    Member:
    #288172
    Messages:
    10,426
    Gender:
    Male
    District 6ix
    Vehicle:
    3G Tacoma on 35"s, 5G 4Runner
    If you look at typical alignment rack equipment - a laser reflector at an arbitrary angle, attached to the knobby tire treads with plastic clamps, they'll be lucky to get +/- 1 deg precision with the camber reading.

    If the camber "looked funny", then the truck had more than +0.5 deg camber in reality. It would be tough to see +0.5 deg with the naked eye. Most precision machined parts for our trucks typically aren't specified with angular tolerances tighter than +/- 1 deg.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2020
  16. May 21, 2020 at 12:52 PM
    #16
    ejewels

    ejewels [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2017
    Member:
    #238387
    Messages:
    1,669
    Gender:
    Male
    CT
    Vehicle:
    2018 MGM TRD OR 4x4 DCSB
    6112/5160/Dakars/Pro Tacoma Wheels
    Thanks for all the replies. I don’t have any off road specialists around me unfortunately. I’m going back tomorrow. What should I tell the guys to do in the nicest way possible without sounding like a know it all? Also, if one side is bad or maxed out and the other isn’t, wouldn’t the toe readings be off/bad? I had .04 toe on each side. And how will I know when it’s all equal? The steering wheel will be straight when driving straight? Sorry, don’t know much about the technicalities or controls of an alignment... just know what numbers to get and ask for.
     
  17. May 21, 2020 at 12:53 PM
    #17
    EatSleepTacos

    EatSleepTacos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Member:
    #151688
    Messages:
    59,605
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Randy
    West Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2017 4Runner
    You don’t need to be technical. Tell them you want 0” toe, 0° camber and 3+° caster and a straight steering wheel. It’s their job to be technical and know how to make that happen. It’s not that hard.
     
    C41n, japjoe7, whatstcp and 1 other person like this.
  18. May 21, 2020 at 12:55 PM
    #18
    gotoman1969

    gotoman1969 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 30, 2018
    Member:
    #254966
    Messages:
    6,266
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Steve
    San Antonio, TX United States
    Vehicle:
    2015 Silver Tacoma PreRunner
    3" ToyTec coilovers, JBA UCA's, Bilstein 5100's
    If you can see .5 camber you must have eagle eyes.
     
    whatstcp and ejewels[OP] like this.
  19. May 21, 2020 at 12:57 PM
    #19
    ejewels

    ejewels [OP] Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2017
    Member:
    #238387
    Messages:
    1,669
    Gender:
    Male
    CT
    Vehicle:
    2018 MGM TRD OR 4x4 DCSB
    6112/5160/Dakars/Pro Tacoma Wheels
    Ok thanks. And btw, I fd up. It was .4 camber, .06 toe. 3.9 passenger, 4.0 driver caster.

    on another note, should I ask for less caster than 4? Wasn’t sure if that was too much but the guys that seem to have a similar lift and JBA UCAs on here go 3.5-4.
     
  20. May 21, 2020 at 1:03 PM
    #20
    EatSleepTacos

    EatSleepTacos Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2015
    Member:
    #151688
    Messages:
    59,605
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Randy
    West Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2017 4Runner
    I just tell my guys anything above 3° and I’m happy.
     
    su.b.rat and ejewels[QUOTED][OP] like this.

Products Discussed in

To Top