Truck at the alignment shop, was told the camber washers in the adj kit I ordered are too big to fit

Pictures have been posted via imgur link. Sorry if you cannot see them!

@High Noon Will do. Was recommended that place because they supposedly have the best alignment machine in town. Am out $200 after tie rod end install and toe and go, so definitely could be worse.

 

Based on the cv axle angle, I see no lift unless it was slightly lifted, and the springs are at the end of their life (sagging).

How are your spindles?

As I mentioned before, one or both could be bent depending on how hard a hit you took up front...whether in an accident or while off roading.

 

@Wyoming09

Just curious where you see hard hits on the LCA. Just trying to see what you see.

I just see an undercarriage that’s been neglected so I can only assume most bushings are completely toast.

 

I think he’s saying it’s easier if the images are embedded rather than an Imgur link.

Use the “add image” feature (the mountain icon next to the smiley face) and copy the image url into the dialogue box.

 

Attaching OP's pictures for him, cause IMGUR sucks.

 

I have no idea how my spindles are. I will ask the next tech/mech I can, sometime next week. The only other alignment place I know I've heard bad/scammy stories about so I'll have to look further out.

Theres a small dent in the front bumper, that likely was the reason for the crack in the radiator, that only leaked when it was fully up to temp so I didnt notice during test drive (buddy who knew about trucks was supposed to help me see if it was worth the $4k, but he ended up just drinking beers with the seller instead). And like I mentioned before the radiator support/core has some cracks that will need to be addressed. That's all I know about in terms of front end damage.

I'll plan on ordering new spindles (?) until I find out more for certain. New shocks for the back I know are on their way out, makes sense springs are dying too. Will look into replacing those too. Thanks

Yeah I didnt think there was much of a lift, maybe a body lift and bigger tires makes it seem taller than some other low-riding Tacomas around here.

 

Buying new spindles will be a ton of money wasted; they would require wheel bearings and an axle hub pressed into it which will drive up the price.

Spindles are a dime a dozen out there in the used market; it's just a matter of matching the already installed axle hub to the type on your own truck -

ADD 4x4 systems use one style axle hub

Manual hub 4x4 use a different style axle hub

Aside from that, the wheel bearing and spindle itself is the same. Seeing as how you've got a 95.5 I doubt you'll need a spindle with the ABS bracket if you have ADD. Manual hub don't have ABS.

Anyway, verify your spindles aren't bent before buying parts.

 

I said new though

He could buy your old ones

 

Will take you up on that offer if it turns out they are confirmed bent.

I will try to find out this coming week. Thanks again fellas

 

Shortly after I took those pictures, the passenger front tire went flat. Its at the nearest tire place now to either get patched or replaced, they said they would look at the suspension/alignment/spindles for me after explaining the issue.

Update: There was nothing stuck in the tire, just a prior patch job wasnt done well. So they repatched and that was it, it was busy today, so $30 bucks for that. They said I can bring it in tomorrow after work to get it lifted up and get it looked at no charge, and even get some alignment numbers on the machine if we need to.

 

Update: I need bushings for the lower control arms. They are old and have visible play. Camber/caster adjustment isnt maxed out. Not sure why I was told to buy the adjustment/bolt kit.

I might do steering link bushings while im at it, those were almost gone but mostly unrelated.

Wondering if i should get the bushings myself and do it, or have the shop order them and have the parts and alignment warrantied. They dont normally install customer parts but i was given the option, just no part warranty obviously

 

Did you ever find out the issue with the alignment bolts? I order some as well and they were too big to fit into the slot where the round parts goes into to hold the alignment

 

Here are some pics

 

I took the bolts off my 2000 4runner and I'll post them tomorrow. Yotashop has some for sell for a 1995 -2002 4runner, tacoma etc.i ordered those and I'll post them if there is a difference. The ones in the picture above are from parts geek and they are advertised for a 1995 tacoma as well but they were too big

 

Tacoma is odd in that, they were first introduced as a 1995.5 but really the model year is '1996' as the run went from 96-04.

When ordering parts for your Tacoma, use 1996...generally speaking. Some sites are smart enough to know this but not all.

 

I don't think a 96 would be the correct part because yota shop advertises the camber bolt for 1995-2004 tacoma (1996-2002 4runner) as all the same.

 

Here is some more I was able to find out. So from a 2000 4runner, you can see that the diameter is 2.11". (Confirmed this to be the same on my 2004 tacoma 3.4l) The one on my 95 Tacoma are 1.84". I have a 94 4runner and they are the same diameter (1.84"). I saw that yotashop does sell the one for the 94 4runner and at the bottom is says it also fits a 93-97 3.4l t100. Not sure why my tacoma is different but maybe it being a 95 Tacoma 3.4l has something to do with it. I posted it here because I noticed that the guy would originally posted here said his mechanic mentioned to him that his bolts didn't fit (too big) and this may have been the cause

 

Here are the pics and measurements

2000 4runner

1995 tacoma

1994 4runner

 

Here is the measurement from my 2004 tacoma