Alignment Frustration

Pathetic.. so long story short: Have the 2010 prerunner w/ billy's at all 4 corners and eibach springs in the front set at 2nd c clip....

took it in to get an alignment at 2 different firestones in AZ and this is the BEST they could do....3 tries, over 7 hours of my time... pathetic.. taking it back to my normal guys (network alignment) tomorrow.. AVOID FIRESTONE!

 

Do you have OEM UCA's or aftermarket? They could do a little better on the toe. But not going to get right camber and caster without aftermarket UCA's.

 

Stock UCA - I KNOW the Caster is going to be TRASHED But every other spec should be spot on. there is no reason for SAI and IA to be so far off.

edit: damn truck is still pulling to the right after 3 tries with them too.. had it at done right at network but i had the wrong C-Clip setting (1.75) and they got EVERYTHING in spec except Caster which was out -1.5 (i wish i had the paper but the first freaking firestone shop kept it after i tried explaining to them).. fixed my mistake and took it to firestone (closer to house...) lesson learned!

*edit: yes i know -1.5 is a lot, but it only had a small "wander" at 75.. and yes, it was a little annoying which is why i was happy when i lowered it back to the 2nd c clip setting it the wander was gone

 

Your SAI and IA are directly related to the Caster. So is your "wandering" and "pulling". Buy a set of aftermarket UCA's. I almost guarantee it will fix your problems

 

maybe im not explaining well....

the truck was higher, had it aligned Camber/Toe/SAI/IA were all in the green... truck drove straight but wandered at 75 + minor....

lowered it down a little... truck still drove straight but i figured alignment was off... took it in and they #@%*) it all up.

my lowering it should have had no effect on the ability to align it OTHER then they should have been able to get better then -1.5 on the Caster, correct? am I crazy for thinking this? I've rad ~ 0.5 on the caster w/ everything else near 0

so i should look like:
camber ~0
caster ~.5
toe~0
SAI ~12
IA ~ 12

am i just insane?

 

I'd be looking for the cause of the hight thrust angle of the rear axle. Its not adjustable of course, but loose u-bolts, a broken leaf... check it all. Does the truck actually pull, or is the steering wheel just off center when going straight down the road?

 

i did the install myself - everything was fine until i had them re-do the alignment. like i said, it drove straight after i lowered but figured "better get an alignment" to be safe... drove it that way for 2 days before i got the alignment redone.

*edit i think i missed your point, the thrust angle is changing on each alignment sheet, No freaking clue how thats possible, due to their messing up the SAI and IA?

 

ok so i checked, my alignment thrust angle before i even installed the lift was was .3.. its different in before and after on every single sheet.. clearly there's some adjustment in relation to the front wheels... Firefail has taken it to the highest .36 however.

 

Bottom line of this report shows .32deg before, and .36 degree after, which is negligible difference. Not sure what the sheets from other attempts say? If it keeps changing, I'd say their alignment instumets need calibration or repair.

If the thrust angle is off, the rear axle will "steer" the back end one way, and even though the individual toe is set correctly and the steering wheel is centered to the front wheels being straight, the truck won't drive straight. Instead, you end up correcting for the rear misalignment by steering "straight" and end up dogtracking down the road. The steering wheel will be off center, but it won't actually pull to one side, or steer itself that way if you were to let go of the steering wheel. I'm not sure which of these it's actually doing. I hope this makes sense.

 

Ok. My bottom line: Aftermarket UCA's would have fixed your wander. You wouldn't have these issues in the first place.

 

I understand and firmly agree it would solve the wondering issue

but

how does that correct the pulling issue?

 

That, would be the alignment portion.
I'd recommend this:
Buy, and install UCA's.
Make sure all tires are inflated correctly, blah blah alignment pre-checks (Yourself, not the shop)
Get alignment done at a reputible alignment shop (NOT firestone or whatever)

If you're still having issues after that, then you've got some problems that are going to be very hard to find.

 

I find it interesting that when i had 3.35 inch lift i had no problems

but now at 2.45 im having problems. Maybe it would just be wise to go back to 3.35 and say screw the ball joints, blow them out then get new UCA then?



Edit* this thread wasn't meant to be diagnostic and while i appreciate the input from everyone I was expressing frustration with dealing with a shop that is incapable of working on a modified vehicle even after i have directly expressed i know the caster will be out of spec. I had no problems before, now I do. Its Clear to me its related to the shop doing the alignment, not the vehicle.

 

Edit, just read your edit, not sure the point of this thread but I'm out. I can understand the shops point of view dealing with someone who wants everything for nothing.

 

Rear leaf pack: when i did the Initial lift the 2" toytec AAL was installed with the new center bolt so i know thats not sheared

since the lift has been installed no tire rotation or anything. Hell i even had the wheel spacers installed at the same time as the lift.
pirch lowering was simply removal of strut, lowering, then reassembly (im anal, each tire 100% for sure went back on the same side) and, it drove straight after lowering the pirch

also i wanted to ask, since one side id + and one side is - does this have any canceling effect?