alignment tech/ help thread

I'd absolutely agree. I might call SPC and ask though. Interesting, wonder why the change.

 

No worries! I just try to help out if I can.

As far as a particular arm... I'm not too current on some of the newer arms like DSM and I think theres another arm that came out after I bought mine.

I'd say decide on uniball vs sealed ball joint, then you can decide on which arm. Also you probably don't need the adjustability of the LR UCAs but it was nice in my case. After you figure that out you can decide on price point, or maybe that should come first?

From what I've seen the TCs seem great, I've been overall happy with my LR UCAs as well. SPC came through with new arms when my bushings were shot in under a year, they've also again re-designed their bushings and ball joint boots so if you go that way, make sure you're sent their spec-ride bushings.

Uniballs seem to incur more maintenance but I think they're fairly resilient and seem to last a while, also seems fairly straight forward to replace. I don't have any experience but I hear they squeak pretty often. Not a top concern of mine but I liked the idea of a sealed joint better (and presumably the longevity that comes with those) and the price was right on the LR UCAs. They're built better than OEM arms and the BJ has more travel, though less travel than a uniball, so that was good as wel. Either way it seemed the correct route for me, and I don't think I'd have changed it.

I think Camburg has a sealed joint arm now as well, fwiw. I'd suggest looking at all the options and keeping some of that in mind.

Hope this helps, as always feel free to PM me with any questions and maybe I can help.

My mind seems to skip and hop all over so hopefully this isn't too inconcise.

 

you answered all the shit that i was wondering about once again thanks

 

BTW bad ass sig pic

 

thanks

 

well i talked to someone at wheelers & told him my situation & i ended up going with LR uca's and he said i wouldnt be botherd with the sqeaks associated with the uni-balls

 

I've never had a uniball squeak and I beat the hell out of my suspension.

 

not sure but ive heard someone else say that about the squeak ,no matter

 

Toytec 3" lift kit I installed this yesterday at the 3". Anything the alignment shop should know with the new 3" lift and new LR UCAs. Before I left the installation shop yesterday my tires top was way out and the bottom of the tires way in. So they adjusted the plate on the new UCAs with The writing facing the tire and they almost got it back to normal. Any input is appreciated as far as specs and anything like that.

Thank you and Happy Fourth to Everyone

 

How come one of my cam tabs is half way bent? but the rest are fine

 

Could be the LCA was not torqued down enough and you hit a hellava bump. All the force could go against the tab in that scenario. The tabs are only there for adjustment purposes. Bend it back and you are fine.

 

Ok, asked once, no one answer, so here goes again.

Bought a 2010 with a Pro Comp 6" Stage 1 Lift. Can it be aligned to factory specs or should it be aligned differently. Took my truck to two different shops and they wouldn't touch it cause they "didn't have the specs for the lift"..... Feel like I need to find some better shops because I thought it could be aligned to stock specs?

 

It should be aligned to factory specs. 6 inches is too high for factory components but with the Pro Comp kit it should align to factory specs no sweat. Take it to a competent shop.

 

That's what I thought. I didn't think I was going insane. Thanks. Felt dumb asking but I thought maybe I was missing something haha

 

I posted an alignment question before I saw this thread. I guess it should have been put in here. Here's the link (I hope).

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/228761-alignment-report-2011-tacoma.html

 

ok so i took off the rear cam today...but could not figure out how to remove the front one? it wouldnt even rotate...then i was able to get it to spin....but would not come out of the mounts.....also i tried to bend it back but could not get it to fit in the mounts after i bent it back

 

Having the dealer re-align my 2010 DCSB 4x4 OR tomorrow. I had it in for other reasons, and they said the alignment was pretty far off on the left side. I was on vacation at the time, so I told them to go ahead and align it, even though I wasn't experiencing any pull. Got it back and pulled hard to the left. Called them, said might be a tire pull from being out of line before. Said they would be glad to rotate them and see. I did it myself, keeping a watchful eye on air pressures. (Used the ones posted in the drivers door) (Running 265-75/16's by the way on all stock suspension) Still pulling. Said they probably adjusted for road crown. Must be a big adjustment....anyways, going back tomorrow. Going to ask for the original as found and as left data, as well as the new numbers. What a PITA.

I see lots of alignment spec numbers on the site, but all seems like they are for lifts. Anybody got the stock numbers?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

Lifted or not...

0 camber
0 toe or less than 1/16" total IMO
caster ~2*

Here is what Toyota says, I think. They make they're FSM hard to read.

GRN245L-CRADKA P265/70R16
Camber
0°26' +- 45'
(0.43° +- 0.75°)
Trust me when I say 0 for your truck.

Caster
2°00' +- 45'
(2.00° +- 0.75°)

1.25 to 2.75 caster. 2 - 2.5 would be IMO a good number for your truck.


Some shops still adjust caster to compensate for road crown but most no longer do that.

IMO you're better to set both sides exactly even and then deal with whatever road you're on.


One print out I have says

camber
-0.3 to 1.2 degrees

caster
1.3 to 2.8

toe
-.09 to .13 (get this to near 0.0 or less than 1/16")

Another sheet I have says
-.3 to 1.2
1.3 to 2.8
-1/64" to 1/32"

first I believe was big plains tire
second was les schwab

I've got a 3rd from big 0 (which I absolutely fucking despise) that gives the same caster/camber as the other two shops but has a toe of -.04 to .07, a smaller acceptable range.

ALL of those numbers are pretty close though.
At any rate I'd aim for 0, 0, and 2.5 honestly.

 

After my recent OME lift (881/10mm spacer/90004) I'v been experiencing a few issues with wandering, pulling when braking, and the tow was waay out, so I went to Firestone today to get an alignment. I emphasized the highest caster they could get, but I'm a bit confused with the results.

Here are the #s
Before:
FL / FR
Camber 0.2 / 0.7
Caster -0.2 / 0.0
Toe 0.53 / 0.57


After:
Camber -0.3 / 0.0
Caster -0.3 / -0.6
Toe 0.03 / 0.09

Can anyone help explain why the Caster has now gone down Any other insight on these numbers is greatly appreciated???

Also, the tech left a note that the "inside and outside cams are not even with eachother" is this a problem?

Thanks!

 

That's weird....I have 2.6 castor