Truck wanders on freeway after lift and alignment

I was commenting on the specific quote of "The wandering is all in the lack of caster." I was thinking that you were saying it was all inclusive to the caster. Hence my comment.

David, if you can put up a copy of your next alignment specs and let us know how it drives after. I for one am curious how much the changes help. Good luck to you.

 

I understand how that could have been interpreted that way. No worries man. I didn't want the OP confused either. On a side note that chick always makes me watch your sig ha

 

will do!

i installed a set of energy suspension polyurethane steering rack bushings last night and it made a noticeable difference driving into work this morning. still wandered a bit, but not nearly as much. i have high hopes that a good alignment will get back to a controlled drive.

 

Can you 2 continue this discussion? I'm gettin dizzy.

 

Let me ask you this OP, Have you inspected all of the bushings on both the upper AND lower control arms, as well as the steering gear bushings for wear? ANY of these that are worn would DEFINITELY cause road wander.

 

Fair question! I just installed brand new Camburg UCAs, so that's all new. I installed Moog LBJs but did not do anything with the LCA mounts. The steering rack bushings I just replaced last night were definitely toast.

I've heard that the LCA bushings are a huge pain... so I'm hoping that a true alignment will solve 90%+ of my problem, which I suspect it will. If not, the LCA bushings will be tackled next.

 

If the guy doing the alignment is smart he will check all that first and try to upsell you stuff before he can do the alignment. In which case, replace the parts yourself then take it back for the alignment.
Canes like watching our convo too. So here ya go bud.

 

sub'd for good info. My truck is doing the same thing since I installed my lift (Toytec + 5100s and AAL). It wanders just a bit definitely not that bad. I just figured it was normal and because the shop that did my alignment had forewarned me that lifts, or any change to factory suspension, will possibly hinder them from getting alignment to stock settings and that they will get it as close to stock as possible.

 

With a lift you will usually not WANT your alignment to stock specs. The handling specs of a lifted truck change, therefore the alignment specs should reflect that change.

 

New UCA's?.......Did you keep stock?

 

sorry, i did not keep them. they were off of a first-gen as well.

 

This thread has to do with wander after a mod, but I have the wander without mods, just thought I would ask in this thread about my wander, it also seems like wander/play in steering, in the 2008's do the steering rack bushings go bad? I came across a thread and wondered if it related to my year of truck and my issue, thread is here,
Has anyone here tried it, does it work good? I was thinking of doing the rollpin or 2 instead of the welding. Maybe jb weld squished into there would work as well...lol? Is there some sort of steering damper in the actual steering wheel that relates to the play in the steering system?

Thanks.

 

i've done that mod on this tacoma (second day of owning it) and on my previous 2000 tacoma. made a huge difference both times! highly recommended. though i'm not sure what the design is like on a second-gen tacoma compared to a first gen. if it's a similar design to a first-gen, definitely go for it!

 

quick update: last friday, the shop called and said their laser alignment system was having issues so we rescheduled for this coming friday (1/25). will update post-alignment with changes and results.

 

Just got back from Dynamic Diesel & Bear Alignment in Snohomish, WA. Very impressed.

Quick work (in-and-out in right about an hour), and done right. The alignment guy there is apparently the third generation of the original Bear Alignment owners/founders and has been doing alignments his whole life. He was able to get me to 3.6/3.7 Caster, 0.00/0.00 Toe and 0.00/0.01 Camber. Steering wheel is perfectly aligned.

Silly Les Schwab saying I was maxed out at 1.6 caster.

Driving home, truck felt very stable and the wander is all but gone. There's still a hint, but that's easily explained by crappy, gooved roads and wider tires. I'm more than pleased with the results, and the customer service was excellent. The true testament is that they are this good at 4pm on a Friday.

 

Yea that thing should drive like a champ. The tires will give ya the wander now. That goes without saying though.

 

yep, and I completely understand that a lifted truck with larger, wider tires on it *will* handle/drive at least a little differently. this thing drives great now!

 

I am desperate to fix my wandering issue as well, what does too much caster cause in terms of tire wear or handling issues etc? I was thinking of going back to the shop and telling them to set caster to at least 3 after doing a check for worn components of course. Right now caster is at 2.0 and I am bone stock on everything. Basically wondering what adding a lot more caster would do in terms of handling/wear on a stock vehicle?

thx

 

Someone with a better understanding of alignment adjustments should chime in, but I don't think caster will affect tires wear one way or another, just steering and straight line stability.