Alignment toe-in suddenly wrong

I had the taco aligned about 6 months ago. Alignment sheet came back everything within spec. Has driven excellently. I go on vacation for a couple weeks while my careful 17 year old has been driving it, and now while the left wheel is straight the right wheel front is about 2” more to the right than it should be. BIG angle delta! I looked at all the alignment bolts and they seem snug… the tie rods don’t look bent, but the rack is leaking like crazy. I know the front differential is broken but that shouldn’t affect the alignment. So, any ideas?!

 

Careful 17 year olds exist..? How long have you been aware of the leaking steering rack?

 

Sounds like something came loose or there's something bent or broken in the suspension or steering, jack up the front end and check for any obvious looseness or broken/bent parts, if it's that far off it shouldn't be too hard to spot.

 

I was a careful 17-year-old once, my dad used to say treat it like it's your own car, then he started staying treat it like it's my car.

 

Odd thing nothing looks bent at all. None of the adjusters are loose. For it to move that much though - stumper. Could one of the tie rods have slipped a gear tooth inside the rack?

 

for the alignment to shift that much either a tie rod is bent or the cam bolts slipped on the lower control arms. got photos?

 

I can take some, sure. I was wondering if those cam bolts shifted but there are alignment marks on them from the recent alignment and they’re all drawn horizontally. Weird.

 

By the way, this taco has a small amount lift kit on it, but I had it aligned afterwards.

 

For that to have happened the approximately 2" diameter forged polished heat treated and hardened chromoly toothed shaft in the rack would have had to have sheared, you would probably be aware if that was the case as more than likely your tires would be 90° to the body in opposite directions folded up under the truck.

KERCHOW

The actual steering shaft inside the rack and pinion is probably the strongest single component in a vehicle period.

You might have a wore out inner tire rod though.

Have you jacked up the truck and checked for rack or tire rod play?

Even just a tiny bit can have a huge impact. I replaced my inner tie rods after a shop I trust recommended it when I was in for an alignment (the refused alignment unless I replaced them as they said I would be unsatisfied with the end results) and while I didn't think they were bad when I got them out the sockets were sore loose and you could ring the tie rod like a bell playfully.

Now personally, I suspect that your responsible and careful 17 year old who I'm sure is genuinely careful and responsible (but still very 17) accidentally ran the truck into a curb and hopefully just knocked the alignment out and didn't bend the frame control arm or rods. It's entirely possible for everything to be bent just a few degrees enough that your eye can't see it but enough to throw the alignment way out of whack.

And I'm only guessing that because as I said before, I was a careful and responsible 17 year old once but people make mistakes, 17 year olds make a lot more mistakes, and they can be too afraid or even possibly ignorant to recognize issue or admit to fault.

Dad still let's me drive his cars though.

 

well, I can't theorize any more about "what happened", I am halfway through the process of taking the entire shebang out and replacing it. I'm going to replace the rack & pinion, and the front differential.

I am stuck right now: I can't get the 17mm nuts off the input side of the rack and pinion. it's as if they are welded to the rack&p. I've used penetrating oil, to no effect. I'm concerned I'm going to have to cut off the lines and replace them. Any comments about this?

 

Just keep at it. They're likely crossthreaded if its been replaced before (or even if it hasn't?). Mine on my 4runner were. I about gave myself a hernia trying to exert the right amount of force that wouldn't break my wrist when it came free.

 

Tell your son to give you the real story instead of the bullshit story he sold you. Sorry to be so blunt but your toe couldn't change like that without a hard hit and something broke or bent. I like @Kei-Rei idea of a broken steering rack tooth.

 

Pretty sure one of them is welded to the frame, careful

 

Yep. Only the 17 yo will know the truth. Getting the truth out is not a likely path.

Just haul it in to be diagnosed and repaired.

Then in the future....DO NOT leave the 17 yo the keys or unattended.

Teenagers lie as a way to survive and is part of their SOP.

 

No one ever gets my keys for reasons just like this. When it’s not their vehicle, they’re automatically less likely to care as much as the owner. Not to mention, I know how my vehicle drives and I like to drive it a certain way. Insert someone with zero knowledge and who knows what’ll happen.

 

Recommend lifting just 1 tire off the ground and pull side to side to see if you’ve got free play while the other tire is held stationary on the ground. for loosening tight hardware, put your wrench on it and then hit wrench with hammer (shock). This method along with heating are the best methods for loosening hardware vs just trying to use brute strength. Like others stated about it sounds very evident to me that your son hit a curb.

 

Not really much it could be other than tie rods.

 

Yep, that kid would be doing a hell of a lot of walking until I got the truth out of him. Better yet, let him get a job and earn the money required to buy his own used vehicle. This is a sure way that he'll be more invested since it's now his own hard-earned money that he used to buy it and he'll take better care of it.

 

Tbh, if your kid hasn’t given you a reason to not trust him before this it seems like it might be worth giving them the benefit of the doubt. I know teenagers can be shit but if it wasn’t actually their fault they’ll remember that you didn’t believe them for a very long time.

 

Ha ha. Took a break from this thread (to work on the car) and came back to this. First off, this wasn’t my truck, it is HIS. As such, he treats it with far more care than he would if he were driving mine. Next, he is a persnickety millennial. That is, he can’t stand it when anything is out of whack/place. He wouldn’t hit a curb if he could help it. Lastly the shop that did the prior alignment, I don’t think I trust them to tighten the bolts right, in retrospect…

long story short, I am replacing the front differential, entire rack and pinion, the ball joints, and the bushings. I don’t know what went wrong but for gods sakes it’s a 99 with 250k on it. Probably needs it. What was going on was dangerous. Gotta protect the kid from catastrophic suspension/steering failure.

PS: replacing the diffy is a real pita.