Eibach/5100 & AAL - CB drop kit?

When looking for a alignment machine. Usually dealers have the best stuff. Those hunter alignment machines are very expensive. Make sure they have had it calibrated recently also.

 

I had my alignment redone by my Toyota dealer, and it is much, much better then the one I had before at a shop that had a Hunter machine. They worked on it for a while and got 1.9/2.08 caster, 0.5 camber, and 0.02/ 0.03 toe on it. It got rid of the vibe I was feeling at 40 kms, and got rid of 90% of the take off vibe I was getting. I have a OME CB drop kit waiting to go in when it's not -40 here, and I hope that will take care of the rest.

 

That is great news!! Driving without vibes allows you to enjoy your truck again; for me I just cannot stand the constant shaking/studders.

I'd have to imagine that my caster at 1.1/1.1 is seriously throwing some vibes down the driveline. Looks like I'm calling Toyota today to set up an early Christmas present to myself. I'll post back with the results.

Your talking celcius I bet so that's about -5 farenheit? Either way it's cold as shit..down here in Portland we're not as bad, maybe 19 deg farenheit last night; definitely not in the temperature range you'd like to work on your truck.

 

Yeah 1.1 caster is way too low. I took mine to the Toyota dealer twice. First time the tech just got it in the "spec" area. I picked the truck up and it seemed fine on the drive home...got home and looked underneath cuz I'm weird like that, and noticed the tires had been rubbing the back of my lower a-arms on full lock turns. Took a look at the alignment sheet and noticed my camber was at 1.2 which is way too high. Caster was also at 1.3/ 1.5 which is not high enough. The dealership has a system where if the work is not 100% to your liking then it's not good enough. I phoned the service manager and told him what I wanted, and they took it in again no questions asked. It took them over 2 hours to get it where they did, which works great for me. It seems like most places just want to get it in, and out as fast as possible...nobody takes pride in their work now, it sucks. I wonder if a lot of peoples shakes/ vibes are from sloppy alignment jobs? I know people take it in after the lift and the tech does the alignment to "spec" and they think they are good, but I think that getting the caster as high as possible, and camber/ toe as close to 0 is what needs to be done. I know that Toyota's spec for caster is 1.3-3.1, and camber can max out at 1.3, but it you end up on the lower side of the caster, say 1.3, and they get your camber to 1.2 it may very well be to spec, but it will drive like shit.

 

Well Fab, what you wrote above is exactly what JUST happened to me at Broadway Toyota in Portland. I bit the bullet and had Toyota give me the $100 alignment; when I dropped it off I said to the sevice guy that I wanted Caster to be as close to 2 as possible and Camber around 0. An hour an half later they come to me with the specs of 1.3 Caster and 1.0 Camber. This as you all know is considered "in spec", but barely. I took it for a test drive and the truck actually had about 75% of the vibes eliminated, but nonetheless they were still present at takeoff and between 15-25mph. There seemed to be a disconnect to what I told the Service rep and the technician since my requested caster/camber specs never made it to the alignment tech.

After speaking with the service guy, basic tech, and finally the Master technician they agreed to reschedule and go by MY parameters rather then their "in spec" numbers. I'm going in again this Friday to see what can be accomplished with a higher caster and lower camber. Toyota said that they would not charge me today, but would charge me the $100 alignment Friday after they give it another try...that's customer service.

 

I hope it works out for you. Let us know how it goes...

 

Well, I just installed the OME 3/8" CB drop kit, and it made a huge difference. Take off vibe is gone, and the other vibes I was getting are 99% gone as well...I think that if I greased my drive shaft it would be like new.

 

Sweet news Fabian

 

Wow, vibe free...so envious of you!!

Quick question on my soon to be Toyota dealership alignment. The tech guy today told me that when they do the alignment to my desired specs (caster: 2, camber: 0) that my truck will wander all over the road. Is this what everyone else is experiencing? I thought people bought UCAs to free up movement in their alignment to get to these specs for the optimal alignment, not to create a wandering vehicle. So, i'm not buying this guys story. Feel fee to chime in with your vehicle's driving characteristics since your alignment.

 

Mine doesn't wander at all with 1.9/ 2.08 caster, and 0.5 camber even when I was driving today on slippery roads. I think the guy is full of shit.

 

that's the response I was expecting and hoping for....thank you!!

My alignment date got pushed back again; apparently Toyota doesn't like it when you roll in to the service department 1.5 hours late for an appointment. I need to either stop drinking on the nights prior to an appointment or better yet, stop scheduling the 8am time slot.

 

I just did this lift over the weekend and am getting an alignment done tomorrow. How are everyone's vibes now? My vibes are between 40-55mph. Hopefully, the alignment will fix that.