Toyota Tacoma dipping down a lot on front left after off-roading

It’s 1.75” of thread showing but either way that’s not the problem

the guy that aligned it said that the cam had to go to pretty much to the farthest extreme so that the car would be aligned
That’s not why it’s leaning cause if it was the cam bolt misaligned it wouldn’t drive straight

 

Then in my head, it is coming back to the spindle being bent, or the tabs for the upper control arms moved inward. Maybe look at the upper control arm mounts for cracking or compare side to side. Take some more pictures for us.

 

This right here tells you something is bent because those cams should be in the same (or close) but opposing directions. A print out of the alignment is crucial. And he said it was aligned but it looks like that still? Impossible. I guess he could get the toe straight but that camber/caster is out of whack.

 

Idk man I just work here haha I don’t know how these mf align my shit I gave it to them with the lean and a major drift and steering angle when going straight and he gave it back to me working perfectly. I’ll see if I can get the alignment papers idk if I kept em but we will see

Either way it seems like things are pointing to the spindles so Imma take off the spindles and compare them and if they are bent buy some gusseted ones! Hopefully that is the issue

 

SO your saying that with the alignment it looks good and drives straight?

 

there is still this lean but steering wheel is straight and drives straight no drift

 

I wonder if you could measure the length between the lower and upper spindle mounting points on each side. If one was bent the distance would be shorter and that would lead to a shorter distance between the upper and lower control arms and explain your asymmetry. This is off the top of my head. I’ve never tried to diagnose this sort of issue. I’m looking forward to knowing the root cause.

 

If there is still a "lean" then you have a camber/ caster issue still. You can get a truck to drive straight with a straight steering wheel and still have those angles fucked up. I'm assuming you still have negative camber (top of tire pointing in towards the motor). Depending on how bad the camber is you will wear the inner parts of the tire pretty quick. Most modern alignment machines store a copy of the alignment. Many shops don't print because they run out of ink and just don't replace the cartridge. Ask the shop to give you a copy if they can and make sure it shows SAI. 2 seconds will be able to tell you if the spindle is bent and how bad. I think it is.

 

Well you would be able to tell if the camber was off if the tire in the previous pictures were tilted inward or outwarbut they look pretty even to me
Also I don’t have a copy of the alignment
And I guess big o tires isn’t a modern shop

 

Is your passenger side drooping farther than your driver side with all else the same? It looks like it in that picture, but it’s only a picture after all

 

No, can't really tell from that 2D picture with the wheels off the ground. You said there was a lean so now I'm confused.

Always get a print out so you can see what changed. A lot of places don't do anything or just set the toe and let it go. The print out is proof.

I used to train alignment guys in ALL the big shops, (and mom and pop places too) it really comes down to the technician.

 

Yes it is by 3/8th of an inch


There’s a lean in the body as in the cab is leaning to one side like something is lower or bent on the driver side this isn’t an issue with my alignment I think the alignment is off from one side to the other because something else is fucked up i don’t thing being out of alignment would cause my body to droop 2 inches or more

 

If you want to use pictures, take a shot from the front with the camera bumper level or a little higher and 1 from each side, composing the front half of the truck equally in both pictures at the same bumper level or a little higher. All on the ground as level as possible.

 

On second thought, I don’t see how a bent spindle could lead to asymmetric ride height. The lower control arm and coil over determine the ride height. The spindle in tandem with the upper control arm only control the alignment of the wheel as it moves up and down. Yes no?

 

Have you tried cycling the suspension with the coilover removed to see if anything is binding?

 

I also think I would measure the connect to connect point length of all 3 arms (LCA, UCA, and spindle) on each side and insure they are the same.

 

Maybe even measure the distance from the frame UCA mount point to the frame LCA mount point on each side. That would tell you if the frame is bent, unlikely as it might seem. I’m not at all sure you could get a tape measure through there though.

 

The distance from the bottom bushing of your shock to the top hat at ride height and full droop would be interesting as well. I know it’s possible to get that one because I’ve done it. It’s a little trick and easier with 2 people.

 

Take a straw and bend it. Is it the same height now? Same concept with the spindle. With camber and the motion effect being 2:1 on a Tacoma front suspension. Easy for a spindle being bent to magnify.
Or, he could easy have some other issues or combination of a few issues.
Needs to bring it to a good frame shop essentially.

 

I do not disagree that a bent arm will have a different length, but I’m not sure that a spindle of a different length can cause a different ride height. It would mess up alignment though for sure, but I think only a bent frame, LCA, or coilover could cause the ride height to be off (everything else ruled out). Make sense?