I recently put the new tires and rims on since doing the SAS and took it to the alignment shop for its first alignment. As I was driving home I found that it pulled to the left even more than before the alignment. I took it back and they told me that the problem was caused by the fact that there was no way to make adjustment for camber and that there wasn't really anything that they could do about it. They tried switching the tires around but that didn't help. They told me that that was just the way Toyota did it and that, although annoying, it wouldn't create uneven or early tire wear. Has anyone out there had the same experience?
-D:mad3:

Originally posted by Demon Spawn
I recently put the new tires and rims on since doing the SAS and took it to the alignment shop for its first alignment. As I was driving home I found that it pulled to the left even more than before the alignment. I took it back and they told me that the problem was caused by the fact that there was no way to make adjustment for camber and that there wasn't really anything that they could do about it. They tried switching the tires around but that didn't help. They told me that that was just the way Toyota did it and that, although annoying, it wouldn't create uneven or early tire wear. Has anyone out there had the same experience?
-D:mad3:

I had a slight pull to the right on my 4Runner and I recently got rid of it by resetting all the steering parts separately. Biggest fix was getting the pitman arm aligned to the steering box (align the mark on the shaft to the arm):

http://4crawler.cruiserpages.com/4x4/CheapTricks/AxleTech/Hydro05.jpg

Then setting the steering wheel straight ahead and did the same with the wheels and now it drives straight ahead.

It sounds like they didnt get the alignment correct. And you can adjust other items on the front, but it gets exspensive since most of it is heat and bend, like the old Ford I beam front ends and the only place that does that anymore are the big rigs shops, or heat and turn.

I would make sure everything is correct and tight, you can check the toe in yourself, and possible take it back to another shop.

Take a tape measure and measure both sides from the center of the front hub to the center of the rear hub. These measurements must be the same or it will pull. Also what size rear shackles are you running on the front? This will affect the caster. There is no way to adjust the camber as far as I know.:cool: :usa: :cool:

Originally posted by AMJ
It sounds like they didnt get the alignment correct. And you can adjust other items on the front, but it gets exspensive since most of it is heat and bend, like the old Ford I beam front ends and the only place that does that anymore are the big rigs shops, or heat and turn.

You cannot do this on a Toyota axle. You can cut and rotate the knuckles. There is a write up on 4X4 wire by Scott Wilson on doing this yourself. This is done on solid beam non-four wheel drive axles. Also they did not heat and bend on those axles, they bent them cold to adjust caster and camber. When they stretched them to make dropped axles to lower them they did heat them and did some type of process to put the strength back in them.:cool: :usa: :cool:

Thanks for the response. If I just leave it alone is tire wear an issue?
-D:mad3:

Does your truck pull all the time or what? Is it just bump steer? Have you checked the brakes on the side it pulls to? Also check to make sure the wheel bearings are tight. Jack up your truck and spin each wheel to see if they are moving freely. If the wheel bearings are loose it will effect camber. Whenever you get an alignment on your truck, ask for a printout of the alignment results. That way you will always know that they actually did what you paid for. The shop may not have actually even checked the camber since they know that it can not be adjusted.:mad:

I was told that camber on the toy axle adjusted by adding shims under the front or rear of the spring packs, to rotate the entire axle slightly. The shop that lined mine up told me this, but said that they never have to do it because they just dont get out of alignment in that dimension, unless there's damage.

My suggestion would be to take it to another shop and see if they can align it correctly. Mine was pulling hard and wandering after the SAS, but the alignment cured all of that, plus my steering wheel ended up in the correct position for straight ahead!

Actually, its the caster that can be changed, not camber. Caster is something most people don't understand and when you do a SAS it often gets screwed up. Caster is the angle that the tires rotate at when being turned. On a solid axle vehicle, you can not change the pinion angle without changing the caster (unless you modify the axle). If you set up your pinion angle to help your driveshaft angle, you probably just changed your caster from 5* positive to 5 or 10* negative. That will make a significant difference in the handling. Caster will keep your truck from wandering all over the road and will make the difference between a truck that handles great and a truck that is scary to drive.:D

Originally posted by mudtruck44
Actually, its the caster that can be changed, not camber. Caster is something most people don't understand and when you do a SAS it often gets screwed up. Caster is the angle that the tires rotate at when being turned. On a solid axle vehicle, you can not change the pinion angle without changing the caster (unless you modify the axle). If you set up your pinion angle to help your driveshaft angle, you probably just changed your caster from 5* positive to 5 or 10* negative. That will make a significant difference in the handling. Caster will keep your truck from wandering all over the road and will make the difference between a truck that handles great and a truck that is scary to drive.:D
i agree

when i first installed my lift i had my pinion pointing at the t-case and i was all over the road, so i took out the shims and that pretty much fixed my problem. then after i got longer shackles, i put a very small shim in to get my pinion angle like stock again, and that helped my handling alot.

Originally posted by matta712
when i first installed my lift i had my pinion pointing at the t-case and i was all over the road, so i took out the shims and that pretty much fixed my problem. then after i got longer shackles, i put a very small shim in to get my pinion angle like stock again, and that helped my handling alot.

Yep, get the steering right first (unless you never drive on the road) then worry about the pinion angle. Be sure the pitman arm is centered on the sector shaft on the steering box. I had mine off a few splines and I had a pull in the steering. I think the steering box has an internal centering mechanism.

Seems most of you missed that he said the CAMBER was out and could not be adjusted. Camber can definitely cause a pull. An no, its not adjustable on a Toy axle.

CAMBER. (http://aligncraft.com/terms/terms.html#Front camber)

Did you rebuild the axle? Did you replace or check the king pin (knuckle) bearings? That could cause a camber problem. As could wheel bearings, as could a bent housing.

Also, do as OOP's said and measure the wheel base on both sides. If its different, it will pull towards the side that is shorter... However, since the alignment shop indicated a camber problem, I'd suspect that first...