alignment question ...

ok so i know that on the 3rd gen - there is no alignment needed on the rear axle, only the front.

but what about the 4th gen ? Is sears/townfair tire trying to scam me when they tell me I need a 4 wheel alignment ? also any comments on the firestone lifetime alignments package ?

Same for the 4th gen too...and the 5th gen as well. There's no way to do a 4-wheel alignment on any 4Runner because the rear wheels don't have any adjustments for alignment.

Sounds like they are trying to scam you.

The rear is a solid axel so there's nothing to align. Sears is a terrible place to get an alignment, I will never go back. I take mine specifically to an alignment shop. It's a bit more expensive, but they actually know what they are doing. The monkeys working at Sears know very little about what they are doing, and don't know how to do anything other than line up the specs to factory specs on the computer. If your vehicle is bone stock, this might not matter. However, if you have ANY sort of modification (tires, lift, etc) don't bother.

They usually only have one price for alignments, it doesn't matter if it's 4-wheel or front end only. It's just a way to scam as much money out of people as possible.

thanks for all the info guys, now i'll just ask for a front wheel alignment at townfair tire.

There is no way to do a 4-wheel alignment on a 4runner. But there is a difference between doing a front center line alignment and a thrust line alignment (some shops call this a 4 wheel alignment even though there are no adjustments in the rear but the rear sensors still need to be put on and calibrated). With a thrust line alignment the vehicle is aligned to the thrust line. Your rear axle is straight (hopefully it is). If you were to draw a line coming off the center of the rear axle at 90 degrees toward the front of the vehicle that would be the thrust line. Thanks to mass production these thrust lines are usually never perfect, or zero degrees toward one side of the vehicle or the other. Half of a degree is usually the spread for which the line can be out for a solid rear axle vehicle. Any more than that and the vehicle"s rear tires won't track the same as the front tires (dog-tracking). The difference is that with a front center-line alignment, or center line alignment, you only align to the center line of the vehicle. Center line is usually determined by just the front tires. Problem with this is, you are more likely to get a crooked steering wheel due to the center line not being the same as the thrust line.

Bottom line is, know what you are getting. Ask questions about their "4-wheel" alignment. If they persist that there are adjustments on the rear suspension they are full of it, leave asap. But it may just be their way of saying thrust line alignment.

So if im noticing my 08' sr5 pulling slightly to the right, what exactly would I need corrected? I notice this when I let go of the wheel while driving on a flat straight away.

Depending how hard it pulls you may need an alignment. But keep in mind roads are not flat, they have a curvature (sloping slightly towards the right) for water to drain.

Its very slight. I guess your right about the roads and that could be the reason. Ok, so I also get a little vibration in the steering wheel at about 60mph.. Is that balance?

Could be your tires, or a number of other things. If it's when you apply the brakes, it could be your rotors.

Out of high school I once worked at Sears, and we used to recommend alignments on every single vehicle that entered the shop. It was a easy money thing for them. They used to scam people by saying we'll only charge you if it needs adjustment. But no matter how close to specs it was, you could 'sneeze' and it would read out of adjustment. When I was there, we had to do everything we could to sell an alignment with every tire purchase. It was just such easy money.

At least I learned just how un-needed alignments are for the most part by working there. Unless you've done some front end work, or hit something, or notice really odd pulling or tire wear. Why mess with it, I've had my 4Runner for 6 years, almost 90k miles and never had an alignment done on it. Drive 100 miles a day, and tires are wearing as even as could be.

A crooked steering wheel has nothing to do with that. All alignment racks align the front wheels off the thrust line of the rear wheels when it comes to live axle vehicles. But under all circumstances, the steering wheel is centered before the toe is adjusted. That's how the steering wheel gets straightened, even if for some reason the thrust line isn't followed.