stevec5000
New member
SO which is it for sure you adjust, Caster or Camber? I guess it's Caster that should be adjusted since the manual says it's supposed to be set to 2.45 but I don't see any way to adjust it.
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2011 4runner TE steering too sensitive
- Thread starter JustLeft
- Start date
Nope.
dsfra
Member
After a protracted pi$$ing contest with the dealer's service department manager, I finally got my (still fairly) new TE in for an alignment. Had told the SM that it wanders all over the road, and in fact the first time the spouse had it on the freeway she asked what was wrong with the steering. It was even worse, not surprisingly, when towing with 220 lbs tongue weight unloading the front end. In a preliminary discussion with the SM, had mentioned that according to various posters on this forum it's best to aim for 4 degrees of positive castor, and he said ok, they would put it on the alignment rack and if the alignment was within spec I would pay $100 for having them check, and if out of spec then it would be considered a warranty repair. Mentioned to the SM that the wandering is symptomatic of insufficient castor, as he should surely know, and that this forum has a number of threads pertaining thereto. He said that they won't do anything based on a customer's "hunch", and that neither he not Toyota cares what people are saying on the web. It didn't seem to register with him when I mentioned that they're called "Customers" and that they should really be of at least marginal importance to both he and Toyota. I even played the "safety" card, but no cigar. Anyhow, they found that the castor was just barely within the low end of the Toyota spec of 2.5 - 4.0 degrees at 2.8 (L) and 2.5 (R). But then, praise be to the deity of your choice, the toe was supposed to be -.03 - +.13 degrees but was +.17 (L) and +.16 (R), so strictly speaking the alignment was out of spec, and ergo it was covered under the warranty. Ended up with castor set to 4.0 (L) and 3.9 (R), and toe within spec. Now don't have to be making constant steering corrections to keep it in a straight line. A much nicer driving experience. As an aside, changing from the stock Bridgestones to BFG A/T KO's prior to having the alignment done didn't seem to make any difference.
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Hbryanlopez
New member
would they bother with warranty if the truck is lifted?
harper7
Senior Member
Well worth the money spent then to have it aligned on your own. Call around to alignment shops and explain what exactly you want done.Max caster!
Warranty on an alignment after lifting? No
Warranty on suspension after lifting? No
You should have had it aligned after lifting anyways.
Hbryanlopez
New member
I aligned after lift but I didn't know about the caster change. Time to align again 
Hbryanlopez
New member
Ok I'm here at the dealer and this guy goes "I've been here 23years, you can't change caster on this vehicle." can someone get me some proof, ie phone number of dealer and the service manager so I can show this douche that it can be done. I'm going to an allignment shop but I just want to show this ahole that he has no idea what he's talking about! Why are people at the dealers so narrow minded..geeewezzyyy..lol
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harper7
Senior Member
Pretty sure that's your sign to.............run away!
LCA.... 2 eccentric bolts
Loosen them...adjusting aft one changes caster which will affect camber.
Adjusting front one brings camber back in. Adjust Toe at the tie rod last.
I'm on my phone and don't have access to the repair manual section.
Oh if only it is that simple! If you find something let us know!
adam2562
New member
found it... if any of you are under the truck today, take a look and see if you can spot something like this.
60mph Vibrations - DIY Steering Tensioner Adjustment - Club Lexus Forums
60mph Vibrations - DIY Steering Tensioner Adjustment - Club Lexus Forums
Since I got my TE I felt it was pulling to the right, and suspecting it was an alignment issue. That and this fact of the over sensitive-loose steering put me on the phone with the guy who has been my SA at Toyota for nearly four years. Explain to him that it was right pulling and the over sensitive steering wheel, and that I knew something was wrong with the alignment, and wanted/needed the caster angle as close as possible to 4. Used the words "safety, family, etc". Guy told me that if it was under the first year they will cover it (did not buy the TE from them), and lucky me she still is, so took her today.
He just called me to tell me it was ready, and I asked him for the numbers:
Before:
Right = -2.4 !!!!!
Left = 2.7
After:
Right = 3.2
Left = 2.9
I am happy the fixed the right, but disappointed they did not go to near 4. I told him this morning and explain over and over, and he came back every single time with the "tire wear, excessive and such". Told him that I did not care for that. At the end, they did not go to near 4, but they fix the right. I told him over the phone that I am going to drive her and if I do not feel happy, will come back for more and get her near four. Told him again that did not care for the tire wear and that I will take full responsibility for that. He said that such a small difference would not make a difference, but I told him it will. Did not want to drag this anymore, so I told him I will drive it for a bit and let him know.
If I am not happy, I will call him next week and have him do it again near 4, and I hope to be able to accomplish this. Will repost with more after I drive and see how it feels.
Story aside, this morning when I parked early in the maintenance bay, I started talking to a guy who own a 4th Gen T4R and he was very disappointed. He told me if Toyotas were that great we should not been there only that for maintenance, and even then, we could do it ourselves. He owned other two previous 4Runners and an Explorer and said the Explorer was crap, but the other two 4Runners (Gen 2 and Gen 3) were absolutely fantastic with no problems at all. We keep talking more until they opened the doors then to our paths. I agree with him. The current Toyotas are not what they used to be 20 or 15 years ago. Sadly, but true.
He just called me to tell me it was ready, and I asked him for the numbers:
Before:
Right = -2.4 !!!!!
Left = 2.7
After:
Right = 3.2
Left = 2.9
I am happy the fixed the right, but disappointed they did not go to near 4. I told him this morning and explain over and over, and he came back every single time with the "tire wear, excessive and such". Told him that I did not care for that. At the end, they did not go to near 4, but they fix the right. I told him over the phone that I am going to drive her and if I do not feel happy, will come back for more and get her near four. Told him again that did not care for the tire wear and that I will take full responsibility for that. He said that such a small difference would not make a difference, but I told him it will. Did not want to drag this anymore, so I told him I will drive it for a bit and let him know.
If I am not happy, I will call him next week and have him do it again near 4, and I hope to be able to accomplish this. Will repost with more after I drive and see how it feels.
Story aside, this morning when I parked early in the maintenance bay, I started talking to a guy who own a 4th Gen T4R and he was very disappointed. He told me if Toyotas were that great we should not been there only that for maintenance, and even then, we could do it ourselves. He owned other two previous 4Runners and an Explorer and said the Explorer was crap, but the other two 4Runners (Gen 2 and Gen 3) were absolutely fantastic with no problems at all. We keep talking more until they opened the doors then to our paths. I agree with him. The current Toyotas are not what they used to be 20 or 15 years ago. Sadly, but true.
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harper7
Senior Member
You bought your 4Runner used right.I highly doubt it came with that bad of alignment ,with the right side be a -2.7 instead of +2.7 caster from the factory new like that.
More chances then not either the previous owner right before they traded it in or the dealer you bought it from had it aligned and they screwed it up . It really would be noticeably dangerous to drive with them that far off and somebody would/should have noticed and complained before now.It had to have been done right before you bought it.
