Alignment issues. Sanity check please!

[nevada]

I believe I was quoted $312/side FWIW.

I just looked it up, using Carquest parts, its $1760 parts and labor to change upper and lower control arms on both sides.

$1179 for just the lowers.

 

[sterbenlicht]

Yeah, 400-500 would be ridiculously cheap. No labor at all, or extremely cheap parts in the equation. I seem to remember our control arms being in the 200-250 ballpark, but it's been too long to remember exactly. That high labor cost is quoted because removing them is an unknown. Cutting them out can be a PITA, but sometimes they'll come right out.

If that ever happened to me, I would trim some of the labor cost off. While I like taking your money, I need to be able to live with myself.

 

[jaredking733]

When you heard this noise, did your steering wheel jerk or make any weird sudden movement? As ridiculous as their guess sounds, it does actually happen. I've yet to see it on a 4Runner, but I've seen it on Tacomas a couple of times. I doubt it's your issue, and I'm leaning more toward some of the things mentioned here already. Try sitting in your truck with it running and turning the wheel quickly from one side to the other to see if anything acts up.

Unless I missed something in the details through this thread, then it sounds like your only symptoms have to do with wheel position, but never any pulling problems?

The degree you describe it being off sounds too small to be a tooth on the rack, but easy enough to look into it on your own and it's worth trying to rule it out.

Also try spinning the steering wheel around gently all the way left, note its position, and then do the same to the right and note it's position again just to see how centered the rack is with the steering wheel position.

When it happened most recently, the steering wheel was slightly to the right. Then after the pop, it was slightly to the left. I heard a pop and saw the wheel snap just a tiny bit. It's pop that I can feel in the wheel, and in the floorboard. Seems like it's fairly loud on the outside of the vehicle as well, but it happens so rarely and without warning that it's hard for me to test it.

The position of the wheel is the only concern. I originally took that sign to mean there was an alignment problem, but after an alignment by a strictly ALIGNMENT shop, and 3 shops with no knowledge of the issue I'm dealing with telling me it's spot on, I feel like I can safely rule that out. There is no pulling to one side or the other. It'll go straight as an arrow and will stay that way even if I let go of the wheel, but the wheel may still be a hair off to the right.

I'll play with it some tomorrow morning when I'm waiting to go into work.

 

[jaredking733]

When you heard this noise, did your steering wheel jerk or make any weird sudden movement? As ridiculous as their guess sounds, it does actually happen. I've yet to see it on a 4Runner, but I've seen it on Tacomas a couple of times. I doubt it's your issue, and I'm leaning more toward some of the things mentioned here already. Try sitting in your truck with it running and turning the wheel quickly from one side to the other to see if anything acts up.

Unless I missed something in the details through this thread, then it sounds like your only symptoms have to do with wheel position, but never any pulling problems?

The degree you describe it being off sounds too small to be a tooth on the rack, but easy enough to look into it on your own and it's worth trying to rule it out.

Also try spinning the steering wheel around gently all the way left, note its position, and then do the same to the right and note it's position again just to see how centered the rack is with the steering wheel position.

Thought I'd do you one better and post pictures.

And no, I played with it a lot and couldn't get it to make the noise on command. Just kind of happens at random, and still hasn't happened again since about a week ago.

Position of the wheel turned all the way left to lock:



Position of the wheel turned all the way right to lock:



And just because I haven't posted it before, here is the position of the wheel I'm talking about being "off" after numerous alignments:

 

[sterbenlicht]

Awesome, having those pictures here helps because now if it ever does this again, do the same test and see if the wheel is in different positions at full lock each way.