Hi all,
Hope you alignment and control arm experts can help!
Replaced LCA bushings with whiteline and a bunch of other parts and my caster is terrible.
1.5" lift with Bilstein 5100 and OME springs. Replaced LCA bushings using Timmy Toolman heat and bottle jack method. Also replaced rack bushings with whiteline, 555 inner and outer tie rod ends, OEM sway bar bushings, TRQ sway bar end links.
Tech said he could not get right caster in spec. I believe he said camber (or something else) would go off if he pushed caster out. Last time I had it aligned after 1.5" lift looks like they also could not get caster in spec, but it was much higher, closer to 2 I believe. I've owned the runner for 20+ years and it's never been in an accident, only light off roading. I have an alignment sheet from 10 years ago pre-lift and looks like they got caster to 3.0 and 2.7, so I don't think it is bent frame or LCA brackets or anything like that.
You can see the alignment marks I made on the cam adjusters before disassembly. Looks like the tech put the rear exactly to the previous adjustment but pushed the front all the way out. I believe to increase caster you adjust the rear out and the front in to move the hub forward.
It sounds to me like the front needs to be all the way out to get good camber. I did notice that after reassembling everything and adjusting the cams back to the previous setting the camber on the right side looked way off to me (top of the tire out), so I readjusted and eyeballed it just to get to the alignment shop. The left side looked okay, so it seems like something was off with the right.
I snugged the LCA bolts before lowering, did not tighten and torque them until the vehicle was on the ground. All the washers are in place as you can see in the photos. Some washer were hard to get in on the right, specifically the most rear one, so the tolerance was pretty tight there. I did measure the LCA spread before and after bottle jacking the old bushings out and they may have opened up a little, possibly a 1/16" from 10 1/8" to 10 3/16", but it appeared so minimal that I didn't think I damaged them. Not sure if that would have such a profound affect on caster.
Thanks for reading this far!
Any idea what could have gone wrong?
Hope you alignment and control arm experts can help!
Replaced LCA bushings with whiteline and a bunch of other parts and my caster is terrible.
1.5" lift with Bilstein 5100 and OME springs. Replaced LCA bushings using Timmy Toolman heat and bottle jack method. Also replaced rack bushings with whiteline, 555 inner and outer tie rod ends, OEM sway bar bushings, TRQ sway bar end links.
Tech said he could not get right caster in spec. I believe he said camber (or something else) would go off if he pushed caster out. Last time I had it aligned after 1.5" lift looks like they also could not get caster in spec, but it was much higher, closer to 2 I believe. I've owned the runner for 20+ years and it's never been in an accident, only light off roading. I have an alignment sheet from 10 years ago pre-lift and looks like they got caster to 3.0 and 2.7, so I don't think it is bent frame or LCA brackets or anything like that.
You can see the alignment marks I made on the cam adjusters before disassembly. Looks like the tech put the rear exactly to the previous adjustment but pushed the front all the way out. I believe to increase caster you adjust the rear out and the front in to move the hub forward.
It sounds to me like the front needs to be all the way out to get good camber. I did notice that after reassembling everything and adjusting the cams back to the previous setting the camber on the right side looked way off to me (top of the tire out), so I readjusted and eyeballed it just to get to the alignment shop. The left side looked okay, so it seems like something was off with the right.
I snugged the LCA bolts before lowering, did not tighten and torque them until the vehicle was on the ground. All the washers are in place as you can see in the photos. Some washer were hard to get in on the right, specifically the most rear one, so the tolerance was pretty tight there. I did measure the LCA spread before and after bottle jacking the old bushings out and they may have opened up a little, possibly a 1/16" from 10 1/8" to 10 3/16", but it appeared so minimal that I didn't think I damaged them. Not sure if that would have such a profound affect on caster.
Thanks for reading this far!
Any idea what could have gone wrong?
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