Steering Question

[jca21]

I was out on a trail and sustained some heavy damage. Needless to say I needed winching out.


The Problem:

After the trail damage the 4runner drove straight with the steering wheel turned about 5 degrees to the right.

I took it in for servicing and they "corrected" the steering wheel problem. The truck now drove straight with the wheel centered but pulled to the right. I had to compensate by holding it to the left by about 1 degree.

took it in for a second look and they said everything was still aligned to specs. they noted that it could be my front tires having problems. they swapped the front tires (driver side to passenger, passenger to driver) and that seems to have "corrected" the issue a bit more.

the steering wheel still seems a bit off center.

i've tried doing some research online where people suggested that the outer tie rods be tightened in 1/4 turn increments until the wheel is straight.

i've also skimmed the 4runner repair manual but i'm not quite sure what i should be looking for.


could someone point me in the right direction?


tl;dr:

alignment is in spec (stock no mods) but the steering wheel is still off center slightly (about 1 deg to left/driver).


Thanks in advance.

 

[Jeremy556]

If all you needed was an alignment, that ain't heavy damage* :nono:

Did you see the print out of the alignment specs? I would certainly want to see those. If they are in spec, I would question the centering job they did on the steering wheel.

*I'm hoping to get mine back next week after driving a rental for the last 3 weeks. Upper and lower control arms, steering rack, spindle, bearing, sway bar, wheel, tire, skid plates, plus some odds and ends and a little body work :cry2:

 

[Mick1]

jeremy556 your post is worthless without pics....


:worthless

 

[Jeremy556]

jeremy556 your post is worthless without pics....

I didn't take any. I'll see if I can get the insurance adjuster's photos.

It really didn't look like anything anyway, other than a torn in half tire and taco'd wheel. Tie rods were a bit tweaked looking when I put it on the hi lift, but the steering wheel (with engine on and power steering) wouldn't move more than 1/8 of a turn, so I called in for a roll back.

It is being repaired a Ford dealership 250 miles away (because my insurance will warranty the work and it happened far from home), and I'm scared of what I am going to get back and how bad it will be. The Toyota dealership I initially had it towed to was wanting to order suspension parts that wouldn't work on KDSS, so I can only imagine what the Ford body shop is doing...

 

[jca21]

didnt wanna go into detail but.

passenger fender was fubar, fender flare, mud guard and fender liner all fubar, running board destroyed with all 3 mounts pinched, fair amount of scratches and bent the frame a bit.


i dont have the specs with me. i was told to drive it for 2 weeks and see if the problem goes away and if not to bring it back in and they'd look at it again.

was just wondering if there were other things i should get them to try/look at the next time i head in.

 

[Jeremy556]

Ouch, OK, maybe it was major damage, after all. Sorry.

Did you see the alignment results? An alarming amount of "techs" doing alignments have no fing idea what they are doing.

 

[jca21]

Ouch, OK, maybe it was major damage, after all. Sorry.

Did you see the alignment results? An alarming amount of "techs" doing alignments have no fing idea what they are doing.

no problemo.

everythings back to par in terms of body work.

just wondering about how to get the steering wheel centered.

 

[Hardrunner]

didnt wanna go into detail but.

passenger fender was fubar, fender flare, mud guard and fender liner all fubar, running board destroyed with all 3 mounts pinched, fair amount of scratches and bent the frame a bit.


i dont have the specs with me. i was told to drive it for 2 weeks and see if the problem goes away and if not to bring it back in and they'd look at it again.

was just wondering if there were other things i should get them to try/look at the next time i head in.

Bent the frame?

 

[jca21]

Bent the frame?

ever so slightly "up"

had the whole weight of the truck come crashing down on the frame just behind the passenger front tire.

i was high centered. driver side front tire was up in the air, passenger side front tire was in the air. a 3 foot diameter log was jammed between the back of the passenger side front tire and the running board, rear passenger tire was in the air and the rear driver side tire was gripping into nothing but soft sand/mud.

 

[brockeverly]

ever so slightly "up"

had the whole weight of the truck come crashing down on the frame just behind the passenger front tire.

i was high centered. driver side front tire was up in the air, passenger side front tire was in the air. a 3 foot diameter log was jammed between the back of the passenger side front tire and the running board, rear passenger tire was in the air and the rear driver side tire was gripping into nothing but soft sand/mud.

Sounds like a good time, and time for an insurance claim. Glad you got out of there buddy!

And I do not even have to say anything about TTIWWOP.....

 

[jca21]

Sounds like a good time, and time for an insurance claim. Glad you got out of there buddy!

And I do not even have to say anything about TTIWWOP.....

no doubt about it. was in one of the most beautiful places in bc.

no pics of the stuck.

was thinking more about getting the F out of there than taking pics.

buddy's 3rd gen tried to pull me out with no success.

a lifted/built gmc suburban tried to pull me out and snapped the front u-joint.

had to winch me out with a 8000lbs winch.

 

[brockeverly]

no doubt about it. was in one of the most beautiful places in bc.

no pics of the stuck.

was thinking more about getting the F out of there than taking pics.

We are soooo different! :lmao:

 

[Bourbonator]

I didn't mind reading through all the posts after I saw "bent frame." This seems to me like your culprit. After bending the frame, and even after the shop pulls it back into "spec," it could still be causing pull. Furthermore, depending on where the frame was bent, extremely hard braking (like to avoid an accident) could exacerbate the problem. At least, that was my experience last time I bent a frame offroad (crushed the steering knuckle, cracked a rim, bent frame).

 

[jca21]

I didn't mind reading through all the posts after I saw "bent frame." This seems to me like your culprit. After bending the frame, and even after the shop pulls it back into "spec," it could still be causing pull. Furthermore, depending on where the frame was bent, extremely hard braking (like to avoid an accident) could exacerbate the problem. At least, that was my experience last time I bent a frame offroad (crushed the steering knuckle, cracked a rim, bent frame).

thanks for the info.

afaik the frame bend was very "slight".

the body shop "massaged" the steel back to straight apparently.

hoping they'll be able to "fix" it by adjusting the tie rods.

 

[Hardrunner]

Pretty sure that will go on Carfax if insurance involved. Bending the frame is a pretty big deal. Its whats causing your pull as well as many other things. May be eligible for a diminished value claim as well.

 

[KCcarguy]

ever so slightly "up"

had the whole weight of the truck come crashing down on the frame just behind the passenger front tire.

i was high centered. driver side front tire was up in the air, passenger side front tire was in the air. a 3 foot diameter log was jammed between the back of the passenger side front tire and the running board, rear passenger tire was in the air and the rear driver side tire was gripping into nothing but soft sand/mud.

Damn, man! You don't F**k around! :wow:

 

[jca21]

Damn, man! You don't F**k around! :wow:

i was trying to cross a 6 foot wide wash out that had a make shift log bridge, lol.

in hindsight i probably shouldnt have tried to cross and turned around, but i was having too much damn fun :nerd:

 

[Qjake]

FWIW Bent frames are not massaged back into place they are bent back using a frame machine and brute force, and...honestly they said "drive it for two weeks and see if it goes away" :wtf: The reason it's pulling is because it's not fixed properly! Take it to a real shop and get it fixed right or you'll regret it.

As for the Carfax, it might show or it might not. I bent the frame in my 09 Tacoma by hitting a huge rock which destroyed the left front suspension, 6k+ to repair, traded it 7 months later for the Runner and no mention of the accident in the Carfax the dealer ran. Or by the dealer as they had done the repair.

 

[jca21]

FWIW Bent frames are not massaged back into place they are bent back using a frame machine and brute force, and...honestly they said "drive it for two weeks and see if it goes away" :wtf: The reason it's pulling is because it's not fixed properly! Take it to a real shop and get it fixed right or you'll regret it.

As for the Carfax, it might show or it might not. I bent the frame in my 09 Tacoma by hitting a huge rock which destroyed the left front suspension, 6k+ to repair, traded it 7 months later for the Runner and no mention of the accident in the Carfax the dealer ran. Or by the dealer as they had done the repair.

the frame was straightened on a frame machine using incremental amounts of force rather than brute force apparently. atleast thats what i was told. given that the bend was minimal i figured that isnt whats causing it.


i'll be taking it back in for another them to take another swing at it.

i payed out of pocket rather than going through my insurance so im not quite sure if its going to show up on car fax (in Canada).