Uneven rear end....help

[G.I.G.]

So I just had 265/70R17 Revo's put on last week. So far so good. My fiancee and I went on a quick 4-wheel drive trip this afternoon. It was a moderate trail but pretty rocky. I didn't bottom out at all but when we were getting close to the bottom, we heard a couple of big thuds coming from the rear end. Not like impacting anything, but it almost sounded like something big and heavy was loose in the back. My 4R ran fine on the way highway driving back home and I though everything was fine.

When we were unpacking my car, I noticed that looking at the back of the car, the passenger side was sitting lower. Just to make sure that it wasn't my eyes or weird shadows, I measured it. I confirmed that the passenger side rear end is sitting 1/2 inch lower than the driver side. I eliminated the obvious and checked the air pressure in the tires and made sure that they installed the correct size tires all the way around. My next thought, XREAS. I measured the front end too and the front driver side was lower by about a 1/4. Which tells me it might be half of my XREAS system is bad. There are no visible leaks coming from underneath my car

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any ideas to better troubleshoot what is going on?

 

[CJ3Flyr]

1/4 and 1/2 inch sound within the realm of normal. Also the steering wheel must be dead straight to measure or it'll torque up (or down) on the front swaybar.

As far as your clunking goes... Are your bottom shock bolts ok? BlairB just had some issues with his. If they are ok let your spare down a hair then resnug it. It may have been shifting a bit as the body was flexing. A final thought would be to lube the rubber bumpers on the tailgate. Good luck!

:cheers:

 

[Kmvreter]

... When we were unpacking my car, I noticed that looking at the back of the car, the passenger side was sitting lower. Just to make sure that it wasn't my eyes or weird shadows, I measured it. I confirmed that the passenger side rear end is sitting 1/2 inch lower than the driver side...
Has anyone experienced something similar or have any ideas to better troubleshoot what is going on?

Search for old threads on the forum about the gangsta lean.
Silly question but I assume you were on straight, level ground? Cycle the shocks several times by pushing down on each corner of the vehicle and letting it rebound, then remeasure. Let us know the result.

 

[PredBlue]

When we were unpacking my car, I noticed that looking at the back of the car, the passenger side was sitting lower. Just to make sure that it wasn't my eyes or weird shadows, I measured it. I confirmed that the passenger side rear end is sitting 1/2 inch lower than the driver side....

I don't know if it's "normal" but mine and others do the same thing, although it's usually the driver side that is lower. I checked with my dealer a few years ago when I noticed it and according to what he said at the time, they couldn't find anything wrong on any 4Runner they checked, but they were usually in the 1/4 to 1/2 inch range lower.

I have no idea how the vehicle is balanced right/left down the long axis of the vehicle, but there is the battery, fuel tank, and obviously the driver---figure 40 lbs., 100+ lbs., 200 lbs. constantly weighing down the driver side (is the 4Runner balanced on the passenger side to take this into account???)---which is where I get my 1/2" lower calculation. If I get out of the truck the height goes back to about 1/4" lower. My guess is that extra weight must compress the suspension a little over time. If you push down on the truck with a stock suspension, honestly it doesn't take a whole lot to move it that first 1/2'' or so between left and right, but beyond that---like a heavy load, passengers, towing, etc---the suspension doesn't seem to compress as much after that first 1/2'' or so.

As to why your passenger side is lower? That I couldn't tell you, but again, I've seen/heard of several that are lower on the driver side with no mechanical problems that I've heard of.

Edit: I was curious so I sent the intern (tomorrow's his last day anyway) out to measure five unibodies and five on-frame vehicles in the parking lot. 4/5 of the unibodies measured exactly the same from right to left at the rear. 4/5 of the on-frame vehicles measured low on one side from 1/4" to 3/4" inches. Maybe this is an on-frame design thing regardless of make.

 

[Falls]

I went out and checked mine . My left rear is a 1/4" higher. otherwise all the same front to back. BUT !!!! I am totally low on gas and it's on fumes....lol,
I would suspect when I fill up that side would be leaning over a bit.

Note I just measure at fender flare lip. I also didn't make sure my pressures were equal in tires , and I know my garage floor in not exactly perfect either.

So for what it's worth ......

 

[G.I.G.]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. When I did measure last night, it was in my garage which is pretty close to level from what I can tell and the wheels were straight. My fiancee who thinks I'm anal and paranoid about all of my toys even noticed the visible lean to passenger side. Nothing was in the car at the time and when we went wheel'n it was just her and me, no gear or anything else in the back.

I would agree that give or take a 1/4 inch would be an acceptable difference in ride hight between front/rear and side/side. Especially when you account for the not perfectly level ground the car may be sitting in. Anything much more than a 1/2 inch for a relatively new vehicle (I don't even have 20k miles yet) would seem abnormal to me, however.

I brought my tape measure with me to work today and remeasured when I got here. I parked on what I consider to be a relatively flat spot. There was about a 1/4 inch difference this time and not a visible lean like I noticed last night. Maybe I just needed to drive it a bit longer after 4-wheel'n to let things adjust and level out back to normal.

I will continue to monitor the situation before I take it to the dealer. I think the fact that I heard a couple of solid thuds when 4-wheel'n made me even a bit more paranoid. I will probably re tighten the spare just to be sure it wasn't the spare banging around back there.

I know XREAS is meant as an on-road handling enhancement, but what to people think of it for off-roading? Just curious. If I had issues with XREAS outside of my warranty period I would probably just replace it with coil overs like many people on this board have done.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

I drive mine solo most of the time. I'd be happy if the drivers' side was up a bit then it would be level with me and a full tank of fuel.

I agree with you, if you're on the cusp of an XRAES problem catch it early and let warranty handle it. If it's all is ok learn to appreciate the lean

:cheers: