New Alignment, now truck pulls strongly to the Right

Got my 5100 shocks installed, an alignment was part of the package. It was done at an independent shop, not a Toyota dealer.

Been driving it for a couple days but I'm not very happy. To me it looks like the vehicle was already aligned before they started working on it, everything in spec ("green".) Everything still in spec after.

However now the truck pulls to the right regardless of road conditions. Even if I drive on a surface that's tilted slightly to the left (downhill) it will 'climb' and still veer right. Let go of the wheel, it's going into the neighbor's lane after about 3 seconds.

What to do? I don't want to take it back to the same place. They used a set of jigs and a computer to do the alignment, doubt they actually went for a test drive.

The report:
(Vehicle is actually a 2021 SR5 Crewmax, not TRD, but with 5100 shocks)

 

Are the shocks set for a lift?

Don’t got by green, just go by numbers. I find it VERY suspect that their before and after numbers are nearly identical

 

I went through this when I lifted mine. They could just not get it right. Finally asked around and found a Midas shop where the owner is an off-roader. Went in and explained the situation and waited. They did it to what it should have been. Owner got in it for a quick test drive. Nope, still pulled left. He tweeked it and test drove it twice more before he handed it over to me. Drives great now but what a cluster f*** until I found the right shop.

Find a reputable shop that does lifts on Tundras and other trucks. Ask them who they take the trucks to for alignment. I asked 4 custom shops and 3 of 4 said the same place.

 

Ok I'll look for a better shop

No lift, just stock height, but shocks are all new

 

Ah that makes sense then. Double check tire pressures side to side then take it back

 

They put more caster on DS than PS. Roads slope down to the right. The side with less caster will pull that way. There’s your problem.

 

Bingo. They need to fix the caster. I had mine done a few months back and my DS=2.86 and PS=3.30 and it tracks well.

 

I usually set tundra's and Tacoma's up with .2 (.3 max) more caster in the passenger side to compensate for road crown, like patriot said. .8 camber is a little much in my opinion, I like to see .4 max and they should match left and right.

 

I went through this same headache.

After finding the right shop, all is good.

Here are my final numbers if it helps at all...




I am on 5100s on the middle setting with 285/75/18s

 

Thanks everyone!

Does this Toyota 'spec' mean anything? It's copied from the Toyota TRD suspension kit install guide
PTR13-34140

 

Do a search on here. There are tighter specs than toyota’s general specs
The place i get alignments does it to his own

 

the specs are just a guide and is already loaded into any modern alignment machine. just because the alignment is in spec doesn't mean its correct or going to drive straight and have minimal tire wear. for example, your alignment was put into spec and it pulls.

 

hm. Am I reading the printout correctly? The rear toe settings don't look right to me, but I'm used to setting up alignments for autox, zero toe in the rear and 10 degrees negative in the front. If the rear has positive toe on the left, and negative toe on the right then the back-end will want to drift/steer towards the right, which will make your truck drift. You'd have to pull the steering wheel to correct it.
The initial toe gap in the settings of +31 left and -9 on the right was enlarged by whatever they did. after is +43 on the left and -22 on the right.
It could be that the rear axle isn't sitting straight.

 

Took it to a new shop today, done all over again. Cost $130 and the guy said he spent 2h on it. Claimed that my coachbuilder +1 shackles were messing up the back, he may be right. They do twist the leaf springs a little bit, maybe they push on the rear axle somehow. (Hopefully they'll break in over time.)

Anyway, here's the readout

 

He said that shackles were causing a toe problem in the rear? Its a straight axle...

 

So maybe that means "The rear axle is crooked"

 

Mmmmmm.............might mean you're still not at THEE right shop.

 

Im sure every axle has imperfection. I wouldntt worry

 

With that equal caster you will probably still drift right on any roads with proper road crown. Does it track straight now on the roads you typically drive?

 

FWIW the alignment is good now. I actually don't know how it's set up, the guy handed me 6 printouts, I just happened to post the one on the top!

On a level road the truck tracks straight. On a road with some curvature (for rain runoff) the truck will wander to the right after about 6-7 seconds. I think that's to be expected.

My OCD side noticed that the steering wheel isn't _quite_ straight when the wheels are straight. But there isn't enough time in the day to chase down all these little things, taking a car to any shop ends up being a major undertaking when juggling work, family, rush hour traffic.

 

That's good.

 

It's still called a "toe" setting with a straight axle. If the axle is crooked front to back, you'll have toe-in on one side and toe-out on the other side.