Wheel alignment after lift.

[Bellyup Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bellyup]

Hi Guys,
After I had my lift done on the Prado, I took the car for a wheel alignment locally. The guy doing the alignment said that the wheels/alignment didn't need any changes made as they were "within specification". Sadly he was wrong - the car was all over the place at high speed - floaty, unstable and vague.By then it was too late to take it back as I was already travelling away on holidays.
Would anyone know what the correct setting/details would be for an alignment after getting a 2" lift? Then I can take the car back and get it done properly.
Thanks for your help.
Bruce

[Bear63 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bear63]

Did he give you a copy of the readout from the aligner?, i have been doing alignments for 17 years and found that "the specs" don't suit every situation and needs to be adjusted accordingly , Don't forget by lifting it 2" you have raised the cg and it won't be as stable as before

[Ozpat Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ozpat]

Don't forget by lifting it 2" you have raised the cg and it won't be as stable as before

With a 2" lift on OME nitro shocks and coils mine is more stable than stock. Depends on your setup.

[ApatheticEnd Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ApatheticEnd]

You should have gotten the readout. She'll be right isn't quite the same as doing it right. Never have an allignment done at a tyre shop either. It's just a quick toe and go unless you go to a suspension shop or good general mechanic. I had my lift done at a good suspension shop and their work was excellent.

[gxl_d4d Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close gxl_d4d]

Is it critical to adjust the rear axle alignment after a 2" lift? The place that did mine said the rear end had no adjustment without installing a few aftermarket parts. They indicated that with a 2" lift the axle alignment wasn't far enough out to warrant the expense.

Of gravel roads I find the back end drivers side comes out more easily when transition from sand or hard dirt to gravel. This was never an issue before the lift.

[Bellyup Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bellyup]

Thanks Guys,
No, I didn't get a readout after the alignment - didn't think about asking
Bear63 could you tell me what would need to be looked at when the front end is so unstable when travelling in a straight line?
Many thanks,
Bruce.

[Whitey1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey1]

I used to do wheel alignments as part of my job. I would have thought it was highly unlikely that the wheel alignment would have been right after a lift. You've pulled half the suspension out of the front and altered the angle of things!
As for the rear because its a solid axle not much will change. Maybe the position of the diff left to right which could be fixed by fitting an adjustable panhard rod, but thats usually only required after a big lift.
A front wheel alignment is definitely required after any front suspension work.
And yes, tyre shops are not always the best places to go.

[Peterpilot Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Peterpilot]

I would say that the instability or twitchiness after a 2" lift is done often comes from running out of caster adjustment when the wheels are aligned. There is no way the alignment would still be within spec after a lift.

[Peterpilot Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Peterpilot]

I found some wheel alignment specs here: http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...l=1#post218757

[Peterpilot Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Peterpilot]

Another thread on wheel alignment data here: http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...-works-for-you

[Bellyup Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bellyup]

Peter,
You're a hero - just what I needed!
Thanks everyone.
Bruce.

[Bear63 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bear63]

Thanks Guys,
No, I didn't get a readout after the alignment - didn't think about asking
Bear63 could you tell me what would need to be looked at when the front end is so unstable when travelling in a straight line?
Many thanks,
Bruce.

I would say that the toe will be insufficient , it may be in spec but will probably need to be increased , it will only take .5 mm or so , the caster may need to be increased a touch as will , i usually set them up with some positive camber as well , around .15 , but everybody drives differently and everybody loads their vehicle different as well so it may need tweaking
Now when you get the alignment done ask a few questions as to the experience and if they are a qualified mechanic , anybody can learn how to do an alignment but a lot don't understand what they are doing

[tassie tiger Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close tassie tiger]

I had a similar situation to belly-up. Wheel aligner said he had adjusted it 'as far as he could' but thats it with prados.

Mine had a lift with the following;
Before Front - 745
Rear - 770

I measured after about 20k to settle it a bit and it came out at;
After Front - 825
Rear - 830

It feels like the caster is negative and its a bit floaty and not real directional.

Can they get the correct caster on prado's after a lift?

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

825 on the front is getting pretty high, thats 3" over standard, I wouldn't be surprised if they ran out of adjustment. Running those heights you may need differnt UCA's to compensate.

What suspension did you have fitted, might have the wrong springs in if it doesn't settle down a bit more.

Cheers Andrew

[tassie tiger Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close tassie tiger]

HI AJ

They are bilstein 5100's with Kings springs (KTFR101 and KTRR102). I set the seat height on the fronts on the second groove from the bottom (2 of 4) so maybe I should drop them out and fit it on the bottom one.

Here is a link to the install over at my swag;
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=26375.0

Happy with the result otherwise.

cheers