2005 Tundra novice build - "The Rez"

[Kpack]

I spent an "enjoyable" few hours swapping out my LCA cam bolts for OEM ones. Previously I had my old, seized OEM bolts replaced by a local shop. They cut the old ones out, and replaced with what I think are SPC bolts. I've had an annoying clunk when turning for a while now and I believe I tracked it down to the cam bolts.

The front bolts came out fairly easily, and that's when I found that the shop put the wrong size in there. The front cam bolt is supposed to be longer and rear is supposed to be shorter. They got it backwards.

The rear bolts were a pain in the rear. The steering rack is right in the way, and required me to remove all the mounting bolts and try to wiggle it out of the way enough to get the bolts out. That took way longer than it should have. The new ones went in fine.

I replaced the junky SPC bolts with used OEM bolts (in good condition). I lathered up every surface with lots of anti-seize. Hopefully that is enough to keep them from seizing again in the future.

The SPC bolts have zero reference on them, so whatever alignment I had is totally lost now.

The inner sleeve was crushed on the two forward bolts

New ones installed

Can't get in anywhere for an alignment for several days. I'd like to throw the Spidertrax adapters on before then and push the caster forward, then have them align from there. Is there a good way to do this without screwing everything up too bad?

 

[Sal R.]

Those look like rockauto cams. SPC cams don't have grease fittings.

I don't see the harm in driving it a few days with the eyeball alignment.

What I've done is start at max forward caster and backed away from that til it "looked" right, then adjusted toe.

Don't forget to turn the steering wheel lock to lock to get the suspension to settle between adjustments.

Unless you have grease plates under your tires. ?

 

[Kpack]

Well I messed with it a bit, but it's way off. Camber is super negative and toe is open. I'm out of my league trying to dial it in. I got into Les Schwab tomorrow, so I'll just limp it there. My alignments there have been so-so but it's better than nothing.

 

[smokeysevin]

I ended up buying a diy alignment kit from (https://www.wheelalignmenttools.com/) and was pleasantly surprised at how straightforward it was. Anytime I had the alignment done by a shop they put too much toe on it and it chewed up the inner edges of my tires. If I remember correctly, I basically maxed the caster out, set the camber, then adjusted the toe which has made a huge difference in how the truck rides.

Sean

 

[Sal R.]

I ended up buying a diy alignment kit from (https://www.wheelalignmenttools.com/) and was pleasantly surprised at how straightforward it was. Anytime I had the alignment done by a shop they put too much toe on it and it chewed up the inner edges of my tires. If I remember correctly, I basically maxed the caster out, set the camber, then adjusted the toe which has made a huge difference in how the truck rides.

Sean

Soly hits! That's a game changer. And a decent price point. Pays for itself on the third use.

What size tire have you used the kit on?

Thanks!

 

[Kpack]

I ended up buying a diy alignment kit from (https://www.wheelalignmenttools.com/) and was pleasantly surprised at how straightforward it was. Anytime I had the alignment done by a shop they put too much toe on it and it chewed up the inner edges of my tires. If I remember correctly, I basically maxed the caster out, set the camber, then adjusted the toe which has made a huge difference in how the truck rides.

Sean

This looks intriguing. My alignments have been hit and miss. I wonder if I could get a more consistent, and better result with this kit?

 

[smokeysevin]

I have been running for the last few months on a diy alignment with that kit and its held well. I am on 285/75/16s and it worked no problem. The duratracs have a little bit bigger side wall lugs and it cleared no problem.

I set caster to max, then camber to as close to neutral but within spec, then toe to 1/16" total toe in if my memory is correct. It was a little fiddly the first time but I could do it again much quicker.

Sean

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[Kpack]

I have been running for the last few months on a diy alignment with that kit and its held well. I am on 285/75/16s and it worked no problem. The duratracs have a little bit bigger side wall lugs and it cleared no problem.

I set caster to max, then camber to as close to neutral but within spec, then toe to 1/16" total toe in if my memory is correct. It was a little fiddly the first time but I could do it again much quicker.

Sean

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When you say max caster, do you know what your numbers are? And are you trying to hit 0.0 with camber? Reading on TundraSolutions the prevailing thought is +0.25 camber. But that's on stock vehicles, and mine is definitely not stock.

 

[smokeysevin]

I want to start by saying I am by no means an alignment expert, I just got tired of setting money on fire any time I tried to get the truck aligned. Take this with a grain of salt, a slice of lime, and a healthy shot of tequila.

Caster is upwards of 5 degrees but I can't remember off hand. Most of that is due to the camburg upper arms adding lots in. I run the rear alignment cam basically adjusted so the control arm bushing is pushed out as far as possible with the front pulled in closer to the center of the vehicle.

This pushes the tire away from the pinch weld, and gives you more caster. Caster is responsible for making the wheel self center and the vehicle track straight/stable at higher speeds.

Camber is slightly negative since I have my coilovers set high and camber goes positive on these trucks under compression. Its not true neutral probably 0.25 degrees negative but that is without anyone in the vehicle, realistically its probably 0 with me and a passenger in it.

Toe is set to as close to 0 as possible.

I based the setup off the recommended spec on tundrasolutions and just tried to get as close to it as I could. The alignment is closer than I have gotten at any shop previously, nothing rubs, the wheel is straight, and it handles well for a truck with light springs in the back, stiff coilovers in the front, and no sway bar to be found.

Sean

 

[Kpack]

Thanks for the tips. I'm leaning more and more towards doing my own alignments from now on. I'll have to look at that kit and see if it makes sense.

I just got the truck back from alignment and it's better in some areas, worse in others. Better: no rubbing on the pinch weld or firewall. Wheels more centered in the wheel well. Worse: steering wheel is slightly off-center to the right and the truck pulls slightly to the right. Can I just correct this on my own with a toe adjustment? It's real hassle taking it back in to have them realign.

The tires don't hit the pinch weld or firewall, but do rub the frame at full lock. I will try the Spidertrax spacers to get the tires of the frame, but I'm not sure if the wheels are forward enough to avoid interference on the firewall.

Here are the specs from the alignment. See anything you don't like? I went back last night and tweaked the cams until it looked better so I wouldn't destroy the tires on the way to the shop. Looks like my eyeball alignment was pretty close if those numbers are accurate.

 

[smokeysevin]

Can you post a picture of the cams and what position they are? One thing I don't like is that the camber is positive on one side and negative on the other. Realistically you probably wouldnt notice but it should be the same side to side. You could probably fix the steering angle offset and pull yourself but it can be tedious. Caster will pretty much always be "out of spec" with camburg arms but that isn't bad, they add more caster which in my opinion is a good thing.

Sean

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[Kpack]

Can you post a picture of the cams and what position they are? One thing I don't like is that the camber is positive on one side and negative on the other. Realistically you probably wouldnt notice but it should be the same side to side. You could probably fix the steering angle offset and pull yourself but it can be tedious. Caster will pretty much always be "out of spec" with camburg arms but that isn't bad, they add more caster which in my opinion is a good thing.

Sean

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I was actually hoping for more caster, but at least it's better than what it was. If my steering wheel is centered there is no pull. Would that just be a toe adjustment?

Here are the cams. Interesingly the passenger side is opposite of what I thought it would be....I expected rear out, front in.
Passenger front

Passenger rear

Driver's front

Driver's rear

 

[GoodEnoughforGabe]

Following along for this alignment discussion. I have a 04 Tundra, 2.5 inch STIFF suspension up front with winch and front bumper. 1 inch lift back with sagggggyyyy original leaf springs. I'm interested into what you'll find out both doing it yourselves and going to shops. I see you're located in WA, i'm in the seattle/eastside area, do you have any good recommendations for alignment shops that know what they are doing?

 

[Kpack]

Following along for this alignment discussion. I have a 04 Tundra, 2.5 inch STIFF suspension up front with winch and front bumper. 1 inch lift back with sagggggyyyy original leaf springs. I'm interested into what you'll find out both doing it yourselves and going to shops. I see you're located in WA, i'm in the seattle/eastside area, do you have any good recommendations for alignment shops that know what they are doing?

Still trying to find a good alignment. My last before this one was the straightest I've ever had, but the wheels were set way too far back and the tires tore up the rear inner fender liner and firewall. Drove me nuts every time I was on the trail.
I've had it done by 3 different places with 3 wildly different results. So the option of doing it myself seems more and more enticing.

Off topic, but if you want to go wheeling there are some great places around me. Liberty and Manastash are awesome.

 

[FirstGenTundra]

Here are my alignment numbers if it helps. I've been told get as much caster as you can on our trucks. I'm running 285/70/17s now.