Cross Cambre Issue

[offroadinfrontier]

First post here, nice forum guys!

I have 118K on my 2001, the previous owner didn't maintain the suspension well. Had to replace all struts (were all horrible) last month, threw on Tokico HPs, 1000+ times better. The old tires were showing wear marks, so I threw on Potenza G90(?) tires, got an alignment. First day, everything was like a new car, but the day after it started pulling again.

Mechanic at Firestone (got lifetime alignment) says my cross cambre is at 1.0, should be between -0.8 and 0.8. He didn't know what could be done about it (and I don't really know how they can adjust cross cambre). He said cross-cambre on Solaras is the actual body of the car, not adjustable, and is messed up because of age of car. Anyone have any ideas on what to do?

Thanks!

[unbalancedwood]

Well was their frame damage to the car?

"Cross camber is the difference, side-to-side, between camber settings. More than half a degree difference may cause a steering pull toward the side with the most (positive) camber."

I have no idea what that means though. Camber kits may be needed if somthing is wrong with the suspension to begin with. Maybe someone knows the answer...

[offroadinfrontier]

When I bought her, I noticed the bumper was a little beat up, and one of the side lights is curved a bit more than the others (a pic would explain it better). There doesn't seem to be any other damage noticed by me or any of the mechanics I took it to beforehand (and the online report I pulled from the VIN showed no wrecks), so I figured an idiot drove it into the side of something, threw on a new bumper, and called it a day.

There are some funny points in front of the radiator, though, but I've never seen another Camry/Solara to compare it to...

The only other thing I can think of: before I replaced anything (the shocks were SHOT, it bounced worse than my 1987 300zx before I replaced its original, OEM shocks 3 months ago), a speed bump where I lived was extremely high, I scraped the middle of my car just barely a few times, and landed on it twice, both with passengers in the back. I wasn't driving fast at all either time, but the jolt was pretty hard... I don't see marks on the underbody, though.

Gah, I am completely at a loss with this. I've yet to hear of a cross-cambre kit, or an alignment issue with cross-cambre before, and of course the mechanics keep sending me in loops. >_<

[offroadinfrontier]

::still learning!!::

could this be what the mechanics are talking about? It would make sense - I dont know our proper ride height, but maybe being driven so long with shoddy struts weakened one or more of my springs, resulting in uneven Caster levels?

Caster:
Caster is the tilting of the uppermost point of the steering axis either forward or backward (when viewed from the side of the vehicle). A backward tilt is positive (+) and a forward tilt is negative (-). Caster influences directional control of the steering but does not affect the tire wear and is not adjustable on this vehicle. Caster is affected by the vehicle height, therefore it is important to keep the body at its designed height. Overloading the vehicle or a weak or sagging rear spring will affect caster.


When the rear of the vehicle is lower than its designated trim height, the front suspension moves to a more positive caster. If the rear of the vehicle is higher than its designated trim height, the front suspension moves to a less positive caster. With too little positive caster, steering may be touchy at high speed and wheel returnability may be diminished when coming out of a turn. If one wheel has more positive caster than the other, that wheel will pull toward the center of the vehicle. This condition will cause the vehicle to pull or lead to the side with the least amount of positive caster.

if thats the case, is there a such thing as non-dropped aftermarket springs? lol...

[offroadinfrontier]

nobody with experience in this matter?

well i guess i could throw on some springs & get another alignment and see if that fixes it.

[Mole]

how much of a pull are you getting?

small technical stuff like being on uneven ground or different air pressure can cause a pull.

[offroadinfrontier]

most of the time it's just a bit annoying, but my main beef with this issue is that it's so random. Sometimes my car will try to pull across 4 lanes by itself, other times it just tugs a bit. the most annoying part, it mainly pulls to the left, but sporadically it wanders left, right, left, right... it's frustrating.

i searched a bit more and found one forum where a few guys have the same problem with no fix. they all had stock suspension, though...

i plan on throwing on new springs and a trd sway bar, but i don't want to have a new suspension on a car that does this, it's no fun at all and is getting more frustrating by the day.

[offroadinfrontier]

Well, i took it to my local Toyota to see what they could do...I tried to tell the mechanic the situation and what the other shop said, but he completely ignored me and said that there was a $98.00 diagnostics fee. He said that if I get the car aligned there, the fee is dropped and I'm only charged for the alignment. I repeated that the other shop could not align it properly, so it would do no good. I asked why I should pay $98.00 for the car to be diagnosed just to hear him say they can't align it. He asked the year, then said it was out of warranty (as if I didn't know my 6-year-old car was out of warranty) and said sorry he couldn't help...

When I said that the other shop said my "cross-alignment" was off, he said that they just need to align it... so I asked him if the Solaras' cross-alignment (or caster) was adjustable, and he said no...

The other shop I took it to didn't charge me anything at all, and I don't have $98.00 to hear another mechanic tell me what the first one said... this Toyota mechanic couldn't tell me if there was even any way to fix a caster issue...

[unbalancedwood]

I think you need to get your $98 back...

[offroadinfrontier]

oh no, i didn't pay them. what the mechanic said was ludicrus: i already know it wont align right, so why pay to be told that?! gah... same place also wanted a few thousand to replace my struts - when I said I had my own parts, they were "ONLY" going to charge me a little over $1,000.00. Got all 4 done next door for $375.00, no problems.... anyway, no I didn't do that. Besides, he wouldn't tell me how much an alignment by itself costs...

[Solorange]

What size tires did you put on when you got new tires? I know sometimes my car will pull to the right or left because I put wider tires on it. If you got wider tires that could be causing it. Someone else correct me if im wrong but the steering is set up for the stock wheel size of 215/60/16 and if you go wider it causes you to lose a little more control.

[offroadinfrontier]

i stuck with stock size, bridgestone potenza g009.. awesome tires, especially in the rain.

the tires have barely worn at all, so its too soon to judge if theyre wearing unevenly.

[TadS]

Reading your posts I can't tell if you're saying that the caster, or camber is causing your pull. If it's the caster you might be boned, as it’s not adjustable. Camber is an easy fix with a magna-cam bolt.

[offroadinfrontier]

sorry, my car knowledge is still growing. the mechanic said "cross-alignment," and that it was not adjustable... i measured a few days ago and found my rear to be squatting just a little bit more than my front.. i thought our rears were supposed to be higher on stock suspension. i think it has to be the springs being worn from having bad shocks for so long.

[SolaraBlue]

^^^ it very well could be your springs or it might be your new tires. sometimes with new tires they need to be "broken in" a little. if your ride pulls around the same spots of the road on your way home or wherever, the new tires are most likely the cause. give it a couple hundren miles or so to wear a bit.... i had the same issue.