HELP Front Suspension issue

[B3A5T]

Hi everyone, here's the story: My 2001 went in for new CVs, UCAs and the steering rack mounting bushing. It has OME torsion bars and a 2 inch lift. So after a few days days or trying to align the shop couldnt get the alignment and the car pulled to the right, plus there was a shaking on the steering wheel around 80mph even after 2 trips to balance the tires. Before the install everything was fine. Whats worse and really matters to me is that NOW the right front wheel rubs against the fender when turning right. This was not an issue at all before the new install. Im running 275/70-18s BFG AT K2 btw with 2 inch Slee spacers. Again, not an issue at all before the install of the UCAs and CVs. The machanic did mentioned that he "moved' the tire back (?). Is that even possible? So it seems to me that the left tire is centered (to OEM specs)while the right is perhaps 1/8 to 1/4 rearwards in relation to where center is. I say this because the left has 1/8 inch clearance to the fender when rturning and tire is the closest to the fender (rear part) where the right rubs when turning in the same manner (opposite turn).
Anyway, took the car to another place and got it aligned. They said the torsion bars were uneven (one cranked more than the other reason it was drifting right) and that the camber was off. Now the car tracks straight and the shaking is almost gone -BUT- the rubbing is still there. This alignment shop is the best we have in Dallas IMHO but they didnt check for the rubbing and I failed to mention it bc the prev shop said to me it was fixed. They did check and measure distances and didnt say a word about one tore been further forward etc. Reason I didnt said a word of the rubbing is that I trusted it was fixed and didnt check till I did a hard slow turn and there it was.
So what can be wrong with the install? What should I look for or ask the shop to correct? They seem to not know. I need help bc I dont want to mess up a pretty new tire or have to cut me fender. It seems wrong in principle that one side rubs vs the other.
Thanks for any advice in advance.
Cheers

 

[mmaakk]

Have you checked your turn stopper on lower control arm, maybe they adjusted one or both. Assuming if this is happening at full turn... good luck!

 

[seanz0rz]

My steering stops were missing and the threads were trashed. I tapped bigger and installed a bolt but it did not really solve the problem properly.

 

[B3A5T]

Here's the left side at turn. Enough clearance:

Here's the right side rubbing:

Great thanks! But it's almost at full turn and the tire rubs. It's not like it's over turning. Then it hits the plastic.

 

[abuck99]

Need some more info: When asking for alignment help, it'd be helpful to post up your alignment specs, also posting the list of your mods, including the brand etc.

Chances are your tire rubs the back of the fenderwell because the Caster is set a tad too positive- guessing you have SPC UCA's? If so, do you know what setting they put your ball joint to (B)? To eliminate the rub you will need to adjust the caster setting less by at least 1 degree from where it is now, and best if done by adjusting the ball joint first then fine tuning the cam adjuster.

 

[B3A5T]

Need some more info: When asking for alignment help, it'd be helpful to post up your alignment specs, also posting the list of your mods, including the brand etc.

Chances are your tire rubs the back of the fenderwell because the Caster is set a tad too positive- guessing you have SPC UCA's? If so, do you know what setting they put your ball joint to (B)? To eliminate the rub you will need to adjust the caster setting less by at least 1 degree from where it is now, and best if done by adjusting the ball joint first then fine tuning the cam adjuster.

This may be it, the UPCs are SPC. I'll check what setting they did tomorrow. But this sounds promising, thanks!

 

[abuck99]

Here is the diagram on how to set up the ball joints: if they are set to "B" rotate them to "C", to decrease the caster.

 

[Skidoo]

I am running the "D" setting on my SPC UCA and believe many others here are using the "D" setting to get factory spec on caster.
Of course the setting depends on how high the front is lifted, so would be handy to know that.

 

[perk]

I have a 2.5" lift and run the D setting. The install instructions (the diagram shown above is part of the instructions) state to use the D setting for 2-3" of lift. The instructions also describe proper alignment procedures. I took it to an off road shop for alignment, and the tech still had to carefully read the instructions to do it correctly.
I'm sure you paid a pretty penny to the shop who did the work. Rubbing, pulling, and a shaking steering wheel (that wasnt occuring prior to their work) is unacceptable, and they have to make it right. if uneven torsion bars was the cause of the pull, you would have noticed it prior to the work. Who did the lift? I suggest confirming proper droop and rake, as this will affect road manners. in regards to the cvs, i would ask if they greased the needle bearings in the hub and checked the axle c clip gaps; not that these are likely to cause the symptoms you describe, but they are often overlooked but important parts of an axle job Are the new cvs oem? I've read about problems with aftermarket cvs. Good luck.

 

[B3A5T]

@abuck99
That diagram will help a lot! I hope that's what wrong and this fixes it.
Thanks!
@Skidoo
Great info, this gives me a place to start and a guide on what works. Cheers!
@perk
The reason why the OME torsion bars were uneven is that the mechanic tried lowering the front a bit to fix the issue. Illl for sure ask which setting they used. I have a 2 inch OME lift with 1 inch spacers and Ironman shocks. The original lift was done by Baertrax but it didn't include the UCAs, the car did align and drive straight etc. but Baertrax has changed hands and is not what it use to be. This new place was recommended by a local and I took my car there to instal the new UCAS, rebuild and reboot my OEM CVs etc. The shop did mentioned that they called Slee for help when they couldn't figure why the car pulled to the fight and that they checked droop not sure rake. But all these things are very helpful. As I have zero idea about this stuff and the reason I hired an off-road Toyota specialist shop.
Thanks!

 

[B3A5T]

So I checked the settings in the UCAs and they are both set to D. Any other suggestions on why my right rubs vs the left?

 

[ponytl]

i doubt the plastic is the same on each side, so I would not measure off that... a heat gun and a little pushing will give you the clearance you want easy to remold the plastic

 

[B3A5T]

@ponytl :
That's an easy solution, actually I could dremel it off but that doesn't fix the fact that one side is off compared to the other send that the car wasn't rubbing before changing UCAs.
My LC is accident free so I think the plastics are equal and the geometry should be too.
Cheers

 

[duggy]

The plastics are hardly a way to measure if your suspension is off, especially down to the 1/8". If you are sure that the alignment is spot on, trim the fender liner and use the rest of your time for beer

 

[B3A5T]

The plastics are hardly a way to measure if your suspension is off, especially down to the 1/8". If you are sure that the alignment is spot on, trim the fender liner and use the rest of your time for beer

Trust me I want to do that, but it bothers me that it used to be ok and now it's not. In my mind the geometry is wrong. Then again I'm not an expert on this.
I just drove it to work (22 miles freeway 80mph) and it tracks straight and feels "supple".
So if the experienced guys here think it's ok to have a car that used to be free or rubbing but after a change of UCAs and refurbished oem CVs it now rubs but just on one side then ok, I guess. But my OCD is still chipping away in my brain lol
Cheers

 

[duggy]

Do you have the spec sheet for the alignment that was done?

 

[ponytl]

@ponytl :
That's an easy solution, actually I could dremel it off but that doesn't fix the fact that one side is off compared to the other send that the car wasn't rubbing before changing UCAs.
My LC is accident free so I think the plastics are equal and the geometry should be too.
Cheers

maybe it was off before and now it's correct... I can promise you the plastics are not equal side to side they mount with SLOTS and OVERSIZE holes they can move around quite a bit.... you should not use them for a reference point

 

[DirtDawg]

@ponytl is correct. The alignment techs could have bumped the plastic, shifting it a little bit, you never know. Have you made sure the plastic is completely bolted up? I had some worn/broken clips that caused some rubbing.

I think your overthinking this IMO, but we all tend to with these nice rigs.

As long as your alignment is good and you're cross-leveled there's nothing to worry about, just push the liner back a bit.

 

[abuck99]

If the plastic is out of place it's prob because the wheel has rubbed on it and moved it.

 

[B3A5T]

Well, the plastics look intact, all clips are on etc. I use them as reference bc thats where the rub happens. Is there anyone out there that could explain to me why would this happen/change after the upgrade of UCAs? It really makes zero sense to me bc the other side works the way it should with enough clearance etc.