Is there a camber kit that provides more tha 1.5^ adjustment?

Hi all,

I am looking for a camber kit that will provide more than the OEM 1.5^ camber adjustment on the front wheels of my truck (2012 PreRunner, 2WD, 4.0L OEM tires - not modified).

I have positive camber in the front RH wheel, causing the outer edge of the tire to wear prematurely. I have taken it to 2 Toyota dealerships & Tire Kingdom. No luck. They all say the cam is maxed out & I need a larger than OEM cam (best to match bolts with both front tires). The front LH wheel is also maxed out, but has only 0.1^ positive camber so I am OK with that. I have an alignment plan with TK, but the only kit they can find is $190 per side!!! I don't need a new LCA. I don't even need grease nipples (zerks) as I am in FL & the bolts/sleeves have no corrosion.

It is a work truck & I always have a load on it. My avatar shows the truck with the cargo carrier & trencher, but I only have the cargo carrier on for 2-3 months during the wet season here. The trencher is on the carrier about 1-2 days per week, otherwise the carrier folds up against the tailgate. The other 9 months are just with tools & materials (no cargo carrier). I have had positive camber problems since new (Oct 2011), before I loaded the truck, & then with various types of loads, & before & after I put the truck rack on.

I have a "forever" warranty on the engine & drive train (will see how that goes...), & have had the truck serviced at a Toyota dealership every 5k for preventative reasons (I cannot afford to not be able to run my business). The positive camber in both front wheels has been an ongoing problem. TK fixed the LH side about a year ago, but still wearing the outer tire on the RH side. New tires in December from TK (same OEM tires).

Please let me know of any kits available. Thank-you.

 

What do you mean by a " camber kit " ? If you don't have a lift on your truck how are you stuck with positive camber ?

 

Wtf...? Are you lifted or not? It sounds like an oem control arm issue with too much lift.

 

Evenflow - Camber bolt kit. Like these https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...lem-solver-caster-camber-cam-bolt-kit.317057/ but need greater than the standard 1.5 degrees of adjustment from the cam.

techride - I am not lifted. It is my work truck. Will look at the lift on the control arm - thanks.

 

I guess I'm not following you. If the suspension is stock and it is not able to be adjusted within specs, why isn't Toyota replacing whatever is wrong.

 

That is nothing but a replacement cam bolt with a grease zerk to prevent it corroding and freezing up. If you do not have over 3" of lift on your front end and you have a stock suspension set up it is impossible for you to be stuck with positive camber. Looking at the photo of your truck in your avatar you are sitting pretty low.

 

Did you buy the truck used ? Or have you ever had an accident or smack a curb really hard with that right front wheel ? You either have a very bad alignment tech or possibly a bent spindle maybe ? It is impossible to gain any more range of motion for your cams because they sit in a slot in the frame and that slot can not be made any bigger. A larger diameter cam would actually reduce the movement available in that slot.

 

kodiakisland - Toyota (2 dealerships) cannot find anything wrong, neither can Tire Kingdom, & another local garage I took it to. They all say it needs a larger cam on the bolt to straighten the camber from positive.

Evenflow - Yes it does sit lower with the cargo carrier & trencher, certainly doesn't help, but that is only for 3 months of the year. Still problematic without them hitched up.

Bought the truck new. No accidents or curb rash/impacts.

I did not look at the slot regarding fitting a larger cam into it - I will have a look at it tonight. Thanks for that advice. None of the dealerships or garages/techs mentioned that. Still, I am in Florida & the standard of workmanship here is, on average, very poor throughout all the trades. Only plumbing & electrical have an apprenticeship program. The rest are short courses of up to a year at best, with ad-hoc on the job training. This positive camber problem has not been diagnosed properly yet, so I am trying here. I am also asking around my area (Parrish, FL) & the wider region to find someone who really knows how to resolve this issue properly (not a fix that causes another issue).

 

You should do a google search and check out some diagrams of how cam tabs work, when you see it it will make perfect sense. It is just a bolt with an off center washer on the head so when the washer is turned it moves the bolt across the slot. I want to make sure that you understand that your truck sitting low is not the problem, you get positive camber from your truck sitting too high and out of the range of adjustability. If your truck was sitting too low your tires would be leaning in like a low rider car. This is why what you are saying / the problem you are having does not make any sense buddy.

 

Evenflow & DoorDing - Thanks for taking time to respond. I have looked at diagrams, a spec sheet, & the truck. I have an engineering background http://www.newzealandirrigation.com/About-Us.html (31 years as a contractor) but have been stumped by this simple problem. It just shouldn't be like this, but so far it is...

Additional weight in the back will produce a bending moment/cantilever resulting in less weight over the front axel. This reduced weight can attribute to alignment problems, particularly if the front tires/wheels are subject to small impacts (potholes, curbs) that otherwise would not produce a misalignment. It is easier to knock a wheel out of alignment when it has less (or no) weight upon it.

DoorDing - I have never heard of this problem (with all OEM parts) before either. I have searched everywhere I could find, but can't find any other info about it, other than it being resolved by a simple realignment. I can't find larger cam bolts either (but the slot size may prevent that). I have been through many realignments (hence the Tire Kingdom plan), but the front RH is not even close. TK do say it is within spec, but you can see it is off from the front without even looking hard at it.

I am just frustrated. My apologies if I offend anyone, I don't mean to. I am tired of the waste of time rotating tires, then after 2/3rds of their life, having them all flipped on the rims - so the other edge out... It is a great truck to work out of, I can reach into the well deck easily for tools & materials. Cheap to run. I just need to cut down on tire service time - I wait far too long at TK & dealerships, even with 7am appointments.

 

something is bent?

bent spindle maybe?

SPC upper control arms would let you adjust camber at the top but if you have to do that, something is wrong.

 

Don't mean to be rude buddy but with stock suspension and a non lifted truck it is physically impossible that you can't alleviate positive camber...even with 500lbs of cinder blocks in your bed. Tons of people have a full 3" lift and no issue with positive camber. Can you hop under your truck and post a picture for us of your front and rear cam tabs ?

 

What are your hub to fender measurements up front? What position are your alignment cams in right now? Can you post a picture of the cams and/or a view looking straight back at your truck so we can see the camber?

 

These are the 3 cams of the front right LCA that I can get shots of. Top pic is the rear cam (4th from front), then the other side of that bolt. 3rd pic is the cam 2nd from the front. I could not get a good shot of the front (1st) cam without removing the skid plate, & I didn't bother doing that as I was working off the floor & running out of time for other things. It did feel that the eccentric was maxed out. I am taking the truck into the dealership again on Monday (it is service time again), & will check for a bent spindle while it is hoisted. I don't think they could spot a frame issue, so I will ask around to find a shop with someone who is competent.

You can see the wear on the front RH tire. I rotate them every 5k miles. These tires now have 10k miles on them.

 

Holy crap...Well there is your problem buddy, in that position your lower control arms are pulled in as far as they can be which is causing your positive camber. Take a look at the photo door ding posted for you and you will see that in that position your cam bolts are pulled all the way to the back of the slot. Your alignment techs are absolute morons...

 

Oh shit after a second look ...the idiot also flattened your cam tabs too. Take a close look at that 3rd photo and you will see that the cam washer is not between two " walls " or tabs. One of them was flattened by the cam being hulked and smashing it down. So, now there is nothing to hold that cam in place.

 

This! I'm thinking someone is seriously confused between negative and positive camber, and has tried to adjust it the wrong way.

And this. Hopefully the tab and simply be bent back out to it's original position, but likely will need to be repaired or reinforced better than that. Once the cam bolt is properly torqued in it's proper position, the tabs don't really do anything anyway.

 

I took it in to Lakewood Toyota, Bradenton, FL. They said the cam bolts are not in backwards. They said they could do an alignment, but I have had it aligned there before and was unhappy with it.

So I went to a different Tire Kingdom (have a 5 year alignment policy with them from this set of tires), in Palmetto, FL. Explained the situation & waited 2 hrs for their best tech to get to my truck. He said the caster was out & that it looked like people had tried to counteract it using camber. He realigned it & it looks good now.

On the vehicle alignment report the camber is still off (see attached), but better - and it looks better visually. Camber should be 0^ but is this worth chasing here?

 

What do mean reversed ? We never said they were reversed just positioned incorrectly. Did they fix your cam tab that they smashed flat ? I can't open the attachment is your camber in the green ?

 

I suspect the broken / bent / missing cam tab is your issue