3rd & 4th Generation (1992–1996 & 1997–2001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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My car tires are wearing unevenly. I got a quote from the garage I got my wheels aligned from to change the struts for $700. He said that to fully align the car it would be necessary to replace the struts.
I was wondering if anyone here had any opinion on the alignment report. Hopefully a wheel alignment technician. Do you think I should get these struts replaced right away? I'm still new at learning about the caster, toe, camber.
Below are some pictures of the tires. I am planning to get the tires changed as soon as possible, I don't feel that these tires are safe. The reason the tires on the rear of the car are strongly worn out is because I rotated them from the front last week.
Front Tires:
Driver Side Front Tire
Passenger Side Front Tire:
Rear Tires:
Driver Side Rear Tire
Passenger Side Rear Tire
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1997 Camry I4 2.2L 5SFE 185K Miles
1991 Camry I4 2.0L 3SFE 258K Miles
Replacing the struts won't fix an alignment issue like that. Normal spring sag causing camber to go negative and would require new springs to bring ride height back to normal level.
You need a set of camber bolts front and rear.
If you have over 150k on the struts, then I would replace them as preventive maintenance. If the car handles/rides well, then keep your old ones and get those eccentric camber bolts for the strut.
Rockauto probably has them cheaper. And, your local auto part stores will be able to get them.
I wouldn't go back to the shop that tried to sell you new struts when you needed some camber bolts. They sound like crooks to me.
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Preventive maintenance prevents mechanical problems. Ripe out your owners manual's maintenance schedule and start some common sense intervals for ALL fluids in your vehicle.
Last edited by deadrx7conv; 10-08-2010 at 03:37 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to deadrx7conv For This Useful Post:
Don't worry. Its the job of the alignment tech to point out anything wrong. And, when nothing is wrong, they'll give you the big estimate on bogus repairs. Struts and shocks are always pushed by alignment techs whether you need them or not. If there was an issue with a loose ball joint or tie rod, they would show you that. And, a good tech wouldn't let you drive away with it loose. Free play is obvious and its easy to push replacement parts on a consumer when there is 'noticeable free play'.
He has ~identical negative camber on all four tires. That is not caused by any single event like the ball joint, tie rod, control arm... 4 equally old and sagging springs easily fixed with some camber bolts for the struts.
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Preventive maintenance prevents mechanical problems. Ripe out your owners manual's maintenance schedule and start some common sense intervals for ALL fluids in your vehicle.
The Following User Says Thank You to deadrx7conv For This Useful Post:
When I said I would get the tires changed asap I sure did mean it more than I thought. I had 4 new tires placed on the vehicle just hours after the wheels were aligned. The car drives wonderfully, and no longer pulls to the left. Sam's Club had a $60 off offer with a set of 4 BFGoodrich Tires.
Pictures of the new tires:
Front Tires
Driver Side Front
Passenger Side Front
Rear Tires
Driver Side Rear
Passenger Side Rear
I truly appreciate the input from all of you.
One of the reasons I chose to get the alignment was because I just recently replaced my bellows boot, and in doing so also replaced the outer tie rod end on the passenger side of the vehicle. Looks to me like this camber kit is the way to go in the future if it gets worse. Currently the alignment seems to be all within specifications according to the data sheet.
The shop did say that for $700 they would replace the struts and springs. I guess that's nice, but I do like the idea of the camber kit being able to keep the problems at bay. Looks like I have a lot of new stuff to learn about this camber kit.
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1997 Camry I4 2.2L 5SFE 185K Miles
1991 Camry I4 2.0L 3SFE 258K Miles
are you sure those old tires weren't simply under-inflated for a long period of time?
wear on all 4 is almost identical and on both sides ... surely alignment out of spec had something to do with that too.
keep new tires pressure at 33psi at cold all around and you will be good.
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Last edited by fenixus; 10-08-2010 at 11:25 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to fenixus For This Useful Post:
It's good that you brought it up since I'm sure a lot of people do not keep an eye on their tire pressure. However, I did keep it at 32 psi at all times. I keep an air compressor with me wherever I go. I think the bad alignment probably did those tires in. I just got back from a joy/test ride and the car is driving like it did when I drove it from the dealership. New tires/alignment... Happy days.
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1997 Camry I4 2.2L 5SFE 185K Miles
1991 Camry I4 2.0L 3SFE 258K Miles
Yeah, DeadRX7 is right. The evenly negative camber is a sign of old, sagging springs. But they're still within spec. It would be nice to be 0 to -0.5 deg.
But unless OP wants to replace the components (ideally with new assemblies like QuickStrut with all new components), I'd just watch the tire wear and rotate/balance regularly (Costco does it free every 5000 miles, for example).
And right, as Fenixus pointed out, I was curious about the wear on the outside of the tire as well. It almost looked like under inflation.
It does look like the tire was under-inflated, but I assure you the tire was inflated to 32-34 psi most of the time that I owned the tires. The previous tires I had were Firestone FR380's. According to many reviews online, the tire is known to become warped over time, noisy, and a rough ride. I never liked the tires. They were already on the car when I bought it, so I just decided to run them out. I check tire pressure very often for gas mileage purposes and ride stability.
Fortunately the reviews for these tires have been mostly positive. I would love the camber to be between -0.5 and 0. I did notice the almost equally negative camber the front and rear. New springs/struts may not be a bad idea, considering the car does have over 175K miles on it. However, I like deadrx7conv's idea of getting the camber kit for the car. I do not want to take any risks so it looks like the Ingall's Camber Kit might be the way to go. It looks like with it I would be able to adjust about 1 degree positive or negative camber with the kit. Does anyone have any experience with installing these kits? Will you need another alignment after installing these camber bolts?
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1997 Camry I4 2.2L 5SFE 185K Miles
1991 Camry I4 2.0L 3SFE 258K Miles
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Wheel Alignment Report Gen 4 97 Camry
Linear Mode
