Alignment Question

[tonyreo]

I have a 2006 Camry LE 4 cyl. with about 31,000 miles on it.
I noticed a very slight shimmy in the front wheels at highway speeds when the steering wheel is slightly turned.
I called the dealer to get the front wheel alignment checked/adjusted and they told me "the camry has to have a four wheel alignmenmt, a front wheel alignment won't do anything".
I think they are B.S.ing me. Anyone else ever hear of this?

[CMSE07]

Technically you can do a front wheel alignment to get your front in spec but it wont be the "correct" way to do it. the reason is with the rear being adjustable, if your rear is out of spec it will throw off your thrust angle etc...

[Webb26]

There is not much you can do to the rear..its not fully adjustable like the fronts are...

[92ES5sp]

All 4 wheels have adjustable toe. Camber/Caster is non adjustable on a Camry. You cant just align the front without doing the rear first. Same for any car with independant rear suspension.

[Webb26]

There are ways to get around it....although the rear is not fully adjustable...you can buy strut bolts that have lobes on them so that they can adjust the angle of the assembly...giving about 2-3 degrees camber adjustment. But thats basically all you can do. Iono if any has ever tried to buy camber plates and see if that would work...

[TRD VVTi]

Originally Posted by tonyreo

I have a 2006 Camry LE 4 cyl. with about 31,000 miles on it.
I noticed a very slight shimmy in the front wheels at highway speeds when the steering wheel is slightly turned.
I called the dealer to get the front wheel alignment checked/adjusted and they told me "the camry has to have a four wheel alignmenmt, a front wheel alignment won't do anything".
I think they are B.S.ing me. Anyone else ever hear of this?

First things first.

Your shimmy is NOT from an alignment problem. The shimmy is from improper balance. You will notice it more when you're turning. Get the tires balanced and you should be fine.

I had my tires balanced several times and I would still get a vibration at highway speeds. I was really getting pissed off as rebalancing the tires wouldn't help and they didn't have any excessive road force variation. The wheels checked out fine as well. One day while rotating the tires I reached back without looking and grabbed a lugnut and screwed it on. I reached back and grabbed another lugnut and was like; "What the fu*k?" I had grabbed the Toyota locking lugnut and it was ALOT heavier than the regular lugnuts. I decided to install a full set of TRD lugnuts that are all the same. No more balance problems at all. I'm surprised that Toyota makes the locking lugnuts so much heavier.

On to the alignment.

Your car does require a four wheel alignment. To properly setup the entire vehicle the the rear will be adjusted first. This will set the thrust angle of the vehicle. Next the front will be aligned using the rear as a reference. This will also give you a straight/centered steering wheel.

I have an '06 LE 2.4L as well. Nice car!

[johnnyzee]

agree^^
i'd do the balancing first before i do any alignment, seeing as it's still new and you haven't touched the suspension or changed any tires/rims.