Bent 'beam' precludes rear alignment??

http://priuschat.com/forums/care-ma...ting/51002-rear-wheel-alignment-solution.html

 

The front half of the Prius and some electrical bits in the Prius are pretty unique but the back axle is the same or virtually the same as Toyota use in a lot of their smaller vehicles. I think the rear sway bar is interchangeable with Corolla. This type of suspension is pretty common in other manufacturers vehicles too because it is simple, cheap and compact but gets the job done. I'm surprised no one has made a rig to straighten these axles yet. I guess the shim method is a good way to go as it doesn't require stressing the components. If you go down the shim road make sure there are no signs of stress on the axle assembly.

Good luck with the dealer.

 

Actually, the official fix per the repair manual is to inspect and replace any bent components. This would mean replacing the axle beam. $$$ ($ x 10^3)

I wouldn't hold my breath on the class action suit.

 

What I am saying is it can be handled just like any axle of a similar design, there is nothing special about it.
Most times the beam across between the trailing arms gets bent. There is no stub axle as such, the axle shaft points inward from the wheels and the bearing housing is bolted to the axle assembly. Even rear drive cars have front axles like this now. I know GM do this, not sure about Ford.

 

Hi Dominic,

If your used car dealer does anything regarding your rear axle alignment problem, my guess is that they will send your car to a specialty alignment shop so that shims can be used to fix the problem. I really doubt that they will pay to have a new rear beam axle installed.

If you happen to have the current alignment readings please post so that we can comment on how far off the alignment is.

 

My rear toe was .15 LR, .40 RR before I shimmed the RR. Check after shim was .15 both sides.

Have you noticed any abnormal wear on the rear tire? I would expect that you should see the outer rear edge to wear faster than the rest of the tread with excessive toe in.

 

YAYYY.. I thought that this was a 'me-only' situation since I smacked my Prius into a curb at 40 mph and broke two wheels.

I have the same situation with a bent rear beam that was just discovered (?) at 100,000 mi. In speaking with my friendly service writer where I work the cost to me is..

1. a new rear axel at $1800 or so
2. excessive wear on the rear tires since they cannot be brought into alignment.

Well since I'm at 55,000 mi on my second set and likely to go to the full 80,000 I don't see much reason to do the beam replacement. Even if the misalignment caused excessive wear and I had to replace all 4 at 50,000 mile ISO 80,000 mi, I'll go for the expense on the tires.

 

Hi Dominic,

I would say that this is bad enough so that action should be taken. Perhaps the previous owner hopped a curb and threw off the right side of the rear axle.

Since your car is covered under a used car warranty, I suggest that you should ask for the rear axle beam to be replaced since the Toyota official repair policy does not allow adjustment of suspension parts or use of shims.

If that fails and you are left high & dry, then you may want to find a specialty alignment shop that can insert a shim between the axle and the RR axle hub to reduce the toe-in.

 

I am having the same issue with the rear end of my '05 Prius. Please take a look at the attached PDF of my alignment today. I just got new tires installed so if I need to take action, I need to do it ASAP.

Let me know what you think. I am going to look into the EZ Shim as well but I think that I'll be trying to find an alignment shop. Anyone know of one around Northwest Indiana / Chicagoland?

 

Hi Brian,

The front wheel toe-in looks fine. Camber is adjustable and I would have liked to see the left side made less negative (-0.58 degrees is spec.)

Rear toe-in is at max. spec. Right-side camber exceeds spec. If you can find an alignment shop to use shims on the rear axle to reduce toe-in and camber that might reduce drag a bit and maybe improve mpg slightly.

 

Hello.

I am also having problems with a bent axle, causing severe tire wear on the inside of my tires. I was told that I needed to replace the axle beam as it is bent and not repairable. The auto mechanic where I went gave me the following spec sheet on the alignment. Can you Patrick please take a look at it and let me know your thought on how bad my alignment is and if shims are an option? I've attached the spec sheet to this post.

Thanks in advance,

Luis