Shims

Was the '05 Prius manufactured with shims in place, or were shims emplaced as needed in the factory, in order to align properly the rear wheels, which have no ability to be adjusted directly?

 

What has Toyota suggested for such cars whose rear toe is out of line?

 

Hey all, does anyone out there know of any advice from Toyota?

 

Here's the fuller story and questions that I have based upon my readings on the subject.

Recently, my son sideswiped a storm drain that sticks out from a curb. The result was that my steering wheel was off-kilter and a rim was fractured. A mechanic inspected the car and found that components of the rear suspension had to be replaced, too (incidental or consequent, I do not know). Upon his installation of them, including a used solid beam axle, I brought the car to a shop to have the tire on the affected side mounted onto a new wheel and to have the alignment measured. The rear camber (?and toe) is/are well out of spec.. This is clear even to me as the negative camber is visible.

I have seen online recommendations from knowledgeable-seeming car owners that for the alignment to be within specs. is insufficient. Also, I don't know what to do about the misalignment: whether the next step should be to have the frame pulled (it's hard for me to imagine that the low-to-the-ground road hazard incident could have bent the frame in any serious way; but that's Toyota's routine advice, even w/o their mechanic's seeing it) or whether I should have wheel shims installed to align the wheels (my usual shop doesn't do alignments; the technician in the shop in which the alignment's been measured has told me about shims, but isn't allowed by his boss to install them); or, whether to have aftermarket rear adjustable camber links (if there be such a thing for this car) installed to solve the problem. Would adjustable links be better or worse than shims? less or more expensive? And, I don't know whether I should hold responsible in any way the mechanic who's replaced the rear suspension and axle.

Thanks for detailed replies and advice.

 

Thank you, valde3. I have seen online recommendations from knowledgeable car owners that for the alignment to be within specs. is insufficient. Any advice on what alignment measurements I should specify when I'll have it re-aligned?

 

Does anyone disagree w/valde3 (above)?

Should I have aftermarket rear adjustable camber links (if there be such a thing for this car) installed to solve the problem? Would adjustable links be better or worse than shims? less or more expensive? Which cure, including the ones that valde3 has suggested, above, would be the safest?

Finally, I have read recommendations from knowledgeable car owners that for the alignment to be within specs. is insufficient. Any advice on what alignment measurements I should specify when I'll have this '05 Prius re-aligned?

 

How about aftermarket adjustable rear camber links<http://www.google.com/search?q="adjustable+rear+camber+links"+"2005"+"toyota+prius&num=100&safe=active&source=lnms&tbm=shop>?
Do adjustable camber links work by bending the axle?