Toyota Repair: 2000 Camry Rear Main and Front Pump Seals, rear main oil seal, toyota dealer

Question
Hi Ted,
I just discovered an oil leak in my 2000 Camry, around 52,000 miles. I took it to a Toyota Dealer to fix and they replaced the rear main oil seal and front pump seal. This was covered under the power train warranty. After driving the car home, I realized the steering wheel was crooked when driving straight. The next day I took it to have the 5,000 mile tire rotation and now the car is steering to the right. Toyota says its not their problem, tire company says it is because replacing those seals causes the alignment to go out. The car was perfectly aligned before I brought it to Toyota. I had the alignment done in September of 2003. What should I do?

Marie Colon

Answer
Don't waste your time with the tire company, they're right it's not their problem, when the transmission is removed to replace the rear main seal the steering rack has to be removed from the front subframe, I don't know what their repair procedures are but it is possible that something was not put back together right causing the pulling to one side condition, I think you need to contact the service manager and voice your concern, the car wasn't having this problem before you took it to them and now it does, it makes logical sense that they have somehow caused this and they need to recheck their work.