Slammed on brakes, now alignment is bad.

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Lady pulled out in front of me while I was going 35mph.

Slammed on brakes, ABS did it's best, but they locked up.

Now my alignment is horrible and my steering wheel is off-center about 20 degrees clockwise.

What could cause this?
 
You need to remove the front wheels and take a look. I wouldn't be driving it. Look at the rack & pinion, look at everything! Sounds like you have antiquated rear ABS?
 
Pretty much has to be a stuck caliper. Very doubtful anything was loose enough on the suspension to move around from that short of a stop.
 
Could be a hanging up caliber, sure.

On my last vehicle, a GMC Envoy, the lower control arms are adjusted by loosening three big bolts. This is how alignment is adjusted.

Apparently, they either vibrate loose or the last guy who aligned my truck didnt torque them down enough because I had to do a panic stop much like the OP's and the steering wheel cocked 90 degrees off after that. Since it had been a few years since I had an alignment, I ended up bringing it to Firestone and they corrected it. The left lower control arm was way out of adjustment and they noted the bolts werent torqued all the way.

The force of the panic stop caused the lower control arm to shift. Enough that my steering wheel was now way off center and the whole truck was pulling to the left.

Dont know the front end of a Dakota from a hole in the wall, but if the brake isnt sticking, it was possible, at least on my last vehicle, that a panic brake screwed up the alignment (btw, over on the Envoy/Trailblazer forums, my experience wasnt extraordinary - it had happened to several other members too!)
 
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A sticking caliber is more likely, but a alignment part not holding up to the force of a panic stop can happen, especially with parts that have a lot of use already.
 
Originally Posted By: [email protected]
Could be a hanging up caliber, sure.

On my last vehicle, a GMC Envoy, the lower control arms are adjusted by loosening three big bolts. This is how alignment is adjusted.

Apparently, they either vibrate loose or the last guy who aligned my truck didnt torque them down enough because I had to do a panic stop much like the OP's and the steering wheel cocked 90 degrees off after that. Since it had been a few years since I had an alignment, I ended up bringing it to Firestone and they corrected it. The left lower control arm was way out of adjustment and they noted the bolts werent torqued all the way.

The force of the panic stop caused the lower control arm to shift. Enough that my steering wheel was now way off center and the whole truck was pulling to the left.

Dont know the front end of a Dakota from a hole in the wall, but if the brake isnt sticking, it was possible, at least on my last vehicle, that a panic brake screwed up the alignment (btw, over on the Envoy/Trailblazer forums, my experience wasnt extraordinary - it had happened to several other members too!)

This would make the most sense seeing as how I recently had the front end rebuilt. I did a lot of hard brake tests after the alignment was done, but this one could have been the hardest.

I don't think it's a hanging caliper because the truck coasts well, or as good as it did before and when letting off the brake on mostly flat ground the truck still starts to roll.

Thanks for the ideas guys. I was just wondering if it was yet another part of the steering/suspension that I had to replace.

I'll have it back into the alignment shop and I won't drive it in the mean time.
 
At least on my 94 Dakota the upper a-arms were adjustable and it seems friction, and tiny grooves in the metal, are all that hold the alignment.
 
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
Sounds like something bent....control arm,tie rod end...something.


I would suspect a bushing before something actually bending.
 
I have made dozens of full on stops from very high speeds and my alignment never moves. If yours does after hard braking you most likely have a bushing failing or improperly installed.

It also could be one of the adjusting points was loosened and not re-tightened correctly?

Braking will not hurt your car normally.
 
Define "horrible alignment". Does it pull one way or the other? Steering wheel shaking?

Take the front wheels off and see if you can rotate both hubs by hand and swing the calipers up to inspect the pads. If you need the strength of Zeus (or a large deadblow hammer) to swing the caliper up it's likely that caliper is toast.

I know two people with Dodge Dakotas and one with a Dodge Durango. They've all had to replace both front calipers before 150,000 miles.

Doesn't mean it couldn't be a bushing or screwed up alignment, but as far as I've seen calipers are not a strong point on these vehicles.
 
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