Alignment guys, I need your help please

[Kiwi_ME]

Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
... I would rather adjust it myself...

Totally understandable, I'm the same. You will need a much more precise way of measuring the rotation of each side than just a crayon mark. Best to fabricate something up that you can leave in place while you test it.

 

[CBR.worm]

Yeah, I just got my first alignment on a car at the dealer and the wheel is off center. The shop said it was due to my worn tires. Now I have new tires and the wheel is still off center - big surprise.

I was considering the same thing as you, but I am thinking now that I will try to find a better shop and have it done correctly.

 

[Kiwi_ME]

When I bought my current car (new) the steering wheel was dead straight but the toe-in was slightly excessive. I knew the dealer would not be bother to keep the wheel straight while correcting the toe so I did it myself.

It does take a fine touch to adjust but that's not a problem if you are careful. Each of those divisions represents a change of 0.5mm total toe, assuming you adjust both sides.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Tonight I drove on the opposite side of the road coming home several times and each time the wheel did seem like it was trying to correct itself back to the right. I will try it again tomorrow on back roads where I can drive safely for a longer period of time on the opposite side just to confirm but I do believe this is due to the wheel not being straight when the guy did the alignment. All they use is just a clamp from the brake pedal to the bottom side of the steering wheel and this is not the first time this problem has happened after an alignment was done on my Dakota. I really would rather just correct the steering wheel myself. It would be a lot less trouble than going back to the tire store. Thanks again for everyone's help on this.

 

[Kiwi_ME]

I think the intended test was to see if the wheel is centered when you drive in a straight line without loading the compliance of the steering system on one side or other due to road crown.

If you have pulling to one side while driving straight on a flat surface you might have other alignment (or tire) issues that should be sorted out before final toe-in and wheel centering. Those items need to be adjusted on a proper alignment rack.

 

[Jimmy9190]

It's not pulling to either side. My truck is tracking straight as an arrow, the only problem is the steering wheel is turned to the left by about 2 inches, even when driving straight. I think the alignment is OK and was wondering if the tie rod adjustment would throw anything off or cause any problems.

 

[Kiwi_ME]

No ... you're good to go then as long as you are very precise about changing each side the same, to maintain the same toe.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Thanks. I will try to adjust it when I get home from work tomorrow. The off center steering wheel irritates me and unlike the tire store guy I have plenty of time to tinker with it until it is straight again.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
Yeah, I just got my first alignment on a car at the dealer and the wheel is off center. The shop said it was due to my worn tires. Now I have new tires and the wheel is still off center - big surprise.

I was considering the same thing as you, but I am thinking now that I will try to find a better shop and have it done correctly.


Then take it back to the original shop with both receipts and try to get your money back, or at least some of it. Even if they don't give you a cent, you'll put them on notice that everyone knows what kind of shop they are.

I've done this with other issues and had mixed success. Any money back is money in my pocket, so it's worth a try.

 

[wokeupdead]

If the right wheel is moving by hand when jacked up, that condition needs to be rectified before alignment. There is unwanted toe change, and while you may be able to center the steering wheel, it will still not be quite correct, actually requiring more toe (probably) in on the right to achieve this. It appears he set the toe correctly, as the vehicle sat on his alignment rack at the time. I agree two inches is excessive. Self changing toe will prevent a good alignment. Loose bearings, bushings etc.

 

[Jimmy9190]

Originally Posted By: wokeupdead
If the right wheel is moving by hand when jacked up, that condition needs to be rectified before alignment. There is unwanted toe change, and while you may be able to center the steering wheel, it will still not be quite correct, actually requiring more toe (probably) in on the right to achieve this. It appears he set the toe correctly, as the vehicle sat on his alignment rack at the time. I agree two inches is excessive. Self changing toe will prevent a good alignment. Loose bearings, bushings etc.


Thanks for your help. What started this whole problem is I replaced both ball joints on the right wheel last Saturday. The wheel does have movement when rocked at the 6 and 12:00 positions and I thought new ball joints would fix it. It is not as bad as before but is still a bit loose. I also thought the ball joints were the reason I had to prematurely replace a Moog wheel bearing on that wheel. The bearing only had about 6,000 miles on it. So I am trying my best to figure out what is wrong with the right front wheel/hub/axle and steering parts.

The guy at the tire store did not find anything wrong and did not come back and say he could not align it because of any problem with the front end. I have a lifetime alignment policy there so I can get it re-done when I find and fix whatever is causing the wheel slop and bad bearings. I did adjust the tie rods tonight, only moved the inners backwards about a quarter of an inch. Maybe that won't ruin the alignment. I did a test drive around my neighborhood and it seemed the wheel was more straight but it was hard to tell in the dark, even with the map light on. I will know more tomorrow. I will keep on until I find and fix the cause of the wheel problem. Any further help on this is greatly appreciated.

 

[Jimmy9190]

My steering wheel is nearly perfectly straight and level now after making the tie rod adjustments last night. It is close enough that I will not tinker with it any more. What I am going to do is replace the steering knuckle and spindle on the right wheel. After extensive reading I believe the spindle is the next logical reason for the excess play in that wheel. It may be slightly out of specs due to improper alignment in the past, or it could be from using a cheap Autozone wheel bearing assembly for 15 months (back when I did not know any better) or it could possibly be out of specs due to the front end accident I had back in 2010. I worked at home for about 2 1/2 years after that accident so I did not drive my truck a whole lot which may be the reason it took this long to develop a bearing problem. I don't know for sure, but I do not have the proper training or tools to measure the spindle itself and a good used knuckle is pretty cheap at the you-pull-it yard.

I will also change out both outer tie rod ends. The right one is the OEM from the factory and at 173K should be replaced as a preventative measure. The left one is a Moog and has about 90K on it. It was replaced during an alignment some years ago. After I replace the tie rods and knuckle I will take it back to be re-aligned. I hope the new-used knuckle solves the wheel play and wheel bearing problem for good and I do not have to replace the bearing assembly again. I may even see if AAP will do one more warranty exchange on the right front bearing, even though it is less than a month old. It would give me that much more peace of mind.

I appreciate the help here. Thanks.

 

[wokeupdead]

The 12:00 and 6:00 play does sound like the wheel bearing. Make sure your upper control arm bushings are not the culprit. When you put on the next bearing assembly, make sure it is torqued correctly. That seems like a great deal of wheel bearing problems, even for inexpensive bearings.

I'm glad you straightened the wheel out, if you were even side to side on the adjustment, toe should not be that far off.

Mike

 

[Jimmy9190]

Thanks. I did torque the spindle nut on this new bearing and the one before it to 185 ft-lbs which is the spec from my Dodge Factory Service Manual. I torqued it first with the front wheels off the ground, then checked it again after taking it down off the jack stands. The UCA looks OK to me, there is no movement in it and the bushings look to be in great shape, hardly any cracks or splitting and no noise at all. The spindle has to be the next logical solution.

The inner tie rod "fix" will not be in place for too long. I just need to get to the junk yard this Saturday and shop around for outer tie rod ends. My plan is to collect the parts and swap it all out next weekend and get it re-aligned afterward. I may even take a day off work next week to get it done sooner, I have a personal day that I need to use before it expires.