I did all new front end parts, wheel hubs, ball joints, tie rods, idler arm, pitman arm. upper control arms. Everything except cv shafts. took it in for an alignment at christian brothers automotive. When i got the truck back it was still pulling right and the steering wheel was off centered, so i took it back and he said to make it go straight he had to set the caster a little off because "i have aftermarket torsion keys which takes away from some adjustment on caster" well now it seems to go straight but i have about a 1/2 inch of play in the steering wheel and its real easy to turn left and pretty hard to turn right, it also is unresponsive when turning right. Example a quarter turn left will shoot me across 4 lanes of traffic like it always has where as a quarter turn right will barely switch lanes. I have talked to christian brothers automotive but they said " Alignment has nothing to do with it". Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
LBZ loose/unresponsive steering after alignment!
- Thread starter LBZ_Baker98
- Start date
Mine does the same. Many do. I have a built front end and it does it. It pissed me off for a while but now I'm used to an off center wheel. The pull to the right is the most annoying part. Keep in mind it might take a bit for the new ball joInts to loosen up some. keep in mind you've been used to driving a worn out front end, and it might take some adjustment on the personal end to get used to it.
I'm gonna do a new box and pump this year and I'm hoping it will eliminate some of this stuff but who knows. I chalk it all up to a 10 year old heavy ass truck
I'm gonna do a new box and pump this year and I'm hoping it will eliminate some of this stuff but who knows. I chalk it all up to a 10 year old heavy ass truck
To be honest with how it drives my front end feels more worn out now then it did before I changed everything.
Take it to a different shop. If truck drove right before the keys, unless something is binding due to the extra hight. Then it's an alignment issue. Either way the shop should be able to say more than "it's not the alignment."
Depends who aligns it.
Had a friend of mine do mine last time and asked him to keep everything a little on the positive side but keep it in the green, mine is pretty tight. It still pulls slightly to the right, (was going to the left) so I said good enough.
Had a friend of mine do mine last time and asked him to keep everything a little on the positive side but keep it in the green, mine is pretty tight. It still pulls slightly to the right, (was going to the left) so I said good enough.
They keys were in there when I bought the truck about 8 months ago. Has always been fine but my ball joints were bad so I changed all my ball joints and the front end parts a listed in my original post. Never touched the keys. Trying to get a refund from the shop now.
The shop I use for my alignments has never given me back a poor driving vehicle. They have given back a truck one time without a full alignment, but they also said fix ...this... and bring it back.
Post a pic of the alignment printout. I'm curious how far out it is.
Post a pic of the alignment printout. I'm curious how far out it is.
This is a picture of the first time they aligned it and it still pulled right.
Attachments
Can't align a l eked truck like a stock one. If everything is right at zero or a nair negative but still in the green, it will feel lazy.
I've learned to have them make mine positive, and adjust from there to fix any pulling issues. Mine handles like a car after this last alignment.
I've learned to have them make mine positive, and adjust from there to fix any pulling issues. Mine handles like a car after this last alignment.
It won't let me upload the pictures of the last alignment that was done so I'll type it out I guess
Left Front- camber 0.1, caster 2.0, Toe 0.07...... Right front- camber -0.1, caster 2.8, Toe 0.07....... Total toe .014, steer ahead 0.00
your barking up the wrong tree blaming the alignment place.
the pic you have of what was just done is a better alignment job than what you just typed out.
your issue lays with the parts you did or have not done yet and an issue with them not setup correctly or binding when they should not.
you can not put enough caster in these trucks to cause what you are describing without toe being extremely far off and it will show quickly in tire wear. even at 0* caster on one side and 4* on the other, you get a pull but nothing massively. what also doesnt make sense is you saying it pulls right but will turn left with any quick reaction of the wheel yet if you try to turn right, it is slow to do anything. that is the opposite of what happens in an alignment issue when you have a pull to one side.
the pic you have of what was just done is a better alignment job than what you just typed out.
your issue lays with the parts you did or have not done yet and an issue with them not setup correctly or binding when they should not.
you can not put enough caster in these trucks to cause what you are describing without toe being extremely far off and it will show quickly in tire wear. even at 0* caster on one side and 4* on the other, you get a pull but nothing massively. what also doesnt make sense is you saying it pulls right but will turn left with any quick reaction of the wheel yet if you try to turn right, it is slow to do anything. that is the opposite of what happens in an alignment issue when you have a pull to one side.
I believe you miss read my post. The first picture is the original alignment they did. Steering was right with that alignment but it pulled to the right.
What I typed out is the NEW alignment that they JUST DID. It drives straight with the alignment I typed out. But has lazy and loose feeling steering that it never had before.
and i still stand by what i said. the second one they did was to APPEASE you but it is worse than the first one. you have a mechanical issue you need to find. something is bent or binding or wore out.
alignment shops are not paid to do that. they check for the basic worn parts (worn idler/pitman arm or tie rods or wheel bearings), most times they dont even check ball joints unless its blatantly obvious they are shot. they also cant tell if things are bent unless there is no way to get things back into spec and the vehicles is 100% stock and again, they wont be taking the time to find the issue unless you pay them to diag it. What the tech claimed for his reasons as to do what he did are very viable, hes not feeding you lies and the print out fits his story. he actually did pretty well.
Not sure I'll be home in about 30mins and I'll take some pics and post here! Thanks to everyone who has commented! Any ideas and comments are greatly appreciated!:thumb:
James, my trucks leveled and it can be a hassle to align, like ignorant. I'll never in my life level another truck. I have to have the camber positive as well as the caster and toe, if not it's unresponsive, and after it's aligned I have to take some out of one side or the other to keep it from pulling. My tires don't show any wear as long I rotate them every5-7k.
And OP as for the 1/2" of play, I'll bet your intermediate steering shaft at the firewall is bad, mine is and I have 1/2" of play, thought it was my steering box but it's right and tight.
And OP as for the 1/2" of play, I'll bet your intermediate steering shaft at the firewall is bad, mine is and I have 1/2" of play, thought it was my steering box but it's right and tight.
Recently we had a work truck 07 2500 cclb and when the gear box was replaced the shop put a remanded in that was defective and it did what you are describing... they replaced it with another reman that was still not "right" but we don't have time to leave it in the shop so for now we are dealing with it.
If it was my personal truck I would of went with a redhead unit:thumb:
If it was my personal truck I would of went with a redhead unit:thumb: