Landon Watson saw this problem long ago and made a killer replacement. I have one in stock. Landon is one sharp dude.
What is this called?
Sorry ben but no, camber is not affected by your straight centerlink. Unless your UCA are loose/wore out it cant. Ackerman angle and toe are what are affected by your straight centerlink
Nick, if you dont get one from mike, take it off and send it to me. Ill make sure its back straight and wont bend again
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I can see where tie rod sleeves could stop the toe in from being correct.
Upper and lower control arms and bushings will screw up the camber and caster. From what I understand, camber it the in / out lean of a tire, and caster if the front to back lean of the steering axis.
The only vehicle that I had that could not be aligned was b/c the control arm bushings were shot. Once they were replaced, the alignment was quick and simple. That being said, it did take 2 shops to align my 04 after the front control arm install. The first shop could not get the caster close and it had horrible steering at any speed over 30 mph.
Upper and lower control arms and bushings will screw up the camber and caster. From what I understand, camber it the in / out lean of a tire, and caster if the front to back lean of the steering axis.
The only vehicle that I had that could not be aligned was b/c the control arm bushings were shot. Once they were replaced, the alignment was quick and simple. That being said, it did take 2 shops to align my 04 after the front control arm install. The first shop could not get the caster close and it had horrible steering at any speed over 30 mph.
Straight centerlinks are the problem I wishhhh I knew how centerlinks affected steering before I bought one for my dd
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The ONLY thing a straight centerlink can affect as far as alignment goes is toe. It does nothing to change camber or caster.
X2. Only toe, and the included angle when turning (that's why the tires scrub when turning).
how in da hell does the steering crap affect camber and caster????? am i missing something??
you guys have other problems
you guys have other problems
What is this part called? Part number maybe? It's bent pretty good and my tire shop thinks this is why I can't get anything close to a decent alignment
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I dont see much difference but my skid plate was on.
Than why do the sides of my front tires wear out so fast? Leaves about a 2 inch skid mark from the sidewalk when ever I turn full lock. Been on 2 different alignment racks. Only started after I installed the centerlink
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The centerlink shape affects something called Ackermann? This is the trait that cars/trucks need to have to make them corner easy. During a turn, the inside front tire must turn a tighter arc than the outside. And it must switch when turning the other way. Straight centerlinks fk up the ackermann and that's why they lose turing radius.
As far as your K-member (crossmember?), mild damage without frame damage shouldn't affect alignment. Some OEM shops DO NOT KNOW how tierod sleeves work. You need to explain to them how to adjust the toe. I've had to do that a few times. I now set my own toe-in with a tape measure.
As far as your K-member (crossmember?), mild damage without frame damage shouldn't affect alignment. Some OEM shops DO NOT KNOW how tierod sleeves work. You need to explain to them how to adjust the toe. I've had to do that a few times. I now set my own toe-in with a tape measure.
cause you lose the ackerman steering & the wheels turn the same with straight centerlink
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Ackermann_steering_geometry
The alignment should be able to be set to specs regardless of braces, sleeves, brackets, A-arms etc. The only mod that effects straight line alignment issues is when the torsion bars are cranked. This sometimes bottoms out the alignment eccentric before caster can be in factory specs. But as long as cross caster is still ok and camber and toe are in the green then you should have no tire wear issues.
Now to the OP unless that crossmember took a HUGE beating (bending frame action) then I doubt that is the reason the shop cannot get your truck into alignment. Did they tell you what specs they could not get correct? Camber, caster, or toe are your main alignment specs
Now to the OP unless that crossmember took a HUGE beating (bending frame action) then I doubt that is the reason the shop cannot get your truck into alignment. Did they tell you what specs they could not get correct? Camber, caster, or toe are your main alignment specs
This X2! I've sold and installed quite a few of SD's straight center links with no alignment issues and even on my CC/LB truck only lost a little turning radius. The solid feel in my steering though far outweighed the loss.
In my case: 2 dealers, and 1 align shop needed be shown what the sleeves are, and how they work. While they look simple to us, they aren't OEM.
If they don't know how to loosen them, they don't bother with them.
X2
Two alignment shops (one was a GM dealer and the other was a national tire shop) didn't know WTF to do with the sleeves until I told them they are basically a second "Jam Nut". Once I said that, they had no issue. The dealership almost wouldn't align it for me as they said aftermarket steering components won't align properly. I explained to them that it was a second "nut" with a sleeve and could not affect alignment. Once their "tech" looked at them while the truck was on the lift, he told the service manager they "should not be an issue".....:roflmao:
The straight center links also cause a lot of "bump steer". You can see it when you jack the front of your truck up and let the suspension hang. The wheels look like they are pointing at each other. As you let the truck down the wheels go back to the correct toe.
So if you get your truck aligned and decide to crank up your torsion bars it is going to change your toe.
So if you get your truck aligned and decide to crank up your torsion bars it is going to change your toe.