Wheel Alignment issue

[chad551]

Here is the situation.
I just put the 4"superlift lift kit on. Went to get it aligned and they cannot get my steering wheel straight. While the STis on the machine it says it is straight and everything is great. But when they take it off the lift and we drive it around the corner the sterring wheel is turned to left again. Had 3 different guys look at it and they are all stumped.

Anyone ever seen or heard of this before? Is there something in the steering I should look at?

Thanks,
Chad

 

[410Fortune]

You need a new alignment shop
if the wheel is to the left they can adjust your tie rods without changing the toe to bringit back to center OR they an move your intermediate steering shaft over one notch to help

Sounds to me like the monkeys running the computer are not smart enough to actually wrench on your vehicle, that is the problem with the lazer guiged alignment racks, they are built so anyone can start aligning vehicles after a 1 hour prep course on how it works, but what they dont understand is how alignment actually works without using the stupid lazer rack

A tape measure and angle finder is really all thats needed to do an alignment on our trucks, oh and experiece working with front ends.

 

[chad551]

If you adjust the tie rods, how do you not change the toe? Please explain.

 

[410Fortune]

um you adjust the left and then you adjust the right, this is how steering wheels have been centered for ever, basically toe is the last thing you adjust when you do alignment and before you do it you should center the steering wheel

A good shop will actually drive it a few times and see where the steering wheel sits and how it tracks.
If your front end components are worn or tires, etc the wheel will never be 100% centered, also on rigs like my BII even though she drives straight as can be she will always be a little to the left or a bit to the right, such is the nature of big tires and steering linkage.

On your truck the tie rods coming out of the power steering rack need to be adjusted to re center the wheel and then back to the correct toe settings for your Gen III (centering the rack too)

 

[JohnnyO]

From personal experience, your best alignment shop is not a chain store but a place where the name ends in "and Son" and the mechanics all drive lifted trucks themselves.

 

[410Fortune]

I just had my BII aligned by my buddy Larry, Midwest Frame and Alignment "the problem solvers"
No lasers, just a camber gage and tape measure
$25 took 30 minutes because we were in the pit BS'ing and I had questions about how he set the ball joints and caster (I attempted my own garage alignment last weeked, man I was close!)

This is the kind of guy you want aligning your lifted Explorer, not a monkey pushing buttons on a laser rack

 

[JIGAWHAAT]

not a monkey pushing buttons

Isnt that all of us... right now LOL