Alignment Help.

[JustinC00]

Hello all, having some issues with my wheel alignment. I’m a little pissed off. My truck had to go into The shop to get the front hubs , rotors, and brakes all redone. That went well and all, but they threw my alignment off. I had .5 inch spacers on the front, and the truck was aligned with those as well as the worn out wheel bearing that was replaced when the front end got done. I honestly think, if they knew better they would’ve done an alignment knowing they were putting new parts that are crucial to said portion of the trucks alignment. Now the truck bounces uncontrollably above 45mph. I know it has to do with alignment as the last time it did it I took it to get aligned and it fixed the problem. Question after this long spiel, is how can I do this alignment at home. I believe the problem they told me was the toe in was very far in. How can I align it myself as it is out of its 1month guarentee, as well as I don’t have the money to do it again. And also, do you think they should’ve aligned it or is that common practice to only do what you wanted? Sorry I don’t take my truck to the shop often.

 

[ROCK HARVEY]

I haven’t done an alignment on one of our trucks at home, but I’ve had success doing it on several other vehicles. You have to find a part of your tire tread pattern that you can use as a reference point, something like a water channel that goes all the way around the tire in a straight line. Then with your truck sitting on level ground you use a measuring tape to measure the distance between this tread feature on the front side of your tires, and compare it to the distance between this feature on the backside. If the front measurement is smaller than the back measurement, you have toe-in. Then you jack up the truck and adjust your tie-rods until the front and back measurements are where you want them. Expect to have some trial and error. Keep in mind this is only adjusting toe in/out, not caster or camber.

 

[ROCK HARVEY]

Another thing, make sure you’re holding the measuring tape a consistent distance up the tire from the ground when you’re making your measurements. If you don’t have a friend to hold the tape, you can stick a thumbtack through it and into your tire to hold it in place.

 

[JustinC00]

Hey y’all. Just gonna piggyback instead of making a new post. I got the tires aligned and they are within spec. Here’s the problem I’m encountering as to why I got it aligned. Anything at or over 55mph, the front end feels like I’m driving over a washboard, and it does not stop until I slow down significantly. Last time I had this symptom, I took it to get it aligned, and the problem went away. As stated in the first post of mine. The front end (hubs, rotors, and 4x4 guts) are brand new on both sides.

 

[JustinC00]

I’m at a loss to be honest with you all. Last time the alignment took away the problem and now it didn’t go away.

 

[chillman88]

How old are your shocks?

 

[JustinC00]

Honestly I couldn’t tell you

 

[JustinC00]

My guess is ball joints but I guess to be more descriptive, the washboard feeling isn’t subtle at all. It feels like the front end wants to rip off literally. The whole truck shakes so bad, it’s not just like a little vibration at speed. It’s violent

 

[ROCK HARVEY]

Your front hubs aren’t locked by chance are they?

 

[JustinC00]

Unlocked on both sides

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

This is on the 85 in your siggy? Should have the Dana 50HD right? I've never had an issue like that with mine and I've had the toe all over the place over the years... I wish I could help more. That doesn't sound fun at all.

Why do you have wheel spacers?

I would be jacking up both sides and see if there is play in the bearing/ball joint/tie rod areas if it were me. New parts and paid labor doesn't mean zero issues, unfortunately.

Also if you do your own alignment, with these TTB setups you have to drive the truck forwards 10 ft without steering input to settle the suspension. Then take your measurements. You can adjust on the ground, but have to back up and go forward again before checking. Any other way will give you bad readings. (Unless you have special plates you can drive up on that have super low friction and let you adjust stationary. But that's all fancy and stuff)

 

[JustinC00]

I’m thinking ball joints. I’m taking it right back to the shop and they are going to double check their work. They will figure it out whether they like it or not. It’s a Dana 44hd. The hub tapers to the cap. Tie rods and drag link are all new as well. Also the spacers weren’t mine. I didn’t even know they were there until they told me when they put tires on. I think it was because it’s on 33s, so to keep them from rubbing on the leaf springs.

 

[franklin2]

That's called a "Death Wobble" and is usually caused by loose parts somewhere. You just have to find the culprit.

 

[JustinC00]

I told the shop that. Told them also they need to take it for a test drive above 50 to see what I am talking about. It’s there as we speak so I’m hoping they can do a better job than they have been doing.

 

[Black dawg]

do you know what "death wobble" is?