Alignment issues

Ricky B

Ricky B

Wiiide Open
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
LKN - Tha Dirty Mo (Mooresville, NC)
Aight well I dropped the suspension lift on my truck a while ago, ie: cranked my torsion bars all the way down anyway I took it to my friends alignment shop and we set it up on the floor dial things, the castor zero'd out and the toe is set correct, etc. etc.

Well, the truck is aligned but here's the issue: I will be driving perfectly strait no issues at all smooth sailing. Then I'll stop to get gas get back on the road and all of a sudden its pulling to the right, stop again keep goin driving perfectly strait, then stop drive and it pulls right again.

I'm thinking something in the steering is loose, like one of the tie rod ends is just clanking in and out of place throwing off the toe or something. I jacked up both sides to check for balljoint loosness and both were good and tight no top to bottom play. Now my steering box itself has alot of play, but then agian it always has thats nothing new. So how do I go about zeroing in on the tie rod ends themselfs to see if they are bout worn out?

Or is there something else I'm missing?

Thanks
 
When you say steering box, do you mean the box itself or the pitman arm? I just put a new pitman arm on my truck (along with 4 balljoints) because it was behaving kinda like that. The pitman arm was so bad that it had easily a half inch of play in it.
 
raise the front for the ground ( one side at a time is fine ) wiggle tire side to side while you or a bud watches for loose joints ( tie rods, idler, pitman ) check you hub bearings, they can cause this also.
check for slop at both ends of the idler arm, that part is RARELY lubed, you actually have to reach to get to the fitting.

Honestly, if the guy who did the alignment did his job, you would have known about any loose parts before hand. Thats part of the deal. Kinda tough to line stuff up that keeps moving.
 
When you say steering box, do you mean the box itself or the pitman arm? I just put a new pitman arm on my truck (along with 4 balljoints) because it was behaving kinda like that. The pitman arm was so bad that it had easily a half inch of play in it.
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What do you mean the pitman arm? The pitman arm has teeth on it so it can't move along the shaft outta the box? I'm talkin like you can move the box back and forth a little bit, or you can turn the steering wheel back and forth a little bit before you actually turn

raise the front for the ground ( one side at a time is fine ) wiggle tire side to side while you or a bud watches for loose joints ( tie rods, idler, pitman ) check you hub bearings, they can cause this also.
check for slop at both ends of the idler arm, that part is RARELY lubed, you actually have to reach to get to the fitting.

Honestly, if the guy who did the alignment did his job, you would have known about any loose parts before hand. Thats part of the deal. Kinda tough to line stuff up that keeps moving.
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Well I mean I was sittin there helpin him do the alignment (its a friend of mine shop)and neither of us noticed any play in anything while we were doin it, but then again we weren't really lookin for any play either.

How would I go about checking the hub bearings?

Also is the idler arm the piece that acts like another pitman arm on the pass side of the frame?
 
jrraw23 said:
What do you mean the pitman arm? The pitman arm has teeth on it so it can't move along the shaft outta the box? I'm talkin like you can move the box back and forth a little bit, or you can turn the steering wheel back and forth a little bit before you actually turn
Well I mean I was sittin there helpin him do the alignment (its a friend of mine shop)and neither of us noticed any play in anything while we were doin it, but then again we weren't really lookin for any play either.
How would I go about checking the hub bearings?
Also is the idler arm the piece that acts like another pitman arm on the pass side of the frame?
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1. Yes to your question about the idler arm.

2. The pitman arm can get warn so it may be possible to move the end of it hooked to the tie rod up and down.

3. If you have play in the steering box, you can steer the tires without the steering wheel turning, or vice versa. It has to have some play, but you can adjust the amount.
 
Check your brakes to see if one is locking up and not releasing all the way. I had this problem on a car a few years back and it was a bad caliper.
Hope this helps...
 
2. The pitman arm can get warn so it may be possible to move the end of it hooked to the tie rod up and down.
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You mean the actual solid steel pitman arm can start to bend? Or do you mean the hole that the tierod hooks into can get rung out and allow play? I mean that would make sense. Either way I'll have to check it, thanks.

Check your brakes to see if one is locking up and not releasing all the way. I had this problem on a car a few years back and it was a bad caliper.
Hope this helps...
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I had a caliper lock down on me about two years ago, at the tim I went ahead and replaced my entire brake system, ie: callipers, rotors, pads, shoes, cylinders, etc. I guess the right side calliper could be locking down causeing me to pull right. The only thing is its not acting like it did that last time I had one lock down, no smell, and its more of a consistant pull that will last literally the entire road trip to State, or it wont happen the entire road trip to state, it just depends, thats why i think its maybe a part of my steering thats shot.
 
jrraw23 said:
Or do you mean the hole that the tierod hooks into can get rung out and allow play?
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Yes.

Next time the truck starts to pull, get out and see if there's a temperature difference in the two front wheels. If your front right is hotter than the left, you've got a sticky caliper.
 
i go through this from time to time and it is usually a bad ball joint or the bushings on the idler arm need replacing.

could also be the bushings on the centerlink.

as mentioned before, jack up the truck nad wiggle a tire and see where the play is in the steering and start there.
 
I willing to bet you it is your pitman,idler, balljoints or combination of these. Chevy IFS wears out fast especially when you cheap out and crank the torsion bars. When you replace the parts make sure you use quality ones like NAPA chasis parts or Moog. Advance auto or Autozone cheap ones won't last six months. Believe me I know.
 
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