~ Just got alignment done - Questions ~

[nimrod.sixty9]

Just got the lifetime alignment done at Tires Plus; drives a lot better, but I have some questions...

<long thread>

The head tech came to me telling me that both, the idler arm and pitman are have "play". Now Ive had a bad idler on two different vehicles and I could see the idler move up and down when turning the wheel. I do not see this on the Kon. Ive even tried to see if they moved in any direction, other then left and right, with the wheels off the ground and didnt see anything out of the ordinary. Are they able to test in a way that a visual inspection cant?

Also, after the alignment it now pulls left, but only slightly. For the most part it stays straight. On the way home I got it up to a pretty respectable speed to test vibration. No where near like it was before; almost like I cant tell if it the truck or if its the road. Well when I went to brake to hit my turn, I had to hit them fairly hard, and holy shit it pulled left. I had to correct quickly as I was instantly going for the other lane. I then tried it going at a slower speed and no pull when I brake. Mind you these calipers are brand new; talking only a few days old now. Before I would brake lightly and it would pull left, harder braking would pull harder left, then really getting into the pedal it would actually straighten up. This is before new calipers and alignment. Does this all point to the possibility of bad idler/pitman arm?

Another thing, after the fact, the tech told me that the part on the upper control arm that would normally adjust camber cannot be adjusted. It must be taken out and "stamped"; which he explained that it would be shortened and would allow adjustment. Said it should be done due to camber being off 3 degrees and would allow the tires to last. Can someone give me some input on this? How desperate should I be to get this fixed? Basically Im looking for a second opinion and what my priorities should be.

Wondering if any of this could be related to my brake issue; thread here.

Original pull thread here.

Strange steering behavior thread here.


</long thread>

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

Just got the lifetime alignment done at Tires Plus; drives a lot better, but I have some questions...

<long thread>

The head tech came to me telling me that both, the idler arm and pitman are have "play". Now Ive had a bad idler on two different vehicles and I could see the idler move up and down when turning the wheel. I do not see this on the Kon. Ive even tried to see if they moved in any direction, other then left and right, with the wheels off the ground and didnt see anything out of the ordinary. Are they able to test in a way that a visual inspection cant?

Also, after the alignment it now pulls left, but only slightly. For the most part it stays straight. On the way home I got it up to a pretty respectable speed to test vibration. No where near like it was before; almost like I cant tell if it the truck or if its the road. Well when I went to brake to hit my turn, I had to hit them fairly hard, and holy shit it pulled left. I had to correct quickly as I was instantly going for the other lane. I then tried it going at a slower speed and no pull when I brake. Mind you these calipers are brand new; talking only a few days old now. Before I would brake lightly and it would pull left, harder braking would pull harder left, then really getting into the pedal it would actually straighten up. This is before new calipers and alignment. Does this all point to the possibility of bad idler/pitman arm?

Another thing, after the fact, the tech told me that the part on the upper control arm that would normally adjust camber cannot be adjusted. It must be taken out and "stamped"; which he explained that it would be shortened and would allow adjustment. Said it should be done due to camber being off 3 degrees and would allow the tires to last. Can someone give me some input on this? How desperate should I be to get this fixed? Basically Im looking for a second opinion and what my priorities should be.

Wondering if any of this could be related to my brake issue; thread here.

Original pull thread here.

Strange steering behavior thread here.


</long thread>

Im pretty sure the camber is adjusted using shims.

The idler arms are pretty common, but if you can't find any slop in them don't worry about it.

Assuming the alignment has been done correctly and the suspension is in good shape i would try rotating the tires. Tires cause a pull more often than alignment

 

[nimrod.sixty9]

Im pretty sure the camber is adjusted using shims.

The idler arms are pretty common, but if you can't find any slop in them don't worry about it.

Assuming the alignment has been done correctly and the suspension is in good shape i would try rotating the tires. Tires cause a pull more often than alignment

Thanks for the input!

I just bought a new idler and pitman arm, but I will recheck very closely before I decide to tackle this.

I wouldn't know how to tell if the suspension is in 'good shape'. But the tires were rotated and the fronts are brand new; less than 1000 miles.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

Thanks for the input!

I just bought a new idler and pitman arm, but I will recheck very closely before I decide to tackle this.

I wouldn't know how to tell if the suspension is in 'good shape'. But the tires were rotated and the fronts are brand new; less than 1000 miles.

The wheels have to be off the ground and the suspension has to be unloaded meaning you jack up using the frame and rest it on jack stands.

Then you grab the wheels and shake them in all directions. If there is any sloppy parts you will feel them and usually be able to see the movement and identify the parts that are worn out.

 

[nimrod.sixty9]

Pit man arm moves with play; but just a little, enough to be seen though. Idler looked good. I tried like hell to get that pitman arm off to no avail. Used a torch and a 6 foot pry bar... Nothing. Ive done these before an never had this much problem. Any advice guys?

 

[purple 'hoe]

Swap your front tires from side to side. Test drive it. If it starts to pull right, then you have a tire issue. If it does not change, then I'd go back and have them re-alingn it.

Going off your sig, your truck is 2wd? I'm not postive on this, but I THINK the 2wd trucks have to be shimmed when adjusted your camber. I may be wrong on that however.

Do you have a spec sheet from them? Post up what your camber is at and I'll tell you if you should be worried about your camber or not. If it's within the factory spec's, I personally leave camber alone when I align vehicles at work

Replace your idler and pitman arm if they have play. It however, will not affect your alignment. Nor will it really have much to do with your steering pull (unless they are very loose, which I would assume they would have told you)

You replaced calipers, did you get all of the air out of the lines? Maybe your left caliper still has some air in in, and is causing it to pull left when braking.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

Pit man arm moves with play; but just a little, enough to be seen though. Idler looked good. I tried like hell to get that pitman arm off to no avail. Used a torch and a 6 foot pry bar... Nothing. Ive done these before an never had this much problem. Any advice guys?

The pitman arm and idler arm won't really cause a pull.. they cause a wander more often or just excessive steering slop.

Don't use heat on the pitman arm or the steering box seals will be fried. You have to use a pitman arm puller or if you are careful you can cut a slit on the side of it with a die grinder and beat it off with an air hammer.

 

[the big blue bus]

no the camber is adjusted after the factory knockouts are removed. i have picture if youd like to see... they will charge to remove them. most havent been taken out unless suspension mods and need to be to get back in factory specs

 

[inthechateau]

no the camber is adjusted after the factory knockouts are removed. i have picture if youd like to see... they will charge to remove them. most havent been taken out unless suspension mods and need to be to get back in factory specs

I'd like to see those pic's as i am getting ready for an alignment on a 96
Hoe.

---------- Post added at 05:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:08 PM ----------

Pit man arm moves with play; but just a little, enough to be seen though. Idler looked good. I tried like hell to get that pitman arm off to no avail. Used a torch and a 6 foot pry bar... Nothing. Ive done these before an never had this much problem. Any advice guys?

If you tried to heat the pitman arm to remove you might as well pull the steering box, use a pitman arm puller and replace the seals in teh steering box.

 

[SunlitComet]

if you have to do a pitman arm and you have a 4wd for hoe's sake just pull the steering gear first and do it off the vehicle. that retainer nut for the arm takes 175ftlbs to install you know.