Alignments

[marcel27208]

tie rods and kingpins are good....always check tire pressure at least 2x weekly.....and my front passenger steer tire wears in the inside??? what am i not checking on??? ive had 2 alignments done the past 3years...should i do them more often???

[TK THE TRUCKER]

Have the rear axles also been aligned ?

[thebaldeagle655]

I had mine aligned 3 weeks ago, front drive axle was 3/32 inch too far back on right side, rear drive axle was 4/32 inch too far forward on right side. I now know where the unusual wear on my drive tires came from!! Checked my mileage before the alignment, average of 6.2 mpg, steady 6.8 mpg since then, same terrain, same driving style.

[sidman82]

Maybe new shocks?

[marcel27208]

well b4 i had it aligned steering wheel wasnt centered and if i let go of steering wheel it pulled slightly to one side....got it back steering wheel still not centered and still pulls off to one side........ could it be the 129$ deal i thought i got for the alignment just wasnt done right?....i got a printout of measurments but i dont know what that means

[Slowpoke98908]

well b4 i had it aligned steering wheel wasnt centered and if i let go of steering wheel it pulled slightly to one side....got it back steering wheel still not centered and still pulls off to one side........ could it be the 129$ deal i thought i got for the alignment just wasnt done right?....i got a printout of measurments but i dont know what that means

What people are talking about is a 3 axle alignment. For that price it was just the front. When you have a 3 axle alignment tell them about your tire wear.

You can also go to a tire shop and ask them. No one can answer for sure without looking at truck.

Not every shop checks over the front end like they should. I got tires an an alignment in TN once. I took old tires with me and my local tire shop saw that and rechecked my front end and found problems they didnt catch. So find your self a good tire and alignment shop and go from there.

[marcel27208]

no that 129.99 was for a 3axle alignment from snider tire in greensboro NC,

[no_worries]

At that price I'd go somewhere else. I can't imagine a place that does a quality alignment doing three axles for that. How much faster is the tire wearing? How many miles are on these tires and do you rotate them regularly? The manufacturer specs usually call for there to be a little pull to the right. This is supposed to be a safety measure so that if the driver becomes unconscious (sleeps) the truck will drift toward the shoulder rather than the middle of the road. A quality alignment shop should be able to show you what the base specs are and how far out of spec you are. Are your tires balanced?

[marcel27208]

i put those steers on there last may or june, and noticed wearing maye 3months ago, got alignment and it still wears!!!?!?!

[bob h]

were the tires swapped from side to side part way through the tires life?

do you have a vibration/shimmy?

has it been in a shop to diagnose a pull problem?

has a rear axle shifted (relaxed u-bolts)?

has a spring been replaced?


hd truck steering pull is generally caused by the rear axle thrust angle or steer axle radial tire pull. if the pull is caused by drive thrust angle, usually the wear will be seen on the inside of one steer tire and the outside of the opposite steer tire

wear on the inside of both steers could be caused by extreme toe-out condition (would have been wandering all over the road before it was corrected) or low camber on both sides (very unlikely). otherwise, multiple problems are necessary to cause such a wear condition.


as far as your printout goes; drive axle thrust angles should be close to zero degrees (slightly positive ok, negative not ok). if it's a tandem the two axles should have the exact same angle. the toe should be slightly positive as well (never negative)

the steering "off-center" might be due to the pull, when you let go of the wheel, does it center itself?

[marcel27208]

no, when i let steering wheel go it pulls to the left i think, cant remember if its right or left, but the steering wheel, if i center the steering wheel its slightly turning right

[stan donit]

2007 k.w 900 45000 m. started pulling to the right,took it in for an alignment and they found front r.r. almost an inch out back diff .5in. out. I tried to get warranty out of k.w but they say 90 days or 25000 miles. I'm out $400 and steer tires wearing funny now. From now on when i buy a truck the first stop will be the alignment shop, could save money down the road

[allan5oh]

What bob h is trying to ask is if you "let go" of the steering wheel, does it go right to the middle, yet the whole truck moves to the left or the right? If so, you need a 3 axle alignment.

I don't think I've ever heard of a pulling situation where it was the front axle. It's always the rear axles.

BTW, I have almost 250,000 miles on my 24.5 lo pro XZA3's. They both get the shoulder wear, but both are mostly on the outside and very even. I never swap them, there's no point, they wear exactly the same. I find 105 PSI really helps with funny tire wear, rivering they call it. Bad alignments cause "cupping" which is much more severe.

[Dejanh]

Sapp Bros in Wyoming i think does them for 99$ :shock: , theres a banner and all !!!

[bob h]

quote="allan5oh"]What bob h is trying to ask is if you "let go" of the steering wheel, does it go right to the middle, yet the whole truck moves to the left or the right? If so, you need a 3 axle alignment.

exactly, and "to the right" intended. BUT, swap the steer tires (wheel and all) side to side first, if this swap affects the steering, i.e- pulls in the opposite direction... or even eliminates the pull, then the tires are the cause. i prefer swapping them back afterwards

keep in mind that the alignment could also be a contributor to the pull issue, or... could even have damaged the tire that now is causing the pull

I don't think I've ever heard of a pulling situation where it was the front axle.

an i-beam must be twisted to cause caster pull. incorrect assembly of axle/suspension components can cause caster pull as well... not very common problems though

however, radial tire pull on the steer axle is very common on any road vehicle with 4 or more tires

It's always the rear axles.

as far as "ALIGNMENT pull", the drives are almost always the cause of pull... and it usually is pull towards the ditch side of the road (negative thrust angle)

BTW, I have almost 250,000 miles on my 24.5 lo pro XZA3's. They both get the shoulder wear, but both are mostly on the outside and very even. I never swap them, there's no point, they wear exactly the same. I find 105 PSI really helps with funny tire wear, rivering they call it. Bad alignments cause "cupping" which is much more severe.[/quote]

cupping may be a sign of a shock absorber failure. also loose bearings, steering linkage, etc commonly cause cupping