Alignment Issues - Ask for Recommendations in the Bay Area CA

[digitalmarker]

Hey folks,

Two-prong thread on the same issue.

I bought my 1996 LC with a 2" frankenstein lift installed by the previous owner. The truck drove straight and didn't have any alignment issues.

A couple of months ago I installed the 4" lift from Slee Offroad, including the front trailing arms to address the caster issue. Since then, I've had a consistent pull to the right, and have to hold the steering wheel 5-10 degrees to the left to keep it going straight.

The pull to the right is more pronounced when I am braking. For example, I can be driving down the right and lightly holding the wheel to the left, but when I hit the brakes the pull to the right gets stronger and I have to move the steering wheel to the left to brake in a straight line.

I have taken the truck to two different shops, both with the same result. The first shop was a complete disaster, these guys had no clue even though they claimed to specialize in lifted 4x4s.

I then took it to my regular shop, even though he doesn't specialize in alignments, he has done work on a lot of different lifted rigs. He dialed in and centered the axles, adjusted panhard rods, drag link, and set toe. When tested with a laser line, the wheels are on the same plane, and measure an equal distance from both sides of the truck.

But, my issue persists and at this point everyone is out of ideas. Slee's recommendation was to recenter axles to make sure they are not too far off on either side (already did that), and can't find any other alignment shops around here who are confident in working on a lifted custom truck.

My next option is to drive the truck to Valley Hybrids, a Landcruiser specialized shop, located 2.5 hours away from where I live. These guys are booked out 3-4 weeks in advance, and it's tough to drive to drop off and pick up so far away.

So, before I end up going down this route, wanted to see if folks on here had any other ideas of what I can try:

• Any other ideas of what I could troubleshoot by myself or have my regular shop troubleshoot before I go to the specialist?
  
  
• If you are in the Bay Area CA, do you have any recommendations on shops that are comfortable doing alignments/suspension work on custom/lifted trucks? No 4 Wheel Parts please.

Thanks in advance.

 

[82much]

It still sounds like a caster issue. Arnt the Slee front control arms for 6inch lift only, not a 4inch lift?

 

[nukegoat]

Sticking caliper? Loose wheel bearings? doglegging? Anything bent? The cross-caster is unlikely to be a big contributor since the axle can't really twist that much.

 

[Bill F]

I think that Mudrak's is doing alignments these days...last time I was over there, Gary said he had a rack coming.

 

[madisonr34]

Come to Roseville. CLARK FRAME in Roseville. Best alignment shop west of the Mississippi.

 

[digitalmarker]

@madisonr34 thanks for the tip. These guys do look promising, at least judging by Yelp reviews. I am going to be visiting my buddy in West Sac in a few weeks and might end up bringing it here.

 

[digitalmarker]

It still sounds like a caster issue. Arnt the Slee front control arms for 6inch lift only, not a 4inch lift?

It is recommended for both by Slee. They feel much more solid than the caster plates which are a bandaid IMO.

Sticking caliper? Loose wheel bearings? doglegging? Anything bent? The cross-caster is unlikely to be a big contributor since the axle can't really twist that much.

Replaced calipers with brand new ones when I did the lift, and no signs of anything sticking.

Everything else is just as it was before I did the lift, and it was driving straight before that, so thinking it's safe to assume that nothing is bent or it would have been pulling before the lift.

 

[mudgudgeon]

It still sounds like a caster issue. Arnt the Slee front control arms for 6inch lift only, not a 4inch lift?

If so, I'd guess it would have 2-3 degrees extra positive caster. I wouldn't expect that to cause it to pull.
I built my HDJ81 with 4 degrees caster and it drove like a dream

 

[Bmp1]

I think i would look at the caliper again. That is something new along with the lift. Maybe needs to be bleed again? Anymore just because its new doesn't mean it was any better than what you took off!!

 

[landcrshr]

If the alignment has been checked and re-checked, then it's probably not the alignment.

A friend had this problem once, it turned out to be his steering damper. You could try removing it to see.

 

[dugsgms]

Silly question...Have you swapped the front tires side to side to check for radial pull?

 

[Pin_Head]

Pulling to one side or the other is sometimes due to one side having a higher caster angle than the other, but with a solid axle, I think you can appreciate that the side to side caster difference is fixed when the axle housing is made and it isn’t going to change by changing suspension components.

 

[pilotuku]

If you are far from Georg.....
Try A+ Japanese, shop owned by Eric and Adam, both cruiser heads. They are in San Carlos.

 

[digitalmarker]

If you are far from Georg.....
Try A+ Japanese, shop owned by Eric and Adam, both cruiser heads. They are in San Carlos.

Thanks for the tip. I know about this shop, had some work done on my tundra there a while back, but didn't realize these guys know Land Cruisers. Will check them out for sure to see if they do alignments.

 

[digitalmarker]

A friend had this problem once, it turned out to be his steering damper. You could try removing it to see.

The steering damper is brand new, an OME part that came with the kit. Unless it's defective, probably not it. Thanks for the tip though!

I think i would look at the caliper again. That is something new along with the lift. Maybe needs to be bleed again? Anymore just because its new doesn't mean it was any better than what you took off!!

What should I be looking for as far as signs that a caliper is grabbing? The brakes work much better than they did before I swapped the calipers. The calipers I installed are also OEM remanufactured pieces from NAPA.

Silly question...Have you swapped the front tires side to side to check for radial pull?

I haven't yet... Just got the tires that are on there now. But may swap them around this weekend to see if that's the cause. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Bmp1]

1st thing is after you drive it for a couple miles lay your hand on the the center of the hub see if there is any noticeable heat. Jack up front of vehicle, spin the wheels see if they spin about the same on each side. It shouldn’t spin like a fidget spinner but you should be able to turn it. If there is a lot of heat or a wheel is hard to turn you may have a dragging brake pad.
Most of the time I’ve needed to rebleed brake, the vehicle would dart around under hard braking. But I had removed both axles on a non abs vehicle. I don’t know of any sure fire symptom that proves you need to bleed brakes.

 

[pilotuku]

Thanks for the tip. I know about this shop, had some work done on my tundra there a while back, but didn't realize these guys know Land Cruisers. Will check them out for sure to see if they do alignments.

Yes, they’re knowledgeable on land cruisers as well.
They both owns few 80s and a 40 with Chevy in it.
They just don’t have an all out access to aftermarket support like Georg and Kurt does.