Alignment ****up

[ga12r1]

Can't believe they were able to break one of the most robust TREs out there. Monkey fisted @#%holes.

Also great to see how awesome this community is. Cheers to @TLC2013 !

Yeah. They must have had a wrench with a 6' cheater bar on it. Dammit man.

 

[LX4x4]

Maybe you can fit an alignment machine at your hanger. I will pay you $159 to use it each time.

 

[gluaisrothai]

Having been thoroughly frustrated with my shop alignment experience I decided to take matters into my own hand. I purchased a QuckTricks Gen4 alignment setup, along with their turn plates. After a couple of sweaty sessions in my (unfortunately) west facing hangar, here are my initial and final alignment numbers:

Initial (after lift)
Caster: L 3.3 R 3.15
Camber L +.3 R +.3
Toe: 0.7 deg toe in

First trial- only adjusted front LCA cam and toe
Caster: L 2.5 R 2.3
Camber: L -.3 R -.3
Toe: 0.1 deg toe in

Final
Caster: L 3.6 R 3.9
Camber: L -.2 R 0.0
Toe: <.1 deg toe in

Thoughts on the system and process:

- Turn plates are not enough…need full motion grease plates to allow adjustments to be assessed without rolling the vehicle.
- Very difficult to loosen and torque to spec without a lift or at least ramps.
- Rear cams are really sensitive. Small adjustments make a big difference.
- Use the cam tables in the service manual. They are helpful.
- Even if you don’t string the rear wheels it’s easy to recenter the steering wheel once the alignment is done by making small matched adjustments to each track rod.

 

[linuxgod]

Nice. Final numbers look pretty damn good.

Yeah torquing the cams to >200# is tough to do lying under the truck on the ground. A 4-post lift would really help.

I’m curious if you roll the truck off and back on do you get the same numbers? I know most shops don’t, and I’ve heard that suspension can bind up a bit and the only way to ensure it’s not is to roll off and back on a few times.

 

[bloc]

Nice. Final numbers look pretty damn good.

Yeah torquing the cams to >200# is tough to do lying under the truck on the ground. A 4-post lift would really help.

I’m curious if you roll the truck off and back on do you get the same numbers? I know most shops don’t, and I’ve heard that suspension can bind up a bit and the only way to ensure it’s not is to roll off and back on a few times.

If a shop uses their sliding turn plates correctly they don’t need to pull off and on.. meaning they ensure the plates are centered before driving on, so they aren’t out of adjustment range one way or the other.

But like most things you’re just hoping the tech is following the correct procedure. Most owners wouldn’t know the difference if they weren’t.

 

[gluaisrothai]

I’m curious if you roll the truck off and back on do you get the same numbers? I know most shops don’t, and I’ve heard that suspension can bind up a bit and the only way to ensure it’s not is to roll off and back on a few times.

I drove it around a little after each adjustment (without going to full torque) to allow the suspension to get to equilibrium. I ended up confirming the final measurements 2 days in a row before going to 207 ft lbs.

If a shop has 2 axis bearing plates and doesn’t allow them to hit their stops they should get a repeatable result without rolling the truck.