front end alignment woes

[concretejungle]

I have the 2.5 inch medium lift, w/ caster correction bushings and 33 inch tires. After i put the tires on about 2 weeks ago i noticed the alignment was off and the truck would pull to the right. I am constantly holding the steering wheel to the left. So i took it to the dealer today to get the alignment. When i picked it up it is still pulling just as it was when i took it in. They said that it's off and they can't adjust it. Any help would be appreciated at what i should say to them to help fix this, or am i just screwed? I will attach the alignment spec sheet.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

You need more caster for sure. Search for caster plate mods, Slee's front control arms($$$), or lower the back end.
With little to no caster are you experiencing wandering while driving and worst under hard braking?

Phil

 

[concretejungle]

I am experiencing wandering, especially during hard braking. I just thought it was me or a cross wind on the road. hmmmm.... i'm very sure that the caster bushing are in correctly.

 

[concretejungle]

I am confused as to why one wheel would be that much different than the other? I did jack the truck up and noticed that the passenger side front had ever so slight lose feel from 12-6 oclock'. I believe that would deal with the trunion bearing, but like i said it is very very slight (other side is tight all the way, and the passenger side front is tight in the 3 - 9 oclock direction).

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I am experiencing wandering, especially during hard braking. I just thought it was me or a cross wind on the road. hmmmm.... i'm very sure that the caster bushing are in correctly.

Sorry I dont think you can blame mother nature on wandering with zero caster.

The slight movement on the pass side is enough to give you a different reading. The slight movement could also be a loss wheel bearing, bad wheel bearing or at worst case spindle. The more caster the straighter it goes down the road. My uneducated guess would be if you can get more caster your pulling will go away. Personally I'm a big fan of caster I like a lot but a lot is harder on the trunion bearings. I run about 7 degrees on my 40 and at 85 you can let go of the wheel comfortable and she's straight down the road. Trunion bearing as a rule are pretty tough. How many miles on the Cruiser and do you run large tires.

Phil

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Concrete this would do the trick.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=14506

 

[concretejungle]

phil, i'm just a bit confused on this. I was told, and has been posted on this board many times that for just the 2.5 medium lift, the caster correction bushings should be enough. I can't understand why mine is like it is. Maybe i'll take a pic of the bushings to be sure they are in correctly.

The link you posted looks like a bunch of work. And how would i do that and be sure the caster is acurate on each side?

 

[cruiserdan]

The caster reading looks like what I had BEFORE caster bushings and with an additional 1 inch packer installed. Are you SURE the bushings were installed in the first place? If they are indeed in the arms the front busing hole should be off-set to the top of the arm and the rear should be off-set to the bottom of the arm.

 

[concretejungle]

Hopefully this might help. THe first 2 pics are of the front bushing, and the 3rd pic is of the rear bushing in the arms.

 

[concretejungle]

so they posted backwards, anyways, first pic is of the bushings from the rear looking forward, last two pics of the bushings looking from front to back.

 

[cruiserdan]

OK,

They certainly are in there and they appear to be in the correct orientation. I went out and looked at mine and they look just the same.

 

[Brentbba]

Do you look at 'yours' often outside Dan? hehehe

 

[cruiserdan]

Do you look at 'yours' often outside Dan? hehehe

Yup, 'cuz it's too big to fit inside.....

 

[concretejungle]

so what gives?

Another question, so if i were to get my caster to 4 degrees, would that stop my truck from pulling to the right?

 

[cruiserdan]

As I understand it caster would not cause pulling unless the cross-caster is way out. Caster usually is the "wander thing" and the ability of the vehicle to "return to center"

Have you swapped the tires around? You could have a tire pull.

 

[MoJ]

I was told, and has been posted on this board many times that for just the 2.5 medium lift, the caster correction bushings should be enough.

So is this true? Given that everything else is in good order there shouldn't be anything additional needed, right?

 

[hoser]

I have the same 2.5" lift and correction bushings. My caster at +1.7 degrees is still out of spec but fairly close. I'd like another 1 degree though.

 

[IdahoDoug]

If I read this correctly, the problem cropped up the day you put the tires on. Presumably, you'd had the lift on and successfully drove around a bit with no issues, right?

The reason I ask this is that Dan's got a good point on swapping the tires. Without going too much into it, nearly all tires will pull slightly in one direction and are designed this way. If by coincidence, you ended up with both front tires pulling one way and both rears pulling the other, you'll have quite a pull.

Different treads also track poorly. For instance, tires with continuous tread blocks like a highway tire will track well. Tires with offroad traction in mind generally do not.

So, swap them around and see what changes. Your 12-6 movement may also be a contributor - checked the bolts on the bottom of the steering arm/knuckle joint (4).?

DougM

 

[Rich]

While you are worrying about stuff your axle end bells look remarkable free of knuckle grease. Like maybe you should check inside the knuckles to see if the grease level is low. I don't mean to imply there is any relationship to your steering problems.

I agree with Doug's suggestion to swap tires around.

If you want to spend more money talk to Hunter and find out if there is anybody local to you who has upgraded their gsp9700 tire balancer to measure lateral tire pull. This is a new capability that needs to be purchased as a upgrade to an existing machine, so just because a shop has a gsp9700, doesn't mean that they have this feature.

http://209.176.154.132/pub/features/StraightTrak_3.cfm

 

[turbocruiser]

If you all would not mind a minor detour, this gets me wondering what is the "optimum" setup for alignment? In other words, there is a range of "acceptable" alignment specs but what would offer the optimum performance for street and/or for trail? Will an optimum setup for steet adversly affect off road performance, or vice versa? I would not think so, but, I do not know. If so, or if not, what setup would make for the optimum performance for street? I'm not worried with tire longevity as much as I am about getting the most grip in corners, braking, accelerating etc. I'm much less worried about wandering on straights than I am about control in corners. So with those questions in mind, can anyone advise? Thanks.