03 z71 Tahoe didn’t stay aligned

Hi, was trying to find out some info on my sons 03 tahoe steering issues. We had new tires put on and an alignment done. Steering wheel was straight for a day or two but now it is turned left quite a bit to keep car straight. We have replaced tie rods, upper and lower control arms, idler arm and pitman arm prior to tires and alignment. Ball joints all new. I believe the intermediate steering shaft is new as well.


I will say that the steering wheel is still quite sloppy. Guesing maybe the gear box is just worn out? Would trying to tighten that be a logical next step? Or replace and get another alignment? Thanks for any ideas. He and I have worked pretty ******* the thing and are not feeling the fruits of our labor! Frustrated. Thanks for any ideas.

Not sure if this is a thing but would it be possible that after driving the vehicle, all the new components started to settle in and maybe that would cause the new alignment to become off?

Bsharp1223 said:

Hi, was trying to find out some info on my son's 03 tahoe steering issues. We had new tires put on and an alignment done.
Steering wheel was straight for a day or two but now it is turned left quite a bit to keep car straight.
We have replaced tie rods, upper and lower control arms, idler arm and pitman arm prior to tires and alignment. Ball joints all new.
I believe the intermediate steering shaft is new as well.


I will say that the steering wheel is still quite sloppy. Guessing maybe the gear box is just worn out? Would trying to tighten that be a logical next step?
Or replace and get another alignment? Thanks for any ideas. He and I have worked pretty ******* the thing and are not feeling the fruits of our labor!

Not sure if this is a thing but would it be possible that after driving the vehicle, all the new components started to settle in,
and maybe that would cause the new alignment to become off?

Frustrated.
Thanks for any ideas.

Click to expand...

IFF I EVER suffered the above symptoms IMMEDIATELY after an alignment -
especially if I'd replaced all those parts just before the alignment -
I'd either take it back to that alignment mech if I suspected that they did something wrong,
or to a different alignment mech if I lacked such a suspicion.

I'll not accuse anyone of the other possibility ...

I think the problem will be that you haven't tightened the screws on the upper wishbone, where the camber and caster are adjusted well enough.

That's what happened to me too.

There are considerable forces acting on it and when you accelerate in a curve, this adjustment mechanism slips.

This means your toe is no longer correct as well..

Bsharp1223 said:

Not sure if this is a thing but would it be possible that after driving the vehicle, all the new components started to settle in and maybe that would cause the new alignment to become off?

Click to expand...

Did you tighten up the control arm anchor bolts after setting the vehicle down on it's own?

That's the procedure you are supposed to follow. And tighten those bolts to specifications.

Of course, if the alignment shop made adjustments for alignment, who knows if they did this? I would take it back and explain the issue.

Stuff happens. A few years ago I took my 06 Suburban to Pepboys for an alignment. I had replaced most suspension components myself and installed the cotter pins. When I left there truck drove straight but when I applied the brakes, the truck drifted to the left. I called and they said take it back. I figured I'll do that later that week. Well, before I could take it back, the freaking tie rod popped out of the knuckle while I was driving! That was scary. I was able to limp home, enough to find myself a nut from the hardware store to put on there. I checked the other side, and that nut was about to fall off as well! I was freaking furious, especially because sometimes my wife and kids ride that vehicle.

Next morning I showed up nearly cusing the $hit out of the manager there. He apologized and told me they had just fired the guy that was skipping steps on alignments. I politely told him that stuff like that can cause someone to get killed. Needless to say, I stopped going to that shop and gave them a bad review on the Google website, which I thought was fair.

Sorry for the rant.

A reputable alignment shop should be checking all these things, including the wishbone bolts. In fact, unless I'm wrong, they have to be loosened to adjust camber.

A few years ago I had a shop that left bolts loose. They had already taken me to the cleaners on an issue and I decided it wasn't worth it to fight them, so I took it to a different shop. The 2nd shop did a fine job and told me I was lucky to have made it there.

On another occasion I had a lower ball joint replaced. A day later I started experiencing torque steer. I took it back and they said I needed new struts all around (this was a LeSabre). That answer didn't seem right, so I went to a different shop. The 2nd shop took me over and showed me the nut on the ball joint: no cotter pin, and there were only a couple of threads left before it would fall off. Lucky I got that second opinion.

If you are generally satisfied with the shop and trust them, take it back and have them investigate. If they start telling you something else that doesn't seem right, go somewhere else right away.


@strutaeng The shop that left my cotter pin out didn't fire the guy. They offered me a discount on future work! (Never took them up on it....)

He writes nothing about a Shop, i understand that he did it himself...

So he has to fire himself?

Thanks for the responses. My son did the majority of the work. I helped with some things here and there. Will run some of these things at him and verify. I did have the alignment done at a shop. Thank goodness, firing myself was going to be a awkward

check your centerlink for proper orientation. https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/front-end-rebuild.150832/post-1917357

And check the steering wheel adjustment nut. It's located near the master brake cylinder.

You should loosen this, grease the rod and tighten the screw again, so that the steering wheel can be adjusted just enough.

This is also where play can come from, which then manifests itself in steering play.

But first, of course, you have to find out why the toe changed itself....