Alignments Suck -- What Am I Missing

[wildcatgoal]

On my 2002, I replaced LITERALLY EVERYTHING under the front of the car from ball joints to bushings to pitman and idler arms to shocks to camber adjustment pins and cams. All of it. Why? Because at 192K I decided to do a complete refresh of the front while parts were still available. Give me something to do during the COVID-19 disaster we are experiencing.

Anywho, I have taken this lumbering pile of Chevrolet to 2 different places to get an alignment now. It's had 4 alignments total. I cannot get the steering wheel straight (it wasn't before all of this work either). It's also floaty on the highway and wont track on center as well as other similar gen Chevy trucks I've driven. I know you can center the wheel and I know these drive pretty well... I've driven many.

Now, I have bigger BFG A/T tires on 2014 Silverado/Tahoe wheels. They're heavy. I get they will degrade handling some. They aren't a cush highway tread tire. Got it. But the other Silverado/Tahoe/Suburbans I've driven have had similar type tires as well. I do not have any form of lift parts. Stock everything.

There should be no play from aged parts.

Why can't I get a good alignment? What else am I missing?

I spoke to an off-road shop figuring they'd know the best place to get an alignment on these old dogs and he said our trucks are like driving a boat and he could never guarantee a straight wheel. Huh?

 

[OR VietVet]

Steering wheel being straight has to do with the alignment tech. He either cares or doesn't. You may have a steering gear problem with that kind of mileage. May need to look in to replacing it. That may also be causing steering wheel alignment problems. I would also look at the frame where the gear mounts for any cracks. Can you please post a pic of the before and after alignment readings from the printout after the alignments? You should have gotten one. If you did not, bad on them and shame on you for not getting documentation. You want a slight caster lead at the RF to compensate for road crown. What are the tire sizes?

 

[petethepug]

Boy, it sounds like everybody knows everybody and they’re all zip lipped about protecting an incompetent shops ability.

There’s a couple of things to take into consideration the other shops may be missing. Has your truck had previous frame damage? Yea, that’s a wild card but had to put it out there. Wrong parts are installed? Parts are installed incorrectly or ... BOTH.

Find a shop with a hunter alignment rack that’s modern. That shop will know what to do especially if you bring them copies of all your receipts showing part numbers of all your new parts installed. It’s not you! It’s a shop that hopes you bite your tongue.


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[George B]

I would be checking that steering gear for slop. My 03 had plenty. Against some peoples recommendation I adjusted the preload ever so slightly and it improved enough to put 40k on it after that. Regarding getting the wheel centered, thats up to the guy doing the work and a good alignment guy will get it right.

 

[wildcatgoal]

The steering gear has also been replaced with an AC Delco reman. The original steering gear had 1/4 vertical play on the sector shaft for some friggin' reason. The new one seems to be fine.

 

[wildcatgoal]

All parts are installed correctly -- really hard to not install these incorrectly. I have no frame damage that I can detect.

I replaced all the steering bits, too... that plastic bearing, the upper intermediate shaft. The lower shaft was fine. I still get rattle but it's more like the steering column height adjustment rattles now vs. the steering linkages... effing annoying as sin but... doubt that affects alignment.

 

[swathdiver]

I've crossed paths with more than a few lazy alignment techs in my time. If I could afford to buy the parts from Summit Racing, and physically do it, I'd do it in my driveway from now on.

Your local Chevrolet dealership of all places quite often has competitive coupons and they'll probably do a better job. My dealership has this big contraption that checks them in the drop off line before heading to the bays. Pretty cool.

 

[Mechanic421]

Before I left Florida , I had 15 years on a alignment machine. Getting the wheel straight is probably the hardest part, but very doable. You just have to get used to the machine. Has anyone looked at the rear suspension?

 

[Doubeleive]

whenever I get a alignment done I tell them before they even touch it I want my steering wheel kept straight, that just pisses me off.
as far as slop, you probably need to get under it and have a helper turn the wheel and look at what is going on while they turn the wheel

 

[iamdub]

After lowering, I did my alignment with a string pulled tightly between two heavy jack stands and a stainless steel metric ruler. The only thing I don't know is my caster. I know it's positive and probably a good bit more than what's specified for these rigs. Steering wheel is straight (it REALLY bothers me if it's not), it tracks straight, is not darty, steering isn't heavy, return-to-center feels like stock, etc. When I first finished the drop, the wheel was about 30 degrees slanted and steering was twitchy. I eventually got it to where I could fine-tune the steering wheel's straightness by turning the wheels to each lock and reaching the tie rods. I'd test drive, pull over into a parking lot, adjust, test drive, etc.

My point is that it's not so difficult once you have a handle on it all. Loose/floaty steering can be slack in the system or improper alignment. It sounds like you may have the slack ruled out unless something you replaced is defective. Maybe you don't have enough toe-in?

Are you a big ol' boy? I've seen a customer bring his car back multiple times because it kept pulling. On the rack, the numbers were spot on and centered within the spec'ed ranges. The alignment tech asked to speak to the customer, and when the customer was approaching, the tech suddenly changed his mind about speaking to him and just said he wanted the customer in the car while he did the alignment. The customer was a really large dude and the car was some small thing (Corolla maybe?). With the guy in the car, the suspension would squat enough to throw the alignment off and cause the pull. The car was aligned and it never returned after that except for oil changes and rotations.