Alignment disaster C1500

[MountainDont]

I bought a used C1500, and the steering seemed pretty fishy, even if the alignment seemed ok. Well, I bought a kit on Rock and replaced everything in the steering. But I have not touched ball joints or control arms.

Twice, we tried a quickie alignment with the wheels off and the truck jacked up. We eye-balled them, set it on the ground, and both wheels, noticeably the passenger, went toe out by a bunch.

Ok, so we did it by measurement a third time. Same thing, when it got weight back on the tires, it toed out. I figured that we should be close enough by doing it this way, using jack stands on the lower control arms where the coil springs attach.

So I took it in to get the alignment checked. Yep, it's out, duh. Especially on the right. I knew already. You can see it. Barely drivable on curvy roads.

But before I had them do the alignment, I said, wait. The manager came over and took weight off the truck and then set it back on the tires slowly, and we all watched the lower control arms squat down and the passenger tire toe out in real time. We both think it was the upper ball joint. Is there a good way to confirm this? I just re-packed the wheel bearings, and during that procedure, I checked and wiggled it ... there was almost no play there. I was pretty sure the ball joints look suspect but were still ok. Should I look for a bad control arm bushing instead, and if so, how?

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Knuckle Dragger]

I bought a used C1500, and the steering seemed pretty fishy, even if the alignment seemed ok. Well, I bought a kit on Rock and replaced everything in the steering. But I have not touched ball joints or control arms.

Twice, we tried a quickie alignment with the wheels off and the truck jacked up. We eye-balled them, set it on the ground, and both wheels, noticeably the passenger, went toe out by a bunch.

Ok, so we did it by measurement a third time. Same thing, when it got weight back on the tires, it toed out. I figured that we should be close enough by doing it this way, using jack stands on the lower control arms where under the coil springs.

So I took it in to get the alignment checked. Yep, it's out, duh. Especially on the right. I knew already. You can see it. Barely drivable on curvy roads.

But before I had them do the alignment, I said, wait. The manager came over and took weight off the truck and then set it back on the tires slowly, and we all watched the lower control arms squat down and the passenger tire toe out in real time. We both think it was the upper ball joint. Is there a good way to confirm this? I just re-packed the wheel bearings, and during that procedure, I checked and wiggled it ... there was almost no play there. I was pretty sure the ball joints look suspect but were still ok. Should I look for a bad control arm bushing instead, and if so, how?

You must be registered for see images attach

Find a new alignment shop, it's normal to have the toe change drastically from no weight on the suspension to weight on the suspension.You're not dealing with a straight axle. That's why you align them with the wheels on the ground....

 

[MountainDont]

We were doing the alignment after all the steering parts were replaced. I was afraid that we were seeing something majorly wrong (worn part) and the alignment won't stay unless we replace something else. It wasn't the alignment people's fault the truck was setup so far out, it was ours. I didn't want to pay them twice, since they do free alignment checks. The printout is the check only.

I hear some clunks going around corners, too.

 

[MountainDont]

Should I take their measurements and try to get it close myself? I could try it with wheels on the ground. My eyeball could get it closer than 3 degrees, lol.

 

[MountainDont]

By the way, it was super fun driving on a hot, hot day with the toe 3° out. On crooked roads and hot black pavement, the squeeling front tires were quite noticeable.

 

[MountainDont]

Ball joints on my 1998 C1500.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[fancyTBI]

You should’ve just replaced the upper/lower ball joints while you were in there if they looked suspect.

To check for worn control arm bushings simply look at them. Are they dry rotted and flaky/cracked, or any large chunks missing?

Cycle the front suspension - do the cam bolts move or are they stationary? Do you even have cam bolts or do you still have the knock-outs from the factory?

If you want the ”easy” way out you can buy loaded upper and lower control arms. Remove old, install new.

You check ball joints by jacking the truck up so the wheel is off the ground. Get a large point bar and a large block of wood. Point bar under tire, then use the wood as a fulcrum. Cycle the suspension. Any pops or non-smooth movement is your sign that they are wore out. While it’s up in the air, check your wheel bearings again. Give the tire a shake and see if the movement is nominal.

I’ve never really seen these trucks just fall out of alignment.

 

[rzr6-4]

Twice, we tried a quickie alignment with the wheels off and the truck jacked up. We eye-balled them

Even a halfway decent alignment will require measuring and knowing how to do so. Eye-balling it won't cut it, especially with IFS.

It wasn't the alignment people's fault the truck was setup so far out, it was ours.

Yes, but assuming you took it to a shop to get it aligned, that is what they should have done. I could be misunderstanding your timeline, but it sounds to me like the didn't actually get things back in spec like they should have.

 

[KansasOBS]

The disaster is those ball joints. If you do the buy the whole arms thing to fix it all, don't buy the $55 ones, or whatever the cheapies cost nowadays. There is just no way there is any good metal in it at that price.

 

[jd33173]

When you say you bought a kit from ra and replaced everything in the steering, what did you actually replace? From those pics, it seems like its time to nuke that suspension. I bought a kit from amazon and it was horrible (wnr). I like the mevotech stuff and purchased a nice setup on rock auto that has worked out well so far. If you can get the control arms preloaded, that does save some time. Also, because the question will come up, year, model, engine etc details are always useful. I would only eyeball it to get it (directly) to a (very close) alignment place after you rip out and replace (all) those suspension parts.