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96 5 lug steering problems

Discussion in '5 Lug' started by jeffz0rz, Jul 24, 2011.

  1. Jul 24, 2011 at 6:07 PM
    #1
    jeffz0rz

    jeffz0rz [OP] Well-Known Member

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    i have downey upper and lower control arms and 3 inch lift spindles, probably fabtech, and im having pretty bad steering problems. my steering wheel was always cocked a bit to the left, but the truck tracked straight as an arrow. now the truck pulls a bit the left until i hit a bump or something, then its 180 out. the wheel will be cocked to the right and it will pull the the right. driving straight down the street you can hear the front tires squealing a bit. its scary. everything is tight, nothing is bent or broken. all i can think of is my rack is doing something strange. at times my tires are pointed a bit inward, and some times its the opposite. ive checked my ball joints, not bad, my uca bushings, in good shape, and my tie rod ends. everything seems fine. any idea what could be going on ? alignment shop wants to rebuild everything. they basically tell me since the bushings, ball joints, and tie rod ends are not brand spankin new, they want to replace them. 580$ they want to charge me, and thats not touching the rack at all. any thoughts ?
     
  2. Jul 24, 2011 at 9:24 PM
    #2
    Joels98taco

    Joels98taco Well-Known Member

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    chino hills
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    fabtech 3" spindles, icon aal, 10" bilstein 7100 rear shocks, daystar coil spacers, AFE Pro Dry-s drop in filter, sony head unit, 2 12" pioneer subs, pioneer 6.5s all around, custom 1.25 lift shackles, custom lower ball joint brackets fabbed by me
    go to a different alignment shop. just need an alignment since the wheel is crooked and sounds like your tires are like this / \ i had the same problem. but what i did is took it down to sears. the guy did whatever it took to get it good and straight. if you still have the issue get a new steering rack
     
  3. Jul 25, 2011 at 6:20 PM
    #3
    jeffz0rz

    jeffz0rz [OP] Well-Known Member

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    if you read my post, you would see that the issue is not the alignment being off, but the truck pulling going from one side to the other when i go over a bump or going through a dip. alignmeit is off, understood. WHY does the truck pull from one side to the other. that is what i am trying to find out.
     
  4. Jul 25, 2011 at 9:23 PM
    #4
    Joels98taco

    Joels98taco Well-Known Member

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    fabtech 3" spindles, icon aal, 10" bilstein 7100 rear shocks, daystar coil spacers, AFE Pro Dry-s drop in filter, sony head unit, 2 12" pioneer subs, pioneer 6.5s all around, custom 1.25 lift shackles, custom lower ball joint brackets fabbed by me
    true true. does this happen when your braking or just randomly?
     
  5. Jul 26, 2011 at 10:09 AM
    #5
    Trifenix

    Trifenix Well-Known Member

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    you need an alignment from an old school alignment shop that measures by hand and not machine. I had the same problem. costs about 70 dollars.
     
  6. Jul 26, 2011 at 4:55 PM
    #6
    MowTaco

    MowTaco Well-Known Member

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    That is an absolute bitch to do. There is no way measuring with a string is more accurate than a laser measurment.
     
  7. Jul 26, 2011 at 8:00 PM
    #7
    Joels98taco

    Joels98taco Well-Known Member

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    chino hills
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    fabtech 3" spindles, icon aal, 10" bilstein 7100 rear shocks, daystar coil spacers, AFE Pro Dry-s drop in filter, sony head unit, 2 12" pioneer subs, pioneer 6.5s all around, custom 1.25 lift shackles, custom lower ball joint brackets fabbed by me
    but his alignment is changing constantly because of a mechanical problem. he needs to narrow that down first. have you called any salvage yards?
     
  8. Jul 26, 2011 at 8:24 PM
    #8
    jeffz0rz

    jeffz0rz [OP] Well-Known Member

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    if i am going to throw another rack in there, its going to be new. today was ficking terrifying. 65-70 down the freeway, my front tires are squealing like crazy ! ill try to get a picture of the wheels "straight. inside the rack, its similar to a hydrolic ram correct? its once piece with seals inside that divert flow to one side or the other right ? the way its acting, its like the inside "ram" is in 2 pieces allowing the wheels to steer almost independently. im going to throw a new rack in there and see what happens. best place to look online ?
     
  9. Jul 26, 2011 at 8:33 PM
    #9
    Joels98taco

    Joels98taco Well-Known Member

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    fabtech 3" spindles, icon aal, 10" bilstein 7100 rear shocks, daystar coil spacers, AFE Pro Dry-s drop in filter, sony head unit, 2 12" pioneer subs, pioneer 6.5s all around, custom 1.25 lift shackles, custom lower ball joint brackets fabbed by me
    do you want toyota? or anything?
     
  10. Jul 26, 2011 at 8:44 PM
    #10
    jeffz0rz

    jeffz0rz [OP] Well-Known Member

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    prefer toyota, but its going to cost. as long as its new im fine with it.
     
  11. Jul 27, 2011 at 8:23 PM
    #11
    jeffz0rz

    jeffz0rz [OP] Well-Known Member

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    wholy shit, fuck the alignment shop. i crawl my fat ass under my truck to see what is what, and the first thing i see is my passenger side lca bolt, backed way the fuck off. the alignment shop was like "you need tie rod ends, inner and outer, you need bushings, you need ball joints, you need you need you need " i cannot believe tehy did not see the big ass bolt almost totally backed out. anyways, problem solved. tightened that bitch down (used locktite) and my steering is brand new. only have to buy 2 new front tires now.
     
  12. Jul 27, 2011 at 10:52 PM
    #12
    Joels98taco

    Joels98taco Well-Known Member

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    fabtech 3" spindles, icon aal, 10" bilstein 7100 rear shocks, daystar coil spacers, AFE Pro Dry-s drop in filter, sony head unit, 2 12" pioneer subs, pioneer 6.5s all around, custom 1.25 lift shackles, custom lower ball joint brackets fabbed by me
    good to hear that man. and if i were you id sue those fuckers for endangering your life. its crazy what they will do to get a job. :mad:
     

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