Hard hit = Alignment out of whack. Looking for advice.

Totally get what you're saying on that. The more positive the caster the more toe-in you would get. My driver wheel is toe'd out as per the spec sheet and here's a pic of the driver's tie-rod.



The tie-rod end is bottomed out. From the spec sheet the passenger side is fine.

 

And a pic of the passenger tie-rod.

 

I actually replaced the driver's tie-rod end not long ago because the boot was ripped. Wondering if the left and right is different and I ordered the wrong one....

 

While I had the LCA loose in the frame mounts I spun the cam adjusters and saw that the rear (loose bushing end plates) had a lot of dead spots. Turning the cam wasn't moving the LCA in or out.

 

Pretty sure it is. I remember checking and double checking. Left and rights were listed seperately but had the same P/N's

 

Really thinking I should hit up another shop tomorrow. Removed and reinstalled the LCA today and only found the loose bushing end plates. Lubed up the bolts and reinstalled/torqued all hardware. The loose bushing end plates don't really concern me though cuz when you torque the hardware it should squeeze everything tight again.

 

in a rush and didn't finish reading the thread but want to add...

i just went through this hell in a huge way. $3000, 4 shops, 3 incorrect diagnoses and i paid for all of them.

end of the day the problem was a stripped cam bolt, rear LCA, driver's side. typically the bushing but it looked ok. if you're in that deep definitely inspect the bolt and back plate. apparently some moron in a previous alignment over torqued it and the threads failed later while driving. long story and Ultra frustrating in my case so maybe dig in and save time. sorry if this was already mentioned but I'm at the airport..

 

Already done did checked it. Thanks tho!

 

Thinking aloud here about correcting the driver's toe....

My steering wheel has been biased to the right for as long as I can remember. Would it be possible during an alignment or in my parking space (apartment living) to turn the wheel a bit more to the right (bringing driver's wheel to toe-in), re-adjusting passenger tie-rod for toe-in....disconnecting steering column linkage at steering rack....straightening steering wheel and finally reconnect at the steering rack?

 

Doing this would shift the "center" point on the steering ram making it off center. You could lose full lock to the left in doing so.

 

I wonder how much you would actually lose

And since the steering wheels always been to the right I wonder if it was initially installed off center.

 

Probably not much, may not lose any. I'd say try another shop and if they say the same thing, you could always try this at home

 

Usually if I'm at full lock I'm already stuck AF in something. Kinda like this wash-out/ditch that I didn't see....

 

Update/Revival

Driver's LCA replaced due to loose bushing washers. Long shot and it didn't work. Driver's side won't align.
Driver's steering knuckle replaced assuming it was slightly bent. Didn't work. Driver's side won't align.
Removed LCA again today to reinspect frame mounts and they still look fine. Cams rotate 360 degrees within the tabs which moves the LCA no problemo.

Big O is the only shop in town that has an unlimited alignment deal. I've been using them. They've given me printouts of the results which show the passenger side is freakin perfect and the driver's side is out.

Took it to a different shop today and they showed me a printout that both sides are completely out!!!

The new shop is recommending SPC Cams and Bolts for both sides which allow more adjustment that stock hardware.

I'm at a loss.

 

If I understand your situation you hit something or bottomed out the undercarriage at 35mph? That's equivalent to a collision. I think you had better see a body/frame shop and have the truck put on a frame bench. Something in the chassis is most likely bent. They have the measuring equipment and factory dimensions to determine what has happened. Then they can pull it back to where it should be,hopefully. Wheel alignment shops can only do so much with the adjustments available to them. If something is bent they can't do much beyond what the factory gives them to adjust... and you don't want them to. I hope it works out for you either way.

 

If the SPC Cam Bolts don't work I'll most likely open it up to insurance and do exactly what you recommended.

 

Completely lost all faith in alignment shop techs. 2 shops with 2 completely different readings on the printouts. Someone is fudging the final numbers.

 

May not hurt to ask them the last time their machines were calibrated. I used to use big o when I was young and take my trucks out and beat them regularly. When I got a nail in 1!of the tires on my old dodge they scratch the crap out of the face of the wheel - I was pissed! Never again. When I got my new wheels and tires for my taco I used a local shop (Ramona tire) and the tech did an amazing job mounting wheels and tires and doing alignment on truck. Not a mark on anything and the guy just took his time. I like that! Had them align my dodge that’s worn out and wanders a lot. They did it like 5 times just to get the steering wheel straight.
Your situation sounds to me like you either bent the frame or the Lca mounts. Both are WAF!

 

Those alignment systems are up to Mercedes Benz REQUIRED accuracy and trying to get better than that, at least any system made in the last decade probably. A careful mechanic can get within the car manufacturers alignment tolerances ,on a stock suspension, and should have no problem doing it. Unless they are trying to compensate for problems of course.

On Edit- I should say when the machine is new that is.

 

I don't know that they are necessarily "fudging", or even that the machines are out of calibration. But I do suspect that between the different shops, you may be comparing apples to oranges.

Your first post showed an alignment sheet that showed the passenger side wheel toed differently than the driver's side. They were holding the toe on the passenger side correct, which pushed all the inaccuracies over to the driver's side. Now just imagine what the same machine would have said if the front wheels were being held equally out -- it would change *all* of the numbers on BOTH sides.

In other words, in order to compare one shop to the next, you need to compensate for the difference in steering position, or hold the steering to be the same in both shops.