Multiple issues following 2 inch lift and alignment

Hi all,

I'm kind of at a road block here as it seems like new problems are popping up everyday...

For context, I had a blown OEM shock and decided to replace all shocks with Bilstein 5100s during the summer. Fast forward mid august where I finally get the final parts and swap everything out. I book an appointment for an alignment and with my luck the only place that did alignments canceled my appointment because the mechanic resigned. (I live in a remote area).

I had to use my truck until Nov 8th (New alignment appointment) and the driving was getting worse and worse everyday. The tires were completely threadless on the inside by that date. As we also have snow, I started driving in 4wd maybe mid october. Fast forward to the appointment and they tell me the lower ball joints are done and can't do the alignment until I get replacement parts, which I did urgently (New lower control arms). They did the job, changed the front tires to the new ones i bought, changed the control arms and aligned the wheels.

As i work alot, a friend of mine picked up the truck on the 15th of Nov. and when I picked it up at night, I noticed it now has a "Check Vehicle Stability Control System" warning that won't leave, as well as the light, the PCS system failure and says to consult dealership and on the highway back from work saturday it started smelling like burnt oil and I got a "Differential Oil Too Hot" message and it indicated to go back into 2wd. Note that saturday when that happened was my first time driving it after the alignment and it was impossible to keep the steering straight in 4wd. It's worse than before and made me swerve multiples times on the opposite lane. It also vibrates ALOT. After getting the differential message, I quickly parked and shifted to 2wd and it drove extremely smoothly.

I plan on calling the garage monday as soon as they open, but if anyone has had that happen or has any leads, it'd be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

That’s a lot to unpack. Let us know what the garage says.

FYI: I’ve never heard anything about the existence of a differential oil temperature sensor. Are you sure that is what the warning message was?

Also, what type of surface were you driving on when you started having problems with 4wd?

 

2016-2019 I believe is the year range that has a front differential oil temp sensor (I know my 2018 has one).


Agreed, there's a lot here that I'm not sure is all related to the lift. The diff temp warning might be because your (new) front tires are significantly larger than your (partly-worn) rear tires and your driving it on pavement.

These trucks have a part-time 4WD system, they should not be used for extended periods on pavement (wet or dry). If it's snowy/icy and slippery, then sure, but then you also shouldn't be driving faster than conditions warrant.

Is your steering wheel centered while driving straight ahead? If not, that would cause the PCS error you're seeing.

 

I am sure that was the message I saw. I did call the garage and the mechanic is claiming nothing is related to the jobs done. From my understanding, the VSC needs to be recalibrated so I do think this would solve the VSC issue. As for the PCS, my steering wheel is centered yes. I have tried recalibrating the VCS myself but was unsuccesful.

As for the differential, I am wondering if maybe some parts got damaged while driving in 4wd while misaligned, would this be possible?

I do appreciate the answers, thank you.

 

Wheel alignment should not affect anything inside the front differential (just your tires).

A Zero-Point recalibration for the VSC system should fix your issue.