Alignment help

I had my icon 3 leaf added at 12k miles and have been trying to get my alignment right.

currently have method nv305 265/70r16 0mm offset
Bilstein 5100 front and rear

I was chasing a ghost thinking my alignment was off in the front since my truck kept drifting to the right.

I had an epiphany last night that my Thrust angle and rear toe is off.

how can I fix this ?
I doubt my axle is bent since the truck is literally new and it has never been in an accident. I have a dash cam so I know when it goes in and out of the shops after the work is done. I think my add a leaf is not seated right ?

 

I'm assuming your front is lifted as well . If so you caster is off . Those settings we currently have are for stock geometry you need to have 3.0+ on caster which will also push it forward and out and off your firewall. Not saying that the leaf packs could be off-centered but try this first Should be like this

 

I have the front set to 1.1” of lift.
Isn’t thrust angle supposed to be close to 0 though ?

 

Left caster is 2.2 and right is 2.1. The vehicle will pull to the side with the least positive caster which is your right side. Now couple that with the road being crowned and you're going to have a greater pull to the right. You should be a couple tenths higher on the right caster than the left to compensate for crown. If the person doing the alignment doesn't know this then they shouldn't be doing alignments.

 

I'd see if there were a shop locally that other members recommend. I was spoiled by having access to a machine for many years when I worked at shops then by my cousin working at a shop that had a machine but those are both over. At the suggestion of members here I found a great alignment place about 45 minutes away that actually knows what to do besides "make all the things green".

 

I had tons of off road shops back home, SoCal, that did all my work.
Since moving to Texas I have had such terrible experience working with shops here.

hopefully others can post their specs and inputs before I go do something irrational and spend more money lol

 

Try going into the appropriate regional forum here for where you are and see if there's a shop other locals recommend. Whoever let that truck go with the right caster lower than the left should not be allowed to touch an alignment machine though.

 

Will do, thanks !

 

Good luck!

 

Hey man, I had the same issue with my truck and problem is definitely with the thrust angle. You're correct, it's supposed to be near 0 degrees (ideally exactly 0).

Long story short, my suggestion for you would be to take it to a shop specializing in off road vehicles and ask them for a four wheel alignment and specifically request that they correct the thrust angle. The shop who fixed mine here in CO (Tru Automotive) removed the U-bolts from the rear end, used a come-along to pull the axle back into the proper position (using the alignment machine to measure thrust angle), and installed new u-bolts. Problem was solved and truck tracked straight & no longer had crab walk.

More details below if helpful.

Truck was driving exactly like you mentioned - drifting to the right and the wheel was constantly slightly cocked to one side. What the truck looked with a thrust angle of 0.61 degrees:



Before alignment specs w/ thrust angle way outta whack:

​

After Alignment with Trust Angle Corrected:

​

 

This is exactly what I came here looking for !!
Thank you for the detailed response

 

Of course! Happy I was able to help and best of luck with the fix!

 

That's definitely true but the caster still needs to be corrected.

 

Yessir, everywhere I search said caster has to be 3.0+

I was reading accutunes article on it.
That’s definitely going to be done with the thrust angle.
I found a local reputable shop that said they could do it and reinstall the add a leaf for 175+

 

It's not just getting the numbers over 3 but it's important to get the right caster a little higher than the left.

 

Understood loud and clear. I’ll be sure to emphasize to the tech and post my specs when I get it done again. They said appointments are a week out

 

I couldn't get Firestone to do anything other than spec on caster, but at least the guy got close to the edges of spec and it drives fine. Hopefully that shop will get you over 3.0.

It's pretty tough to get a leaf spring install wrong unless you put one or both sides on backwards. One side on backwards is somewhat obvious, but can't tell from your pics. Need a pic of the front mount of the leaf spring on both sides.

 

I usually tell them not to do any road crown correction. I would rather push the wheels as far forward as possible from the LCA for tire clearance. Plus I am in the left lane most of the time and the road crown correction is going against that.

Either way, You don't want more than a .5 difference between left and right.

 

I took it to an off-road shop and they were able to check all suspension components. Everything was good, they fixed the alignment and the truck is driving straight. Had to swap the tires due to radial pull from the bad alignment.

they over torqued my ubolts to 110ft lbs on the add a leaf lol

I ordered new ones and will torque to 87ft lbs.

 

Glad you got it sorted, but future info, that's not enough to cause a pull and if it was, positive thrust angle causes a pull left, not right. The axle tracks right, but that steers like a forklift and sends you opposite. It can cause dog tracking right but that requires the front to out as well.