Alignment question

Was involved in a low speed accident 2 weeks ago. And I got new tires 4 days ago. I went to have them aligned Friday, however they told me because my truck had been in an accident, they couldnt align them properly. What exactly does this mean? Will I never be able to get a good alignment? Or is it just a case of repair the body damage and suspension if necessary?

 

need more info, did they attempt to align it? what exactly kept them from getting it in spec?

 

They said they aligned it the best they could. Didn't tell me why it couldnt be aligned other than it being in an accident.

 

well that does you no good... bring it to somebody who knows wtf they r doing or body shop and have them align it. see if they can tell u what the problem is

 

It was at a Goodyear place lol. The guy I bought them from was cool, however he was not there when I got the alignement. He probably would have told me, but the other guys looked like they didnt even want to do it. I'm ordering parts to fix the front of my truck and going to have the body shop by where I work at to fix it. I can tell you that the top of the right front wheel is pointing inwards and that my steering wheel is cocked to the left.

 

First problem, find a true alignment shop. I did the same thing last week, used a general shop and they couldn't explain why they couldn't correct the problem. I called a buddy who has been aligning cars on an old pit machine for 40 plus yrs, he told me to bring it to him and he could hit the center on every specification or it wouldn't cost me a dime. The only problem is the 2hr round trip out there.

 

Yea I dont know of anywhere around my area that is a true alignment shop. And by the time I get off of work (5~pm), everyone is either closed or about to close. And if I do find somewhere that is open, they do a half ass job.

 

So here is the alignment sheet they gave me. They said that they just noted that the truck had front end damage and that there is nothing affecting the alignment. How do these numbers look to you guys?

 

too negative of camber and too much caster. did they adjust it at all or just see where it was?

 

Those are the specs after they aligned it. I had to go back and get the specs on it the next day.

Also, my steering wheel is cocked to the left. This was before and after I got in the accident and got the tires

 

yeah somethings still outa wack

 

What could it be? Only thing I can think of is tie rods

 

Those seem to be the specs for a base model 2wd. I have a 02 prerunner and my camber specs are positive .3 to negative 1.3. I run about -.4 camber on my truck. No tire wear whatsoever.

 

So you think I should get them to realign it?

 

You have great caster numbers you just need to get a little more camber. Something closer to 0. I would see if they have the specs for the prerunner.

 

Op, fighting with bad alignments and bad alignment shops can wear you out, not to mention wearing out the tires.

I'm sort of wondering if they did an alignment at all because most alignment sheets give the before and after specs, and the one you posted only shows the after, so was anything touched?

This seems to be a reoccurring problem with Tacos because the alignment adjusters will often seize due to rust and alignment places will just give up and focus primarily on toe because it is the major angle that eats tires.

Unless your truck is lifted the way to interpret where all the numbers ought to be is seek the preferred specs. You will notice that a range is given for each angle. Go exactly midway between the numbers in the range. This is the preferred number. But like I said this technique is for nonlifted trucks.

Your steering wheel is crooked because you have a large thrust angle on the rear wheels (they point toward the right) and the alignment person did not correct the front wheels for this. There is usually no reason why steering wheels should be crooked.

Your alignment sheet gives the diagnostic angles SAI and Included Angle. These angles help tell us if anything is bent real bad. SAI stands for the steering angle axis and the Included Angle is the sum of SAI plus camber angle for that particular wheel. Numbers that are outside the given specs suggest that something is bent. Your right front is a little outside spec but not very much.

The thing to do at this point is to find the actual specifications for your model and year truck. Try to find a real alignment shop and shoot for the preferred numbers. If your truck is lifted some of the members here can probably give you some suggestions on angles. An honest alignment person will try to align the front wheels relative to the rear wheels. That tech will also tell you if some angle can't be adjusted because the alignment adjusters are seized, bushings or ball joints or tie rod ends are bad, or something seems bent.





.

 

The alignment was done 2 days after the tires were installed. I get off late (5pm) and the alignment guy leaves at that time so I'm not able to get there early enough all the time. They didn't give me an alignment sheet the first time, so I went back the next day and asked for one. Those are what they gave me.

So what do you suggest I do at this point? I was planning on ordering Wheeler's OME kit with the 883's and spacer for 3" of lift prior to the accident, but now I will have to settle for normal shocks until I can afford them again. But currently, the suspension is the original suspension from 13 years ago with 182k miles on them.

As for the steering wheel, it wasn't always like that. It had slight play, but wasn't cocked to the side like it is now, maybe slightly but not too much. This happened after replacing my ball joints, both upper and lower. And I think its gotten worse after the accident.

 

^^ If this were my truck I would want to get a handle on the health of the front end and whether there are any issues with seized adjusters, bad bushings and bent parts before I charged into doing mods. Seems like it would be wise to determine if it has any possibility of getting a decent alignment or whether you need to fix some stuff.

After much frustration trying to find someone who could do a good alignment I finally threw up my hands and contacted Hunter Engineering the manufacturer of most of the equipment used out there. They have local service people that install and service the alignment racks, and train the techs on how to properly use it. I figured they would know of a couple of people that were a bit better than most. It paid off.

You might want to send an email to the local service guy and briefly explain you problem and ask for a couple of recommendations:
http://www.hunter.com/company/Findrep1.cfm?country=USA&zipcode=70112&remLoc=on

Best of luck.

 

I believe I sent the email to the right guy lol. But thanks. Much appreciated! I've never had an alignment done so I don't really know whats going on. Having the truck get started on the repairs next week hopefully

 

Upper control arm? Knuckle? If you bent something seems like that would keep it from being aligned to spec. Since you were in an accident, the wheel is cockeyed and the steering wheel is off, SAI is outside of spec - sounds to me like a bent part in there. Get someone that knows what they are looking at to eyeball it and they will tell you right away.