??'s about p.s.

[BUXMAN66]

just recently i've replaced the ball joints (both upper's and lower's... both sides) idler arm,tie rods (inner's,outers,and adj.sleeves) wheel bearings (rollers)..both inners and outers,and replaced the p.s. pump (pump and hoses were bad) and it still seems as though the steering seems to want to wander some. p.s. is working great...at least i can now paralell park at cruise-ins.the problem seems to be that at high way speeds or even at residencial type speeds the steering wants to wander a bit....steering is tight...it responds to the least bit of motion to the steering wheel.it seems to not want to correct itself after making a left or a right hand turn...shouldn't the power steering bring it back to center?the only thing i can think of would be the gear box,but it seems to be working fine,hell i can drive w/ 1 finger on the wheel if need be.what seems to be the problem?.....the only frt. end parts not replaced were the upper and lower "A" arms pivot bushings.the lowering of the frt. (3") has seemed to magnify this problem somewhat.....the lowering has gotten rid of alot of the body sway associated w/ the steering "wandering" problem.anyone got any idea's??? sorry for the long post.....

[Tx Firefighter]

You are not seeing the real problem.

Either your toe-in, your caster, or both are off.

Get an alignment (by a proper shop) and you won't have this problem anymore.

{Rant on} Ask around and find a good shop with an experienced alignment man. I know, I've been ASE master certified for 10 years now, and I've worked in a lot of different shops. I have yet to see an alignment man at a big chain store that was any good. I'm sure there are some somewhere, but I've not met them yet. {Rant off}

[BUXMAN66]

thanks for the heads-up!! you know the alignment was never done after i did the lowering and the frt. end work.....dang!...i never even thought of that....it seemed to track straight on a straight stretch of road....at least until you hit a divot or a raised crack and then the steering would suddenly veer left or right......the old adage still applies i guess....... "K.I.S.S." keep it simple stupid !!! thanks again,firefighter!!

[Longhorn Man]

Try to find a shop that deals with lowered vehicles. Firefighter, please correct me if I am wrong, but there are a few extra things to keep in mind when dealing with a lowered vehicle. (I do know many places will send you away)
I have also read, that for a real good alighnment, you'll need to have the weight in your truck the same as when you'll b driving it...as in the spare bolted to the right side if that is where you keep it, 150 (or what ever you weigh) pounds on the driver's floor board...ect.

[Tx Firefighter]

That's where I always had beefs with alignment guys. They see a lowered truck and the assume it won't align right. Lot's of these guys aren't "car guys" like us, so they never heard or drop spindles or springs. They figure you probably torched the springs.

Some guys check the ride height spec of the vehicle before they align it. If it's not high enough, they want to start replacing parts to get it back up to factory height. This turns a 50 dollar alignment into a several hundred dollar job. It really doesn't matter what height it is.

The alignment consists of:
Camber wheel leaning in or out at the top when viewed from front
Caster which is how the ball joints are in relation to each other top and bottom. This is what causes the wheels to return straight when you release the steering wheel after a curve. Look at the caster on a chair or creeper to see what I'm talking about. No matter which way you push it, the wheel swivels around to be straight. That is why they call them casters.
Toe in or out when viewed from the top, whether the wheels are exactly parallel or slightly pointed towards or away from each other. Kind of like standing up and looking at your feet. Either they are straight, or they point in toward each other, or they point out away from each other. Most cars have toe in. Most people have toe out (their feet that is).

Those are the three important aspects of an alignment. If they are on the money, the truck will drive properly and not wear the tires. Like Longhornmail said, you should even weight the vehicle with the driver's weight during alignment. My buddy who does mine always makes me sit in the vehicle when he's aligning it. My 200 lbs will slightly affect the settings, and he wants it perfect. He also sets the caster a little higher than normal. This makes my truck steer kind of heavier than stock. I drive 80 miles each day on the freeway, so it makes it tend to wander less. Less fatiguing that way.

If you ever find an alignment man who does all of these things, attach yourself to him like a siamese twin. That guy should be your new friend. I even recomend tipping heavily, beer, and yearly Christmas cards to stay on his good side.

Ask the street rods guys around your town who does alignments. They always use suspension stuff from lots of different cars, and weld them together. Any man who will align that, is the one you want.

[oldsub86]

I don't know if it is an issue with full frame trucks like these but I know a fellow who was having problems getting a 68 Camaro aligned properly. It turned out that the front subframe had been pushed out of shape over the years and ultimately had to be straightened on a frame machine before he could get a good alignment. He said the change was truly amazing once the frame was back where it was supposed to be.

[BUXMAN66]

thanks again for the replies......i weigh close to 285 lbs. so i'm sure that my weight needs to be factored into the alignment.i'm gonna ask 'round at work to see if someone can point me to a shop w/ a good rep. the one thing i can't seem to understand is ..if the alignment is done on a proper machine (computer alignment) wouldn't they just about HAVE to be doing it correctly ,other-wise they wouldn't be even doing it at all.see what i'm trying to say? the only thing that i would consider to be going above and beyond the normal "midas" or "firestone" alignment is the part where you place the owners weight in the drivers seat while the alignment is being done......

[BUXMAN66]

i just thought of it......there's a little garage on my way home from work....i work 2nd trick so i'm comin' through there kinda late....they're always out there b.s.ing after work hours working on thier own rides(rice burners-all) kinda place where they do custom work and fill up your n.o.s. bottles.i'll stop there and ask them about a place for alignment on lowered vehicles.

[Longhorn Man]

Not a bad idea, but if the mechanic has a Ricer, don't rag on him too much. He could set your tires up so you'll be going in circles.

[Tx Firefighter]

Well there goes another one to the dark side. Pretty soon, his truck will sport a wing and 6 inch exhaust tip. He'll say things like "hella fast" and "got naaawwsss". He'll be wearing a tennis visor upside down.

Catch him before he meets up with those ricers!

[BUXMAN66]

not a chance of me goin' to the "other side"!!lol!!. those coffee can exhaust tips,and neon lights on the hood look down right goofy. it kills me to see some of these little guy's and thier cars tryin' to look cool....... i'm just thinking of asking them about who does alignments on thier lowered vehicles. i've been a died- in -the -wool chevy truck fan for ever since i was a kid! i've never even owned any thing other than a cheby (except that '78 jeep cj-5 in high school) since i've been driving. dang, listen to me.... i sound like that guy in the charlie daniels band song (l.a. via omaha)......"i ain't even gotta garage you can call home and ask my wife!!" lol

[BUXMAN66]

the one thing i can't seem to understand is ..if the alignment is done on a proper machine (computer alignment) wouldn't they just about HAVE to be doing it correctly ,other-wise they wouldn't be even doing it at all. see what i'm trying to say? any replies??

[Tx Firefighter]

Idealy, yes....

What happens though, is that you get it adjusted properly, then when you tighten everything down, it goes out of spec. So, you have to loosen it back up and re-adjust it, then re-tighten it and make sure it stays in spec.

I've seen lots of guys get it adjusted in spec, so they hit the print button on the machine, and get a copy of the numbers. Then they tighten it down, and the numbers go out of spec. They don't worry about it, because they have a printout that shows it is right.