1972 3/4 GMC alignment?

[Daves72'GMC]

I have a 72' GMC 3/4 , I just had restored and I had everything replaced with moog front end parts and I took the truck down to an alignment shop and had it aligned and it seemed to drive home ok.I didn't notice anything wrong , but I didn't drive very fast going home.It sat in the garage for about 3-weeks and I was backing the truck out of the garage today and both front wheels were leaving tire marks on the cement driveway when I make a sharp left or right turn, so I took the truck back down to the alignment shop today and he said the alignment was perfect.I can only go about 50mph because the truck will wander when I hit a bump and I have to hold the steering wheel real tight to keep the truck going straight without wandering or losing control.I saw the guys alignment rack and it was very old and not electronic or digital. They had the truck inside the shop backed in. and I could see where the truck had left the same tire marks , so I asked him why this was happening and he had no excuse for why , but said the alignment was right on. Me and my wife looked at the front wheels and they look like the front of the tires are turned in and the back of the tires stick out.Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you. Should I take it to another shop?

[PanelDeland]

The alignment rack being old and not digital or electronic shouldn't bother you.Your truck isn't.The quality of an alignment is in the operator(if the rack is set up right).Also the specs will make a difference.Someone has posted specs to get a good alignment but ICRS prevents me from telling you who.Maybe they will post up or someone has bookmarked the thread.

[Wrenchbender Ret]

If the wheels don't look straight ahead the toe in must be off. You can check/set the toe in yourself. Raise the front wheels & take an ice pick & hold it on a place on the tire between the grooves with a block or jack stand to steady it. Turn the tire a complete revolution scribing a line in the tire. Do this on both front tires & let it back down on the floor. Rock or roll the truck back & forth to break the sUrface tention. With the wheels straight ahead have someone hold one end of a measuring tape on the line on one wheel & measure the distance to the line on the other wheel at the center keeping the tape straight & parallel to the ground. Move to the back side of the tires & measure the same way. The front should be 1/16-1/8 in closer then the rear.

[Daves72'GMC]

Does anyone have the specs for the alignment for my truck, My truck is a 72' 3/4? I used harder bushings on the front stabilizer bar and did not use the origional rubber kind.Would this cause the problems I'm having? Thank you everyone. Dave

[70GMCer]

This just happened to me a few weeks back. I had this one shop do my alignment after swapping to disks brakes. Driving down the road, it was find, but as soon as I made a slow sharp turn, the front tires started squealing and digging into the road. This happened if I was either backing up or going forward, but only when turning. I took it back to them and they said the alignment was perfect.

I then started asking on here for help. No one seemed to know what was going on.

Who would have known about the following??

I went to another shop, & this "Old School" mechanic pointed out to me that I had the center drag link in backwards. It looks the same on both ends, but it isn't.

Like you, I had replaced front end parts. The one thing I didn't look for when reinstalling the parts, was how the center drag link goes back.

So, after reinstalling the drag link & tie rods, the Old School mech re-aligned it. "BINGO", that fixed it. Drives & turns perfect. He had even aligned it on a machine that was made back in the 50's. 70c10 had told me about this guy.

Here's a picture of mine after I had reversed that link. The link is now only around 3/4" away from the xmember.

Again, that drag link can go in backwards without knowing it. Hope this helps.

[Bus Ted Knuckle]

Its all about the guy doing the alignment. Sometimes alignment is more of an art than a sience. Take it to another shop, and see what they say.

[Hair]

If that dude told you that the alignment was fine and it left skid marks leaving his shop, and your wheels are not locked up because of something else like brake problems or bearing problems, he is mentally retarded. I'm glad that I am not you. I would be provoked into saying mean things to that man.

[Hair]

General spec is to shoot for 0.0 camber or a little negative,1/8th inch toe IN and around 3.00-4.00 caster with a little leighway. Usually caster needs to be around a half degree more on the right than the left for road crown,and try to always get camber almost identical side to side best as you can,withuot having like -0.2 left and +0.3 right(for example). if one side is -0.2 I try to have the other close. Toe IN is generally on most all cars with some being negative but not much at all. Toe IN allows the tires to straighten out at speed for best wear and contact.

[Hair]

The hard stabilizer bushings should not hurt anything. If you can look at the wheels and "SEE" that they are kicked out or in then they are surely out of alignment. Make sure you have the centerlink on right and take it to another shop.

[Daves72'GMC]

I don't think the tie rods are on right, but I don't know how they go on the front on both sides..Could someone please do me a big favor and take front end pictures of the whole front end tie rods and idler arm to show how and where they go on a 3/4 ton truck.Then I'll be able to tell if they are on right. Thankyou very much. Dave

[71 super]

Take it to another shop and have the upper and lower ball joints checked as well. It sounds like the tie rods are out of adjustment still. Get someone else to fix it and then take the other guy the bill for the new shop's labor.

[john]

The above pic shows the center link installed correctly. The zerk fittings on the inner tie rods will face the crossmember as shown. The idler arm will only fit one way.

[pickupman]

Dave, I got your message but did not have anything to take a picture of right now.

[Daves72'GMC]

It looks like the guy that did the mechanical on my truck put the center draglink on backwards like 70gmcer said and put the inner tie rods on coming in from the front instead of the back. I'll have to get it aligned again.I'll fix it next week and let you all know how it went. I have two more ?'s Do you all think I should take the truck back to the same alignment shop without him charging me if he'll do it or take the truck somewhere else to have it done? What torque should I torque the tie rods? Thank you 70 gmcer and all for your help. I sure appreciate all of your help.

[70c10]

This is where it's nice to deal with old school mechanics who notice little things like this!. I remember 70GMCer was going crazy trying to figure this out. I wonder how many people are driving around with this problem due to this easy mistake of reversing the drag link??? Visually it's not something that jumps out easily unless you are working under these front ends alot! Somehow this should be placed in the FAQ section as a reminder when installing these to be careful of the direction in which they are installed! Dave's72GMC- you should post a pic of yours installed backwards as a reference of what NOT to do. This way we could have a Correct pic and Incorrect pic for comparison. I bet this would help alot of people

[LONGHAIR]

The real question here is, Why would you replace the center link? Unless it is damaged (bent) from a crash or something like that, there is no reason to replace one. There are no "wear" parts on it. It is a simple (fairly straight) steel bar with "connection points", (tie-rod tapers). That alone would stop this kind of mistake.
Also, for those who are inexperienced yet willing to tackle this kind of thing, there are two techniques to help with this.
First take a digital picture for reference.
Second, and probably more important, don't take everything apart at once. Remove one "section" and replace it, making sure that if fits the "old" components that were left on. Then move on to the others.
In this case: Assuming you do need to replace the center link. First pop the inner toe-rod ends from it. Remove the link itself and install the new one. Slide the "old" tie-rod ends in to "test" Then R/R the outer ends. Personally, If I am replacing both tie-rod ends (inner & outer) on the same side, I use a new connector sleeve too. This does two things for you. First, it saves the hassle of taking the old one apart. Second, it gives you an exact reference as to the length of the old one when you assemble the new tie-rod. It gets you a lot closer to the correct toe setting from the start.
Unfortunately, this is all too late for the OP, but it might help the next guy.

[poorboy]

i have to agree about the alignment machines. I have a new Hunter in my shop and hardly use it. I still prefer the bubble gauge for caster/cmber and the scuff gauge for toe. I have no comebacks and return customer tires are wearing great. Alot of mech are out to make $$ and not solve the problem. I look at every car as I can put my family in it and drive to Florida or they could be driving right behind it.

[PanelDeland]

You mean you would take it back to someone who didn't know enough to realize it wasn't put together properly?If he didn't check it right the first time don't trust him this time.
My motto has always been"If you can't do the little stuff,no one will trust you to do the big stuff."

[Daves72'GMC]

Thanks guys, I'll take it to the other guy, I've heard is good doing alignments.Have a good weekend.