Alignment can make a big difference

[bluejaybee]

I just had an alignment performed on my truck. The truck was eating the inside tread of my inside tires on my drive axle. It now drives like a new one and will stay between the lines now. This is the first time I have ever had to have this done to a straight truck. While I have heard of truck alignments for quite some time, I never had one aligned. My rear axle was 11/32 of an inch out. Mechanic said that was pretty severe. And I believe him, because the truck sorta had a mind of it's own going down the road. But it is a different driving truck.

I have been around trucks all my life. Maybe not around the maintenance end of them. But is it a common thing to have an alignment done on these trucks? Or, how many of you have had it done or at least checked?

 

[Moot]

Jaybird, you should have waited a few months on the alignment. Maybe in the near future some of this stimulus money will get to state highway departments for pot hole repair.

A few weeks ago I was running I-90 west between Hampshire, IL and Rockfish. The right lane had no traffic because it was so torn up. It's not only Illinois, but just about everywhere. Road repair was neglected or got short shrift this summer and is now showing big time!

I'm going to try to hold out till May, buy two new tires and get my front end aligned on my van.

Hang on to your steering wheels folks, it is only going to get worse.

Hey I've got a novel idea. Why not build a high speed bullet train route between Minneapolis and Chicago with all this stimulus money. It will shave almost 2 1/2 hours off an Amtrak trip and only be slightly shorter than an express Greyhound or MegaBus. And most certainly competitive with air travel from MSP to MDW at $69. Yea that's the ticket. More infrastructure to maintain in the future. We doan need no stinkin' road repair.

 

[bluejaybee]

Couldn't wait. Rear inside tires were border line DOT legal. Plus, truck was a handful trying to drive. I have no regrets. I just thought it odd that I never considered alignment a common thing with the bigger trucks. Or maybe I should say rear or all wheel alignment.

If they come up with a commuter that cuts that much time off a run, somebody will figure a way to use it for expediting. Be careful what you wish for. Especially in Illinois.

 

[piper1]

I used to have all new trucks sent for a full alignment after 60-80,000 miles (same time did the engine top sets too), and then afterword only if we saw anything funny on the tires or truck was dog tracking. That and checking tire pressures regularly (always with an alligator valve cap) usually meant we could keep total tire costs under .5 cents per mile.

 

[bluejaybee]

I know in past, I have heard of front wheel alignments. While I have always had my cars and pickups checked and aligned, I just never heard of an all wheel for trucks. But I don't know everything. The mechanic who aligned it, explained what was happening and it all made sense to me. The main thing here is that I had a truck that was a handful to drive and now, it is totally different in handling and I like it.

BTW
What are alligator caps. I think I know, but not sure. Are they the ones you can air without removing?

 

[P51bombay]

Interesting stuff, my T300 has a bit of a shimmy on the steers - wheel shakes a bit around 35-40mph and slightly less around 50. Tire shops are saying its not alignment and is balance, out of round or abnormal wear. I guess a 4 wheel alignment is in the near future just to be sure it is right. Dealer I got the truck from assured me the problem was just alignment and had been corrected..............NOT, it just moved up the speedo a bit. The M2 had the same problem when I got in that and it turned out to be diagonal wear grooves in both steers that went away with new rubber, at least those were almost worn out anyway. T300 has a lot of life left in the steers though, (assuming they aren't shot for other reasons) going to try balancing first but I got a feeling I'll be looking for 2 steer tires pretty soon

 

[bluejaybee]

My problem was drifting. You had to fight it to keep it in the road. Plus it had a dribble problem rather than a shimmy shake. I didn't tell all it took to correct it, but alignment cured my worst problem.
The dribble was a front tire out of round. They had to replace it as it was thought to have a broken belt in it. Couldn't shave it enough to help it. Had to replace two inside drive tires as they were cupped and dished too bad. Then shaved one of the remaining rears to clean it up. I was just glad to get it in such good driving shape. I only had this truck since November and didn't really drive it much till January. Been trying to do little things to it to get it up in top shape. But it takes so much money for the smallest of things.

 

[P51bombay]

Umm.............what's a dribble problem?



( I fear I've just opened a can or worms - oh well. )

 

[ATeam]

I have been around trucks all my life. Maybe not around the maintenance end of them. But is it a common thing to have an alignment done on these trucks? Or, how many of you have had it done or at least checked?

Our straight truck holds its alignment well so we don't check it once a year as some recommend. We will have it checked and aligned as needed if a tire wear problem develops.

After buying the truck new, we went through a couple sets of steer tires and a couple of alignment checks before we figured out the right combination of tire size, type and pressure that will maximize steer tire life. Now that we are dialed in, I expect to synchronize our wheel alignments with our tire purchases.

When alignments are done, all wheels are aligned, not just the steers.

 

[Dakota]

Umm.............what's a dribble problem?



( I fear I've just opened a can or worms - oh well. )

1drib·ble
Pronunciation: \ˈdri-bəl\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): drib·bled; drib·bling \-(ə-)liŋ\
Etymology: frequentative of drib to dribble
Date: circa 1589
transitive verb
1: to issue sporadically and in small bits
2: to let or cause to fall in drops little by little
3 a: to propel by successive slight taps or bounces with hand, foot, or stick <dribble a basketball> <dribble a puck> b: to hit (as a baseball) so as to cause a slow bouncing
intransitive verb
1: to fall or flow in drops or in a thin intermittent stream : trickle
2: to let saliva trickle from the corner of the mouth : drool
3: to come or issue in piecemeal or desultory fashion
4 a: to dribble a ball or puck b: to proceed by dribbling cof a ball : to move with short bounces
— drib·bler



Think of a basketball player with the ball. Basically what the tire does going down the road

 

[P51bombay]

OK, that makes sense. However, in the definition above I see a problem...............I can't recall ever seeing anyone dribble a puck.

 

[Dakota]

OK, that makes sense. However, in the definition above I see a problem...............I can't recall ever seeing anyone dribble a puck.

Me neither

 

[bluejaybee]

Have you ever seen one dribble after a puck in the mouth? Ha!

Dribble was my best attempt to try and convey what exactly it felt like my truck tires were doing. According to the definitions, I used the correct word. My tires weren't shimmying. They weren't shaking. They were dribbling!

And thanks for the info. Guess an ole dog can learn some new stuff.

 

[P51bombay]

Have you ever seen one dribble after a puck in the mouth? Ha!

Actually yes, when I was 6 I was at an Oakland Seals game, (in those days there was no nets to keep pucks out of the crowd) sitting in one of the corners and a puck came up and caught this girl right in the mouth - blood everywhere. Some things you don't forget - however it never stopped me wanting to play goal.

 

[RETIDEPXE]

"The truck was eating the inside tread of my inside tires on my drive axle"

Keep an eye on your new drives. If they also wear on the inside of inside tires, have a reputable shop look for rear end bearings out of adjustment as this type of wear pattern is more indicative of bearings (heard this on Kevin on XM once). Alignment usually affects all tires in various patterns rather then just inside tread of inside tires.

Our M2 had a slight drift to the right even tho alignment checked OK. It required a half inch spacer between rt side axle and spring to give it that perfectly centered wheel feel. Master Aligners of Longview TX is a great shop for this type thing. We also learned the Aluminum wheels will bend if dropping off a large enough curb (i.e. swinging into the Walmart in Longbeach, CA) like someone i know did .

Peace,
DougB
O/O Panther ST Team