OneTrickToy

Ok, so I'm incredibly pissed off at my truck. A big tire company(won't name them until I get everything settled with them), swapped tires for me, and it turned out to be a crapload more than I was expecting/quoted. I was told by a friend that I'd be paying $7.xx a tire to have my tires swapped. So I was expecting let's say $50 at most for everything. Well, I get the bill after she had already left, $108.xx BS! I said... Umm, that is NOT what I was quoted. So he starts rattling off numbers and says, "so that's what it is". He was pissed off because he didn't finish it until 6:30PM, half hour after they close. I was pissed because I dropped my truck off at 10:30AM!!! 8 hours! But I didn't let my anger show I was incredibly nice while he was a complete a-hole to me. But anyway... I swapped tires because I had enough money to do that AND an alignment, but now I don't have money for an alignment. So I was trying to adjust my alignment, but my main problem is my camber. It looks like a V. So I tried to adjust my LCA's out, but now I'm screwed. I back up and the front end drops. I move forward and the front end raises. WTH is happening????

So basically I'm screwed and am going to tell my parents that I can't pay them for my insurance right now and I' have to bite the bullet to get my truck fixed. But still, why is it doing this?

mt_goat

[QUOTE=OneTrickToy]So I was trying to adjust my alignment, but my main problem is my camber. It looks like a V. So I tried to adjust my LCA's out, but now I'm screwed. I back up and the front end drops. I move forward and the front end raises. WTH is happening????

[QUOTE]

So why couldn't you adjust the LCAs out? That sounds like the right thing to do if your front looks like a V.

914runner

Not to hijack your post but do you have any pics of your 3" rancho Lift? How long ago did you get it because all I can find now is there 4" lift.
Thanks

OneTrickToy

I was going to, but I couldn't JUST adjust them out. If I adjust them out, I'd need to adjust the toe in/out also(tie rods), but the jam nut on one side was frozen. I used TONS of PB Blaster, put tons of force on it but I couldn't get it loose. So, the only way I could adjust the camber without screwing up my toe in/out big time. So I lowered the front a little. I figure I can deal with a little bit of rake. So the front end is a tad lower than before, and I figured that would give me the extra room I needed when I moved the LCA's out. So then I started with the LCA's. COMPLETE PITA. Okay, so the passenger side went okay. A little crappy at first, but got it to work. The other side was a massive PITA. The drivers side didn't go to well. The rear bolt was a big pain. It wasn't at the same degree as the front to begin with, so I didn't think it was a big deal not getting it to the same degree when I was done. I think the difference in degrees was still the same.

So when I was done, I put it in reverse, then drove forward again, repeated a couple times to get my camber to settle down after being jacked up. About the second time in reverse I realized something wasn't right. The rear end was dipping. So I looked at the tires... camber was an A. Put it in 1st and go forward and the front end lifted up and the camber was then in a V. I'm sure they will fix it all at the alignment shop... but I hate not knowing what is wrong and being able to fix it myself.

OneTrickToy

I'll have PLENTY of pics after I get all this crap worked out. I plan on taking pics of everything. I haven't had my truck looking this good in a long time.

But as far as the Rancho 3" kit goes... you don't want it. The 3" kit didn't address the lower control arms in any way. It included new upper control arms, diff drop brackets, new front truss, and AAL for the rear. So the angle on the lower control arms is horrible. I'm hoping to have some money in the near future to have new LCA drop brackets fabbed up.

mt_goat

Well if you can't get the adjustment bolts loose, the tech (who only has about 30 minutes to do the whole alignment), probably will say he can't do it. Is it the clamp on the tie rod that is frozen or the bolt that goes through the clamp? If it's the bolt you might have to cut the bolt and replace it with a new one. If it's the clamp, try spreading the clamp with a screw driver or something.

The only thing I can think of that would let it go from V to A would be the adjustment cam bolts not being tight enough to hold the adjustment you made or the bushings being totally shot. I've had the LCA cam shift on me backing out of a parking spot once.

Sounds like a mess though, maybe some pictures of the front end would help.

Maybe you can pawn something to get the alignment done.

OneTrickToy

Well I found out last night that my friend is now working at the alignment shop I'm planning on going to. So I won't get any BS from him.

As far as the stuck nut goes... My tie rod sleeves aren't stock. My whole steering setup is different than stock. Basically I have a different drag link(or whatever it's called) It's curved a little at the endes. Different mounting points for the steering stabilizer(rancho). Then the sleeves are longer than stock by a couple of inches. Rather than being an open sleeve with clamps, mine are sealed tubes, with a loose nut on each side to jam the sleeve in place and keep it from adjusting while you drive. The jam nut on the outside drivers side is stuck jammed against the sleeve. I'm going to take a torch with me to work and heat it up. I had to have a shop remove my last ends because they were frozen. This time only one end/nut is frozen.

Flamedx4

First off you can't make an adjustment like that without taking into account how it affects everything else. While you can "eyeball" it for a ballpark setting(like say after installing a lift) you can't measure at home or eyeball everything that needs to be right for it to drive well and not wear the tires out. Sounds like you simply adjusted the LCAs out too far. I'd point out though that when your 91 is properly aligned to Spec, your front tires *will* look like a V. Not by a huge amount, but enough it's clear to see. If it looks like an A (the offroad racer look) the tires will wear badly and it will steer funny, combine that with incorrect caster and toe and what you describe as lifting and lowering the front is loading up and stressing the suspension. An alignment only costs about what 1 1/2 tanks of gas costs, (had mine done 3 weeks ago for $54) so if you can afford to drive it it can't be *that* hard to come up with the alignment money...

OneTrickToy

Yeah, well, working only 25 hours a week, going to summer school, and having lots of bills REALLY hurts your wallet. Sometimes... wait... all the time I hate being a student. It sucks. Oh, then add in a girlfriend. I'm barely making it right now. What I need is a few more people in the area that need computer work. I've been doing that as a sidejob for $20/hour. I think I've got another system build/network setup coming up in the next week or so. I'm just waiting for the phone call. That will be a good 8 hour job or so. Depends on how many questions he asks me and how many times he interrupts me as I work.

OneTrickToy

That's all I was trying to do. Get it driveable. Then I'd get it adjusted in a week or so.

mt_goat

Well this time, when someone finally gets it loose, put some anti-seize on the threads. I just installed new tie rods and the first thing I did was unscrew the ends and put anti-seize on the threads.

OneTrickToy

Last time I used some penetrating lubricant. I think Midas just ****** up my truck.

Oh yeah, I was able to get an appointment today to have my truck aligned. But now I'm starting to wonder what my suspension height is. If it kept going down in reverse and up in drive... where is it going to be after the alignment. The whole deal was that I wanted to get my height adjusted properly BEFORE the alignment... but now I'm wondering if this is possible.

PistonSlap

I hope you did not pay $108 to have your tires rotated. You got seriously ripped off if you did. They shouldn't be able to charge you for work that you did not authorize, of course that may vary depending on where you live.

You simply can not adjust camber and caster by eyeballing it. Your eyes can not determine the difference between 1 or 2 degrees let alone thenths. On top of that, if you don't have turn plates for your tires to sit on, you will never get it right even if you could see that good. A proper alignment requires precision equipment. You have to have special tools. You could probably adjust toe some what close with a tape measure, but even that is difficult.

I understand that cash may be tight, but do you have money to buy new tires? That is what you are going to be looking at if you do not get a proper alignment.

Flamedx4

{Oh, then add in a girlfriend. }

LOL Oh I hear that! I'm very lucky that at my age in position in life my GF (soon to be wife so she keeps saying) makes good money too and therefore is not a drain on my fun budget - rather just the opposite, she's very low maintenace and likes the same hobbies I do! But this was not always the case in the past...took a long time to find her!

OneTrickToy

[QUOTE=PistonSlap]I hope you did not pay $108 to have your tires rotated. You got seriously ripped off if you did. They shouldn't be able to charge you for work that you did not authorize, of course that may vary depending on where you live.
QUOTE]

No, I bought tires/wheels from WSU4Runner. I paid $108 to have the tires removed from both my truck and his wheels, and have them put the tires on my wheels and then balance them. The problem with the quote is that my friend works there, and she gave me the quote. So her manager can go back on what she said because she "could" have been giving me a deal. At least that's the way it works. She's working on getting my money back for the massive PITA that they made for me.

Flamedx4

The Leggy Stockbroker paid $44 to have tires removed and other tires put on and balanced on the Sporty Car back in November. Sounds like you went to Les Schwab's...

OneTrickToy

So much for not naming them until after they settled with me! lol Yeah, my friend works there, so she was supposed to get me a good deal. But that sure didn't work out. I'm going to Discount Tire next time. I hear they mount and balance for around $50.

OneTrickToy

So, I found a GOOD alignment shop. That's all that they do, and it's a small shop with workers that don't work off commission. I went there because my friend just started working there, but he left early. Funny thing though, the guy that did work on my truck was in one of my classes this last year at the CC. $49.99 and he worked on it for 2.5 hours! He said he hasn't had that hard of a time since he first started. They had problems with the caster and the camber. My passenger front tire has most of the problems. They had to adjust my ride height up a little bit before they could even mess with the camber. Then they had to adjust the caster big time. It was a big mess. But they were really honest and friendly. They said the reason they were having all the problems with that right side is because they think the frame might be a little twisted. They said the LCA adjustment bolts were too far in or something. Anyway, it's driving straight and smooth again! So I'm happy.

Arnold

I bought a Harbor Freight manual tire changer for $35 and it works great for mounting and dismounting tires. It has paid for itself the first time I used it. For balancing I go to Wal Mart and get their lifetime balancing deal.

It's a little late but do you have a Firestone Tire Center up there? They have lifetime alignment deals for $130. Paid $100 for mine 'cuz it was on sale. I've taken my truck in several times and they've always did a good job. Just something to think about.

mt_goat

[QUOTE=Arnold]I bought a Harbor Freight manual tire changer for $35 and it works great for mounting and dismounting tires. It has paid for itself the first time I used it. For balancing I go to Wal Mart and get their lifetime balancing deal. \QUOTE]

Oh man I've got to check those out. Now if I could just get a Harbor Freight tire balancer too I'd be free of those stinking tire jockies!