so i took my truck to the local NTB for an alignment finally and once they have it jacked up they told me they could not align it simply because everything in the front end was loose. he told me i needed new wheel bearings and a whole new steering assembly. now i know this is total bull because my wheels have no up and down motion indicating the wheel bearings are bad. and the steering being loose i figured was just normal wear. its not like both wheels move freely. they are both very much tight with each other its just when you move the steering wheel, it takes about 2 or 3 inches of turning until the wheels start to move. but this is just normal wear and no reason to not align a car right???

i knew he was just dicking me around so i told him to drop it and give it back to me and i would take it somewhere else. is there a way to align the truck myself?? the camber is out because of the t-bar crank i did a while back and my tires are starting to wear because of it. i need to get this done as soon as possible so any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Yes, it would be normal wear and tear to an extent, but to do an alignment before replacing worn out parts would be throwing money away IMHO. It would be like replacing brake rotors that are grooved from worn pads, and not replacing the pads. Worn out steering components (inner and outer tie rods, pitman arm, idler arm...) make it impossible to set toe-in. As for the wheel bearings, up and down wheel play isn't the only indicator; you may want to have a second opinion......

For what it's worth, spend the bucks to have the steering linkage gone through, then do the alignment. You'll feel better in the long run.



Aaron

 

I have a problem with my 98 blazer 4x4 the steering wheel dosen,t line up, replaced ball joints and inner & outer tie rods