Alignment Shop Ruined My Alignment

[Feldsine]

I have a 71 C20 with a stock front end. I got new wheels and tires, but the alignment guy said the front end parts were all worn and refused to do the alignment. No problem, I'll get the parts and rebuild the front end.

In the meantime I'm driving the truck, and the alignment is fine, and the steering is perfect. Put a couple thousand miles on it over the last year and the tires are wearing just fine.

Well, I decided I wanted someone else to do the work, just getting to old to want to do it any more, so I took it to a reputable shop here in Eureka CA and asked them to put in the parts I had ordered, some additional steering parts they would order and align it. The parts I ordered were from PST and the invoice clearly says C20 on it.

They had it a week. When I got the truck back, I had at least 4 symptoms and the truck is a hazard to drive.

1. There is no caster(?) I.E. the steering wheel won't return to center without some effort to pull the wheel back.

2. It darts all over the road so bad it throws me around in the truck over irregularities.

3. On corners it over steers badly and the back end feel like it is coming around requiring a correction to the steering.

4. When turning into a parking spot or other sharper turn, the front tires are fighting each other. In my gravel driveway, the outer wheel chewed up the gravel. Also my turning radius is larger than it was before.

I'm taking the truck back in on Monday (6-12). I'm afraid they either did the alignment to spec but there is something horribly wrong with the install of the parts, or the wrong parts, or they didn't do the alignment to spec because they couldn't.

Anyone else ever have this experience? Any alignment guys out there have any idea what might be happening here?

Help, they took a perfectly riding and steering truck and made is so much worse!!

[weq92f]

It sounds as though some of the parts were put back together in an incorrect configuration ( very easy to do this, even experienced folk do it wrong sometimes ).

Post up some pictures of the components as they are installed. Without pics, this board can only guess at it.

Also, if you do a search on this bard for alignment and center link you'll find lots of threads covering this topic.

Hth,

-klb

[Coley]

When you take it back in for corrections, make sure you use the words 'liability' in your conversation....that will get things right in a hurry.
As well, when you pick it up, make sure you go for a 5-10 minute ride with the service manager to test it out to make sure its corrected.

Coley

[midniteblues]

Bet they put the center link on backwards.

Happens all the time.

[B. W.]

Ask for a printout of the alignment specs. Most reputable shops will include one with the final invoice. It should show the before specs and the after, the specs may be displayed in red (out of spec) & green (in spec). It's standard procedure to test drive the vehicle after the alignment, it's really the only way to confirm the steering wheel is centered & the truck doesn't pull. I agree with weq92f, sounds like something was installed incorrectly BUT they should have caught that in the alignment. If everthing is properly installed then the alignment is way out (or they didn't align it)

[clay68c10]

Piss poor workmanship, you ALWAYS test drive after an alignment or any other suspension work.

The center link may be in backward, or upper control arms are swapped, or.... Something is probably installed incorrectly.

Definitely take a post repair drive with the boss, and they need to be doing round 2 for free at least. Maybe round 1 also, depending on how they handle this.

[Feldsine]

Thanks guys. One thing I forgot to mention, the reason they say they had it for a week, they could not get the correct pittman arm. They said they ordered two and the arm was angled a few degrees off from the one that was on the truck and gave like 1.5 turns one side and 3.5 the other. They finally gave up and reinstalled the original pittman arm which was good. I believe them, the steering was not originally sloppy or loose.

Going out to take some pictures now. Be back.

[Feldsine]

Left and right control arm assemblies.

[Feldsine]

Oh great, they are sideways, do I need to rotate them or is this ok?

[Feldsine]

Pictures of the center link and linkage.

When I jacked the truck up, the passenger tire points off to the right significantly, and the driver tire is way way off to the left.

[clay68c10]

The control arm pics would be better from the top, hard to tell from the front. Viewed from above; The leading edge should be angled toward the back of the truck. The rear edge should be 90deg relative to the frame rail. Kind of like an airplane wing. They aren't symmetrically shaped, actually more like a right triangle. If that makes any sense... Someone here probably has a pic.

The pitman and idler should be parallel to each other and approximately in-line with the frame rails.

[Feldsine]

By golly, checking out the "alignment and center link" posts weq92f suggested above shows they probably installed the center link backwards. The tie rod nuts are in the back instead of the front. When I looked in the 1971 Chassis Manual, there is a picture on page 9-18 that shows the tie rod nuts in the front. You guys are awesome, I'll have the shop swap the center link, I'll bet that's it. I'll post the results.

Ref:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=400205

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=629495

[Tx Firefighter]

Your center link is 100% guaranteed backwards.

And, get the right brake hoses. Your front hoses are too short.

[Already Gone]

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[Feldsine]

Originally Posted by clay68c10

The control arm pics would be better from the top, hard to tell from the front. Viewed from above; The leading edge should be angled toward the back of the truck. The rear edge should be 90deg relative to the frame rail. Kind of like an airplane wing. They aren't symmetrically shaped, actually more like a right triangle. If that makes any sense... Someone here probably has a pic.

The pitman and idler should be parallel to each other and approximately in-line with the frame rails.

If someone is able to post or point me to control arm photos, I would be greatfful and could show them to shop tomorrow morning
Posted via Mobile Device

[Feldsine]

Just got home and checked the upper control arms per clay68c10. Contrary to what you said though, the 90 degree side is to the front, and the back has the angled side. But I have a 69 C10 here as well, and what is in the C20 matches what is in the C10. The C10 has a distinct rake to the rear side of the control arm, and the front side is the straight out side. Plus it matches the picture in this post here below:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=400205

The photo of the upper arm in this picture definitely shows the angled edge to the rear, and the straight edge to the front. Right?

I think my control arms are in correctly....?

[B. W.]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Your center link is 100% guaranteed backwards.

And, get the right brake hoses. Your front hoses are too short.

X2 - center link is installed backwards

[un4gvn!]

Just like Tx mentioned about your brake hose's. They are rubbing your cross member which will eventually cut into them. If you don't correct them quickly, you won't have to worry about the center link.

[Tx Firefighter]

Concerning the front brake hoses. You have half ton hoses on your three quarter ton. Proper 3/4 and 1 ton hoses are the same as you have except longer. Many parts places incorrectly catalog them all the same. They are not, I guarantee it.

ClassicParts sells the proper hoses under part number 71-319

http://www.classicparts.com/1971-72-.../#.WT5xEOvyu2w

Personally, I always use the longer hoses on my half tons too as I like the added length for my usual suspension modifications.

[Feldsine]

Thanks for the info on the brake hoses, I'll definitely be ordering them asap. Off to the shop. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

[hewittca]

There has been a steady flow of "what's wrong" posts lately where the culprit was a center link installed backwards. It's scary when it's an alignment shop that does it. Even if they haven't worked on something of this vintage, you'd think they would be taking note of how everything came apart so they could maybe put it back together correctly? Results of corrected center links from previous threads have all been very good so I think you will be much happier after this is fixed.

[demian5]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Your center link is 100% guaranteed backwards.

This is a correct statement.

[mike16]

I would call them out on thier failure to do a test drive after the rebuild.

[Swar]

Sorry to hear about the headache. I don't trust ANYONE with my truck but ME.

Once you know all your parts are installed correctly, look up the string alignment method.

There are how-to videos on youtube and it is really easy to do yourself.

That will get you lined up pretty decent if not just as good as a shop can do.

[ghalperin]

Control arm photo...