Alignment ordeal

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Dino soar, Feb 26, 2020.

  1. cat13

    cat13 Light Load Member

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    Haven't had a chance to get to him yet. Had last shop do rear bushings (second time in 3 years) and check everything. Claims is all good now but my steers say otherwise. Trying to find someone to do my trailer bushings then I'll be making the drive to Ocala.

    Previous shop wants me to put on Michelins and let them recheck it. Have my doubts. These have 25k miles. 13k since aligning and never had the driver side issue.
    20200729_205407.jpg 20200729_205458.jpg
     
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  3. Hulld

    Hulld Road Train Member

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    That’s a classic rear axel out of alignment issue.
    You must be counter steering to the left to keep it going down the road straight.
     
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2020
  4. cat13

    cat13 Light Load Member

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    For the most part. What's your opinion on the cupping? Passenger side has been doing it for a while and now both sides. According to the fancy machine everything is still tight.
     
  5. Hulld

    Hulld Road Train Member

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    Tire cupping is usually caused from the tire bouncing and losing and regaining contact with the road at the wear point.
    Many things can cause it including loose wheel bearings , bad shocks , tire balance, and even worn king pins.
    With that being said I think the rear axle alignment issue may also be substantially contributing to the cupping issue as the front tires are basically being slid down the road on an angle and not straight.
    Did these tires have a rogue wear pattern before this last repair and alignment?
    Once you established a bad wear pattern on a tire it can be difficult or near impossible to correct it.
    For the short term I would say that the front tires should be flipped on the rims with balance beads so it can even out the tire wear to salvage the most miles out of them.
     
  6. cat13

    cat13 Light Load Member

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    Everything up front has been replaced including balance rings about 100k miles, 3 tire sets ago with the passenger side cupping happening since. Swapped wheels last tire change to rule out a bad one. Tires were done right before last repair. Josams in Orlando did the work and they don't let anything slide. If the machine says its bad they want to change it.
     
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  7. Long FLD

    Long FLD Road Train Member

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    Check the bushings in your rear suspension. Doesn’t matter what adjustments they make when it’s on the rack if your bushings are shot. Your steer tire issues are not being caused by problems in the front end.
     
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  8. spindrift

    spindrift Road Train Member

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    When I was having my alignment issues, the shop told me I should toss the Centramatics. With brand new steers, they balanced the entire rotating assembly, not just the wheel and tire. It made a huge difference for the better.
     
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  9. BoxCarKidd

    BoxCarKidd Road Train Member

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    I had mine buffed true also. That helps a lot on the Kodiak tire eating monster.
    That will not change the wear to one side.
     
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  10. Hulld

    Hulld Road Train Member

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    With All that being said you definitely have an issue with the rear axel alignment.
    How handy are you with a tape measure and a string?
    You can get a pretty good idea of where you are at rear axel wise with a string and a tape measure.
     
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  11. cat13

    cat13 Light Load Member

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    Been thinking about measuring everything, just haven't had a chance to look into what to look for.

    Been thinking about getting rid of them. I have Balance Masters that I bought from the shop that's been doing the work. They claim they should be fine but I don't think they are heavy enough.
     
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