Alignment Issues After Suspension Lift

[asvinci]

So after the lift was put on my truck, I was told by the installer to get the truck aligned with using the original factory specs. When I dropped my truck off today for an alignment,the mechanic called me back and said that he was having difficulties setting the tow to the alignment specs. He told me thatI need to contact BDS or the guy who installed the lift. The place where I had the lift put on does not have a alignment machine. So he said to take it to any shop and they can align it. When I drove the truck yesterday everything felt fine the truck was not pulling to one side and the steering felt great . Has anybody else had issues with alignment and did you use the factory spec's ?

[Matt_]

factory specs should work.

 

Did you get a printout of the alignment specs so we can see what the issue is? Don't really have much to go on right now...

[asvinci]

Negative I left the truck at the shop so he can work on it monday. He told me that he was going to cut the part of the truck where they turn to align the tire to give it so more slack to adjust the toe. I forgot the name of the part maybe the lower control arms, not sure ?

[dover179]

He's going to cut the tie rod. Pretty common I think.

[BadStickMan]

I could be wrong but dont the lift install instructions have different specs called out to align it too?

[cparks555]

I was sent new alignment specs with my lift, but the shop that did my alignment didn't use it because I forgot to take it with me. Not sure if it makes a big difference or not, my alignment was dead on though.

[Matt_]

He told me that he was going to cut the part of the truck where they turn to align the tire to give it so more slack to adjust the toe. I forgot the name of the part maybe the lower control arms, not sure ?

 

Ah, yeah he has to cut the tie rod. That's common on a lot of kits. The installer probably just overlooked that step of the install (or didnt want to do it). No big deal.

 

I could be wrong but dont the lift install instructions have different specs called out to align it too?

 

Some do, some don't. They usually aren't different than the stock specs other than a decreased tolerance and the nominal might be slightly different (if at all). But in the end, nominal to stock specs will always be well within the acceptable range from what i've seen. Total Toe is usually the most important factor with lift kits & larger tires. The increased track width of some kits combined with larger/wider tires tend to accentuate a toe-in condition that would be noticed in tight parking lot maneuvers... so the lift manufacturer may shift the "nominal" alignment spec to the more positive side. A quality alignment tech will usually account for this without being told to since he'll notice any issues (or should) when he takes it for the test drive.

[stlavsa]

I was sent new alignment specs with my lift, but the shop that did my alignment didn't use it because I forgot to take it with me. Not sure if it makes a big difference or not, my alignment was dead on though.

 

ya normal to have to cut

[asvinci]

K sounds good thanks guy's I just want everything to work out. I love my truck and the last thing I want is to have my tires wear out because they cant align the truck.

[herkdriver007]

Yep...TRE's get cut on some lifts, where some lifts include the shorter ends.

 

after i installed my rancho kit, i had it aligned to factory specs with no ill effects. the only difference I found was the caster, Rancho calls for 4.5 +/-1.0, and the factory IIRC is somewhere around 3.5...close enough for me I guess. It tracks straight and steers just fine, so i'm really not too worried about it. Maybe next time I'll ask if they can adjust it...

[asvinci]

I like the look of your truck the Rancho kit looks great. I was worried at first when they said they would have to cut the TRE's but the mechanic reasured me that he would get it done so the truck rides nice. Do you guys think it would be ok to drive my truck back and forth to work till monday, or will I mess my tires up really bad ?

[Matt_]

Depends... do you live 2000 miles away from work?

 

you should be alright for a day or two. If it was that far out, im sure the mechanic would have told you not to drive it too much. Monday is right around the corner

[asvinci]

Haha true It just kills me seeing my truck sitting in the driveway....lol. Thanks