Jump to content

Tie Rod Replacement/ Alignment Specs

digitalembrace

By digitalembrace
in Ask A GM Technician

Recommended Posts

digitalembrace Enthusiast

digitalembrace

Posted
Posted

I have had two inner tie rod ends replaced on a 2004 -c1500 2wd lwb std. cab serial x / and had an alignment done. Now I see there is liquid on the bellows which now have holes in them, they did not before and the front passenger tire is cupping on the outside edge and rounding off which was wearing normally before. Now I notice a line on my invoice that says the seals on my rack are leaking, and they were not previously as I was shown the problem with the tie rods and the bellows were dry at that time with no leaks. I was not even verbally told there was a problem after they did the job. Oh yes, is it normal to use white nylon tie wraps on the bellows or should thay be stainless as the original ones? What to do? Also does anyone have the specs for toe, camber and castor, as well as the preferred gm settings for this truck? Thanks. Mike

:thumbs:

Mike G Enthusiast

Mike G

Posted
Posted

Where did you have the service performed? Did they note the leaking seals when they did the tie rod ends or is this on a different invoice? Do the rod ends look new? Did they provide you with a spec sheet after the alignment? The shop I use does an actual before and after print out, and they do not charge you if there is no condition to fix.

--Mike

digitalembrace Enthusiast

digitalembrace

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Where did you have the service performed? Did they note the leaking seals when they did the tie rod ends or is this on a different invoice? Do the rod ends look new? Did they provide you with a spec sheet after the alignment? The shop I use does an actual before and after print out, and they do not charge you if there is no condition to fix.

--Mike

 

It all started with an mvi/lof job. Went to one of the big muffler shops here in my homtown, Nova scotia, Canada. They showed me under the vehicle that my tie rod ends were getting a little loose, I held the bellows while they moved the wheel, and could feel the movement, but there were no tears or signs of oil on them at that time. I could not detect any looseness in the steering and it showed no signs on the wheel wear or misalignment. They gave me a quote to do the job and an alignment but there was no mention of leaking seals on the quote or from them. I bought the parts myself, they even gave me the wrong part #'s, left it for repairs and picked it up and paid for it later. Now since I changed over my tires , I crawled under to do a visual and can see the tears in the bellows and oil on them. I went to mark the mileage on my paper to keep an eye on tire wear and looked at the invoice where I paid for the work. Only now do I see that they mention the leaking seals on this invoice and I was never verbally informed. The rod ends look newer and no they did not provide me with a spec sheet, before or after. Personally, am I wrong thinking the only thing that would change when doing tie rod ends would be the toe in/out?

Mike G Enthusiast

Mike G

Posted
Posted

You would be right. You could also be experiencing ball joint wear. Take it back to the shop and have them check the alignment again, since they did it before, and see if you can visually get a verification that you are in spec. As far as the rack seals, I do not recall if those can be replaced or they just do a complete rack... Depending on your comfort level with this shop, you may want to look else-where for future repairs.

Just some thoughts,--Mike

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • DaleB
      No Software Updates - Old Build

      By DaleB · Posted

      Thanks, all. It sounds like keeping the software "as is" is the best course of action.
    • Grumpy Bear
      The Peckish Synapse

      By Grumpy Bear · Posted

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overengineering   Excerpt from the above link: (BTW the above is a 90 second read)   [Quote]   A story about very precise engineering is given in the 1858 story The Deacon's Masterpiece or, the Wonderful "One-hoss Shay": A Logical Story by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., which tells of a carriage (one-horse shay) Because it had been engineered so that no single piece failed first – no piece was over-engineered relative to the others, and they thus all collapsed at the same time. A similar quote by Ferdinand Porsche claimed "the perfect race car crosses the finish line in first place and immediately falls into pieces."[5]   [End Quote}   By Engineering's  own definition then; the AFM and Torque Converters, 4-5-6 clutch assembly of the 6L80E, and a dozen other common chronic parts and systems failures are "UNDER ENGINEERED". And by their own definition done so with INTENT. Ya can't have it both ways OEM's.     
    • Spendit
      Installing tow mirrors

      By Spendit · Posted

      Everything you need to know..... https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/198157-2014-2017-dl8-dl3-towing-mirror-upgrade-–-mirrors-explained/
    • Gangly
      Broke Down on the Mountain

      By Gangly · Posted

      I was in Utah this week attempting a bow hunt in the Wasatch mountains with friends.  On the evening of the first hunt, making my way across a ridge to a friends camp, the upper control arm on the driver's side separated, the CV axle got trashed, and the wheel was dang near at a 45 degree angle to the ground.  I was able to get it towed off the mountain and into town about 3:00 am, and spent the remainder of the night in an O'Reilly's parking lot.  Luckily, there was a Chevrolet dealership not to far away so I was able to get to the dealership and pick up a new CV and UCA.  It would have been a few days before they could have gotten to the truck and I brought tools with me on hunt since it was a two day drive to get there, so I did the repairs myself in the O'Reilly's parking lot.      What's interesting is that the UCA ball joint didn't break, it just popped out of the bottom of the UCA.  There was VERY LITTLE evidence of grease on the ball joint or in the socket, and you could see where the ball joint had warbled out part of the socket over time.  I guess that's what happens over 186K miles of use :)   Big Kudos to O'Reilly's for letting me work on the truck in their parking lot.  However, they made a $150+ off of me from the purchase of various tools, so I guess it was in their best interest anyways :)   Getting towed off the mountain.   UCA Ball Joint Socket   Trashed CV   Suspension disconnected and UCA and CV Removed   New UCA and CV installed with the suspension buttoned up.    
    • KARNUT
      What did you do to your "other" car (aka musclecar) today

      By KARNUT · Posted

      My family still laughs at me when they see me drive up in the minivan. Same with less than a V-8 truck. It helps that I have choices. I don’t think I could only have a minivan as the one and only vehicle as much as I like it. And I wouldn’t pass up a good buy on an older V-8 reg cab GM truck. Could you live Raven as the only ride?

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...