worn tie rods????

[MaNiAk]

After I got my tires installed I decided to get an alignment. The shop told me that they can't do the alignment due to the tie rods on the drvers side. I asked them to show me. I held the tie rod as they wiggled the wheel and I did feel some movement. The passenger side had a little too but not as much as the drivers side. I was quoted 405 buck for upper and lower tie rods which were $169 and $79 respectively. I also asked how much for both sides and the quote was 640. Can the shop fake a loose tie rod? It seem everytime I go in for basic maintenence I alway get some lame "bigger problem" that needs attention. Also, can this be done myself? I have no major tools, just the basic little ratchets and wrenches. What would I need to do the job and where can I find a good quality tie rods upper and lower? thanks

[rojodiablo]

You can replace those for MUCH LESS than $400. And, you can beat that even if you buy the balljoint spreader, and new tie rods. And I mean including the alignment job afterwards.

[azredtaco]

It could also be the rack end bushings, especially if it is on the drivers side. This is a problem i have dealt with several times on my truck with the front being lifted. If you pull the boot off the rack with the front end in the air and push the tire back and forth, i'll bet you see the piston on the rack moving up and down, not the tre itself. the shop probably didn't do this and so it will act like a tre. if it is just the tre, they are easy to change, i could give you a hand sometime, i have tools to do it easy. Check the rack first though, which unfortunately is harder and more expensive than tre.

[MaNiAk]

Holy cow what a day!!! Fly-n-hi called me back with a quote of 350 for both sides inner and outer tie rods while I was at work. I said "this is way lower than anybody else, you sure you have all the parts needed" they said "yep". But they did want to see the truck to make sure. I stopped by and they inspected. They say everything is fine, nothing wrong with the components.

I thought this was great. I asked if they would do an alignment but their equipment was broken and had a shop down the road do their alignments. so I called the shop and they told me to come right in. I was seen immediately. I was not out though for 5 hours. They tried six times to align but it still pulled left. They too inspected everything and found nothing wrong. They gave up and refunded my money They say the machine says it right on the money but the truck pulls left a little bit.

I might have to go back to the place that installed the lift and see what's up. Oh to make matters worse the shop's AC broke I waited in a 100 degree room for 5 hours.

It just dawned on me, could the brakes be the culprit?

[azredtaco]

pulling could be from tires. first check pressure, then swap tires L to R. if direction of pull changes or goes away, its tires

[MaNiAk]

they did rotate the tires and check the pressure :confused:

[bentyota]

what side of town are you on?if on the east side take it too srd and talk to carlos 480-317-0090

[MaNiAk]

I'm pretty centrally located. If it's a good shop I'll take a drive to get it done right.

[TBob]

did they check the rack bushings?

[MaNiAk]

Today I went to a fourth shop to look at the steering component. They too said everything was fine. They spent a lot of time aligning the truck and it's a bit better but still pulls to the left. The guy didn't charge me anything yet. He wants to spend more time with it. I will have him check for the wiggle of the tire once again along with the left rear brake drum tomorrow to see if this is pulling the truck left. Far fetched I know but its worth a shot. They did rule out the tires. As far as the rack bushing I'm not sure. I would like to know that they would also check that along with everything else. Besides, why wouldn't they.

[MaNiAk]

Well, Today went to the shop again as the guy wanted to continue to find what was wrong. He knew the front was fine so he focused on the rear. What he found was the left rear was a little further back than the right rear. He thinks the center bolt might be bent or broken. He suggested I go to Valley Springs down the road to see what they can do for me.

What they discovered was the left rear springs were shifted and the AAL was too small for the application. They also think the spring are worn too. The fix would be to re-arch the factory springs and add a real leaf to the pack. They would also replace the old center bolts with news ones. This in turn "should" solve my problem with the truck veering left. It would also level out my truck to match the lift in the front. I sure hope this fixes the problem as this work would set me back around 475 for the work. I have an appointment on Mon and will notify all with the results. Everybody keep their fingers crossed.

[Heatstroke]

Maniak, if interested, I could probably save you some coin. PM me if interested.

[Mark in Az]

The fix would be to re-arch the factory springs and add a real leaf to the pack. They would also replace the old center bolts with news ones. This in turn "should" solve my problem with the truck veering left. It would also level out my truck to match the lift in the front. I sure hope this fixes the problem as this work would set me back around 475 for the work.

A few years back I had factory leafs re-arched for $65 (carried them in) at Spectrac (http://www.spectrac.com/) . And the price of a full length AAL is easy to find. I'm not saying they're overcharging you, but it appears the way they rebuild springs really gets expensive.

This is probably your DD so your choices may be limited, but for the price you're looking at you might consider aftermarket leaf packs that can be installed in an afternoon with basic tools. I'd be willing to bet they'd ride better than what valley is proposing.