Alignment Weirdness

[Jude49]

I’ve got a 1996 C1500 with a 2In rough country lift kit on it. Truck only has 77k miles and the kit only has 3k miles on it. Everything to do with the kit is 100% sound so it’s not the issue. Every time I get the truck aligned (5 times now) within a day after going over a few light bumps (no major potholes or anything but EX. Maybe a filled in pothole or something similar) the alignment on the truck is all screwed up and the wheel doesn’t point straight again. The wheel will also sometimes change places as you’re driving if you go over a rough patch of highway or similar. I’ve already confirmed it’s not the tie rod adjustment sleeves by measuring out their location with a correct alignment and checking again after it got screwed up. I then finally bit the bullet and took it to a mechanic who couldn’t figure it out either. Also feels important to point out that the issue started about a month and a half after the kit was installed so it shouldn’t be anything to do with the work that was done. I’m really lost at this point, any help is greatly aprichiated.

 

[GrimsterGMC]

Are you saying that the truck drives straight, as it it's not pulling left or right, but that the steering wheel is not true? Maybe check the rag joint as it may be worn out.

 

[Jude49]

This time around it drives dead straight, just with the wheel corrected about 45 degrees to the left. I hadn’t thought about the rag joint. Thanks for the idea.

 

[JDGMC]

Stock tires? Tire pressure? 2 in lift isn’t much. Make sure all your steering linkage is tight. If that's all good the steering gear may be the culprit assuming the steering geometry is adequate for the 2 in-lifft. Did the steering get slightly harder after the lift or alignment?

 

[Supercharged111]

From behind the keyboard it sounds like some control arm bushings are roached. That'll keep your alignment nice and dynamic. It's also possible when the lift was installed that the bushings weren't torqued on a settled suspension, that'll tear an old bushing up even more.

 

[GoToGuy]

Are any of the nuts not keeping torque settings? I found the nuts on both upper A arms I thread all the on with two fingers. " that's not good" . So replaced all long bolt nuts with new all metal locking flange nuts. How I found it was one had loosened and was making a " click " or " tap " noise when suspension movement.
When they perform the alignment part of that is steering wheel in neutral ( 9-3 ) position, then making any corrections to alignment. The problem that can come into play is if any parts are slightly worn, but not at replace time. All those small bits of " play " add up. Like cutting a lot boards 1/16 to long. It all adds up. Worn out rag joint, excessive lash/ play in steer gear box, pitman arm ( common).
So sometimes with wear you could get Two inches of steering wheel input before vehicle reaction. Multiple slightly worn parts can add up.
Good luck!

 

[Hipster]

The wheel will also sometimes change places as you’re driving if you go over a rough patch of highway or similar.

Describe this better.

Sounds like you hit a bump and the truck wants to jerk to one side or the other? Does the steering wheel return to the same place/center after this happens? Could be a combination of things. I would think after 5 alignments someone would have noticed a fragged rag joint or loose gearbox just pulling it on the rack. Bumpsteer is unnerving and unpredictable. It wants to jerk you into the next lane when you least expect it if bad enough. You sure you're not experiencing a bumpsteer issue due to the control arm/crank kit putting everything at crappy angles up front? Look at pitman/idler arm etc. Those crank kits and the bad angles they create can really accelerate wear on all of the steering linkage components not just tie rods. And look at the Control arm bushings, could be shredded from a bad install. Like mentioned, you don't tighten them up until the weight of the truck is back on it's suspension.

Be upfront with the alignment guys, " Hey look, I'm having a problem, Check it out."

 

[Jimmy D]

For real, that kind of looseness in the steering is a dangerous situation. Any alignment shop worth its salt would not let a vehicle go driving like that. You should find a better shop or dealer shop to correct this before you or someone else get's hurt. If this condition did not start until after the lift kit was installed, I'd believe it is definitely related and suspect.
Any chance the frame is cracked around the steering sector mounting bolts?

 

[Jude49]

Describe this better.

Sounds like you hit a bump and the truck wants to jerk to one side or the other? Does the steering wheel return to the same place/center after this happens? Could be a combination of things. I would think after 5 alignments someone would have noticed a fragged rag joint or loose gearbox just pulling it on the rack. Bumpsteer is unnerving and unpredictable. It wants to jerk you into the next lane when you least expect it if bad enough. You sure you're not experiencing a bumpsteer issue due to the control arm/crank kit putting everything at crappy angles up front? Look at pitman/idler arm etc. Those crank kits and the bad angles they create can really accelerate wear on all of the steering linkage components not just tie rods. And look at the Control arm bushings, could be shredded from a bad install. Like mentioned, you don't tighten them up until the weight of the truck is back on it's suspension.

Be upfront with the alignment guys, " Hey look, I'm having a problem, Check it out."

Not exactly bump steer. The truck isn’t dancing all over the road. It still drives straight, the wheel just is off center. So for example last time I had it aligned I had been driving it a little bit and I started off with the wheel dead center, and by the time I arrived about an hour away the wheel was off 45 degrees about to the left. Truck still drives dead straight with the wheel to the side, even if you let of the wheel entirely, but the wheel is off center. Also to add, most of the time, once the wheel goes off center it will stay there. Like it may end up 45 degrees to the left and it won’t necessarily get worse than that until I have it realigned and try again, at which point it may end up 20 degrees to the right. It’s been different pretty much each time where it ends up, but after it settles on it spot usually within a day, it stays there.

 

[Jude49]

For real, that kind of looseness in the steering is a dangerous situation. Any alignment shop worth its salt would not let a vehicle go driving like that. You should find a better shop or dealer shop to correct this before you or someone else get's hurt. If this condition did not start until after the lift kit was installed, I'd believe it is definitely related and suspect.
Any chance the frame is cracked around the steering sector mounting bolts?

Frame defiantly isn’t cracked. Truck doesn’t even have a spec of rust on it and I’d sure hope these frames were built well enough not to crack under normal driving conditions. The lift was not a dramatic change at all from stock. Just did it to more comfortably fit 31s underneath and maintain a nice look. Truck was however lowered with a beltech 3/4 before I got it, so I’m considering a fact this might had something to do with it. The wheel was still off when the truck was still lowered, I just never had it realigned then as I knew it wasn’t going to stay that way, so I can’t really tell when the issue started.