Alignment Issues on Lifted Ram - Is My Dealer Lying to Me?

[Adams930]

Hello Gang,

I've lurked on here for years, this place has been a great help for many things in that time. Hoping you guys can give me some insight on my alignment and dealership problem.

I've got a 2014 Laramie with a 4" Rough Country suspension lift, bought it from the dealer 11 months ago with the kit already installed. Right out of the gate I had terrible bump steer and took it to a reputable 4x4 shop in the area and they found the alignment was completely out of whack, and the front struts were only being held in by one bolt on each side, the remaining bolts weren't threaded and just spun in place. They sold it to me like that, unbelievably. I had that shop fix everything and after some battling the dealership reimburse me the cost. That's the background.

So 4 months ago I am driving and the truck feels super squirrelly, so I call the dealer and bring it in. They tell me the alignment is shot and was so bad I cupped up my set of 35x12.50 Toyos beyond repair. So I buy another set of tires (OUCH) and have them install the tires and do the alignment. Everything seems good, I take it in for an oil change a month ago (3,000 miles since the alignment) and have them check the alignment and rotate the tires. They tell me the alignment is completely shot again. At this point I'm pretty upset and explain that there must be something causing this issue, as I've now had 3 alignments in less than a year and it's chewing up very expensive tires. They say I must have hit something. I haven't hit a thing in this truck. I have never taken it off-road. I drive the same drive to work everyday that I've done for years in my 2008 Ram which I have put nearly 200k miles on and have never had a single alignment issue, only needed them done when I've changed tires. They say to bring it back in a month and they'll check it again to see if it's still aligned properly. That day came yesterday.

I drop it off, they call me this morning and tell me the alignment is perfect and all is well. I'm relieved and go pick the truck up. As soon as I pull out of the dealership I notice that my steering wheel is about 20 degrees off center to the right. The truck is driving fine, but the steering wheel is definitely way off. I called them and asked them if they touched anything besides just checking the alignment, or did anything at all that could have knocked the wheel off center. They said they didn't touch anything and only checked the alignment. I've never heard of something like this so I did some googling and I can't find any reason why the steering wheel is all of the sudden off center without them doing some kind of adjustment that caused it. I feel like they are lying to me at this point to try and get out of the ordeal of tearing the front end of the truck apart to find out what's really going on.

So after all that writing (sorry) if you are still with me here, my question is this. Have any of you heard of a steering wheel getting out of alignment from simply checking the alignment? Or is this dealer trying to pull a fast one on me and their mechanic forgot to straighten the wheel after he made the adjustments to the alignment to get it within tolerance? And if this thing is really throwing alignments this rapidly with normal daily driving, what could be the cause?

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[67shawnw]

steering wheel won't move with just a check

 

[IRSmart]

But it could with an adjustment

 

[Gary2]

That would be " it could with a half a$$ed alignment"

Having as much experience as I do with Jeep TJs I avoid anything that says Rough Country . I don't care if everyone on this whole forum likes it I won't have it on any of my vehicles . If Walmart sold lift kits that would be the brand on their shelves.

 

[67shawnw]

Gary is right

 

[Adams930]

So I'm not crazy, they definitely adjusted something while it was on the rack if the steering wheel is now out of alignment. What a bunch of scumbags!

With regards to the actual alignment issue now that it seems to be real, I didn't choose the Rough Country lift, it's what it had when I bought it. Is there a known issue that can be knocking out the alignment so fast with these kits? I just want to get it fixed right at this point, any insight onto which parts specifically might be causing my problem is greatly appreciated!

 

[Ratket]

Let’s get a little more involved before we blame the lift. Everyone has an opinion on lifts and that is how it is. We need more info from you to understand what we are looking at here. Can you post some pictures of the coil overs? Just crank the wheel and get us some good picks behind the wheels so we can see if a spacer was used or new struts where used. Try and get us some shots of the cv axel angles, and the upper ball joint angles.The lift it’s self is not “ the issue”. The lack of trouble shooting and finding the cause is the issue. A good 4x4 shop should be able to resolve this, but maybe not.
If it turns out there is a bad part with the lift, rough country may send you a replacement part for free. But before we go there, let’s see if we can find out what the issue is.

 

[808ram1500]

What Ratket said.

 

[6.7CumminsDrvr]

I has an aligmnet issue and toasted a set of KO2’s. My tire shop finally got it squared away (place that did the lift took it somewhere else) but for a hot second I thought the lift was the problem.

Aligmnet is perfect now and my 35’s are wearing perfectly.........

Lesson learned: find a shop that knows what the hell they are doing and are willing to get you straightened out (pun intended)

 

[PresiousRam]

They definitely moved something in the camber/caster and didn’t adjust the toe correctly. Did they give you the before/after print out?

 

[Joeyd]

I’m having the same exact issue I’m spending 1000 dollars a year just to put on two fronts cause I just wear through them!
I’ve been to multiple alignments and it seems right as I pull out of the lot it get a squirmy again
What did you end up doing to resolve this issue?

Hello Gang,

I've lurked on here for years, this place has been a great help for many things in that time. Hoping you guys can give me some insight on my alignment and dealership problem.

I've got a 2014 Laramie with a 4" Rough Country suspension lift, bought it from the dealer 11 months ago with the kit already installed. Right out of the gate I had terrible bump steer and took it to a reputable 4x4 shop in the area and they found the alignment was completely out of whack, and the front struts were only being held in by one bolt on each side, the remaining bolts weren't threaded and just spun in place. They sold it to me like that, unbelievably. I had that shop fix everything and after some battling the dealership reimburse me the cost. That's the background.

So 4 months ago I am driving and the truck feels super squirrelly, so I call the dealer and bring it in. They tell me the alignment is shot and was so bad I cupped up my set of 35x12.50 Toyos beyond repair. So I buy another set of tires (OUCH) and have them install the tires and do the alignment. Everything seems good, I take it in for an oil change a month ago (3,000 miles since the alignment) and have them check the alignment and rotate the tires. They tell me the alignment is completely shot again. At this point I'm pretty upset and explain that there must be something causing this issue, as I've now had 3 alignments in less than a year and it's chewing up very expensive tires. They say I must have hit something. I haven't hit a thing in this truck. I have never taken it off-road. I drive the same drive to work everyday that I've done for years in my 2008 Ram which I have put nearly 200k miles on and have never had a single alignment issue, only needed them done when I've changed tires. They say to bring it back in a month and they'll check it again to see if it's still aligned properly. That day came yesterday.

I drop it off, they call me this morning and tell me the alignment is perfect and all is well. I'm relieved and go pick the truck up. As soon as I pull out of the dealership I notice that my steering wheel is about 20 degrees off center to the right. The truck is driving fine, but the steering wheel is definitely way off. I called them and asked them if they touched anything besides just checking the alignment, or did anything at all that could have knocked the wheel off center. They said they didn't touch anything and only checked the alignment. I've never heard of something like this so I did some googling and I can't find any reason why the steering wheel is all of the sudden off center without them doing some kind of adjustment that caused it. I feel like they are lying to me at this point to try and get out of the ordeal of tearing the front end of the truck apart to find out what's really going on.

So after all that writing (sorry) if you are still with me here, my question is this. Have any of you heard of a steering wheel getting out of alignment from simply checking the alignment? Or is this dealer trying to pull a fast one on me and their mechanic forgot to straighten the wheel after he made the adjustments to the alignment to get it within tolerance? And if this thing is really throwing alignments this rapidly with normal daily driving, what could be the cause?

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[ram1500rsm]

Take the truck to an alignment shop and get it aligned. post the alignment printout. Make sure you'll get that printout before hand. if the shop tells you they won't hand the before/after printout run away from that shop.
With printout on hand ask for the dealer manager to cover the alignment.

 

[RedSRT4Me]

Let’s get a little more involved before we blame the lift. Everyone has an opinion on lifts and that is how it is. We need more info from you to understand what we are looking at here. Can you post some pictures of the coil overs? Just crank the wheel and get us some good picks behind the wheels so we can see if a spacer was used or new struts where used. Try and get us some shots of the cv axel angles, and the upper ball joint angles.The lift it’s self is not “ the issue”. The lack of trouble shooting and finding the cause is the issue. A good 4x4 shop should be able to resolve this, but maybe not.
If it turns out there is a bad part with the lift, rough country may send you a replacement part for free. But before we go there, let’s see if we can find out what the issue is.

I 100% agree Ratket

First it looks like this truck was purchased used? By the way you describe the lift installed that is the conclusion I get from it. Now if the truck was infact used then they are usually sold "as is" but that depends on the documents you signed at purchase.

Now if you purchased this truck new with the lift why do you keep going back to this dealership??

Next how many miles are on the lift kit itself? I ask this because if your stock upper and lower ball joints are worn out, it infact affects the alignment of the truck over time. What about the shocks? OEM? RC?

 

[Firetruck41]

FYI, the original post is from 2 years ago...

 

[chri5k]

Holy necro-posting Batman.

 

[bohrman44]

So did he get it fixed?!?! We need to know and now that I have read every post up until this, I/we deserve closure......lol

 

[JB1]

FYI, the original post is from 2 years ago...

lol

 

[TXRedneck]

So did he get it fixed?!?! We need to know and now that I have read every post up until this, I/we deserve closure......lol

Agreed. This is ********. I need to know.

 

[ram1500rsm]

Lol, well we're just showing the newbs no post goes unanswered around here. Can't get any better than that can it?
On a serious note somebody should ban Joeyd for bringing out death posts, ******** it
And TXredneck goes out too just cause it seems somebody is just piling up posts. We have eyes on the bots :********:

 

[TXRedneck]

Lol, well we're just showing the newbs no post goes unanswered around here. Can't get any better than that can it?
On a serious note somebody should ban Joeyd for bringing out death posts, ******** it
And TXredneck goes out too just cause it seems somebody is just piling up posts. We have eyes on the bots :********:

Lmao. I concur, Joeyd must go down but the OP leaving some of us hanging like this in such unstable times is freaking unacceptable. I've been walking in circles for hours trying to figure out what the hell to his truck.