Alignment issue

Nystagmus · Nov 18, 2019

So, I took my truck in over the weekend for an oil change and told them to check the alignment due to a slight pull to the right.

when I picked up my truck I immediately noticed that the pull had not been corrected at all and took it back. Supposedly the did some slight adjustments and said it was perfectly aligned, but still had a slight right pull.

See attached print out of the “after” settings. Is there any reason for the left front to not be in the green zone and could this cause the pull to the right ? I have no knowledge of the geometry under there things !!

1500ram12 · Nov 18, 2019

With out seeing the before specs it's possible that they put the left out of adjustment to compensate for the right pull. So force the left to pull more than the right.

What type of tires do you have?

Mud tires have a tendency to pull left or right depending on the tread pattern. All terrains I believe are fairly true and summer and all seasons are too.

2018 2500 6.4L Tradesman

Nystagmus · Nov 18, 2019

1500ram12 said:
With out seeing the before specs it's possible that they put the left out of adjustment to compensate for the right pull. So force the left to pull more than the right.

What type of tires do you have?

Mud tires have a tendency to pull left or right depending on the tread pattern. All terrains I believe are fairly true and summer and all seasons are too.

2018 2500 6.4L Tradesman

I don’t have the initial reading from the first alignment attempt. They did not provide me with that. This is the reading after I brought it back and they put it on the rack the second time.

Tires are Nexen Roadian AT.

1500ram12 · Nov 18, 2019

Did the truck have those tires when you bought it or did you add them?

Did it Start pulling after they were installed?

How many miles are on them?

2018 2500 6.4L Tradesman

Nystagmus · Nov 18, 2019

1500ram12 said:
Did the truck have those tires when you bought it or did you add them?

Did it Start pulling after they were installed?

How many miles are on them?

2018 2500 6.4L Tradesman

I bought the truck two years ago and the tires were new then. About 20k miles on them now. Just started noticing the pulling in last few weeks.

1500ram12 · Nov 18, 2019

I don't know much about those tires but they could be your issue. When were they rotated last?

2018 2500 6.4L Tradesman

Nystagmus · Nov 18, 2019

They supposedly rotated them the day of the alignment.

probably 6 months since last rotation.

they also said I needed a new cabin air filter when my truck doesn’t even have one !!!

Ken226 · Nov 18, 2019

Nystagmus said:
They supposedly rotated them the day of the alignment.

probably 6 months since last rotation.

they also said I needed a new cabin air filter when my truck doesn’t even have one !!!

I think you've found your problem.

Your dealers service personell are nitwits.

Tach_tech · Nov 18, 2019

According to that printout there would be a .4 degree pull to the right. Usually you want a .5 degree pull to the left to compensate for road crown. So with that .4 pull to the right plus road crown it would be a pretty noticeable pull.

Do you have a before printout?

Nystagmus · Nov 18, 2019

Tach_tech said:
According to that printout there would be a .4 degree pull to the right. Usually you want a .5 degree pull to the left to compensate for road crown. So with that .4 pull to the right plus road crown it would be a pretty noticeable pull.

Do you have a before printout?

There’s the answer I’ve been looking for. I didn’t get the original printout, just this one since they put it on the rack two different times. The before on this one is very slightly different.

gbark80 · Nov 18, 2019

Nystagmus said:
There’s the answer I’ve been looking for. I didn’t get the original printout, just this one since they put it on the rack two different times. The before on this one is very slightly different.

Whenever you look at an alignment print out, the thrust angle that is at the bottom center will tell you what way the vehicle is going to drift. Like tach_tech said, you would generally want somewhere between .04-.06 to the left to oppose the crown of the road.

The only thing I would be worried about with yours is that they didn't get your camber even side to side. The fact that you have a little extra negative camber on the front left wouldn't bother me, as long as both sides were evenly out. For me, every vehicle I have ever owned would wear the outer 1"-1.5" of tread faster than the rest of the tire, I need to slow down on corners, but a little negative camber helps combat that.

Tach_tech · Nov 18, 2019

gbark80 said:
Whenever you look at an alignment print out, the thrust angle that is at the bottom center will tell you what way the vehicle is going to drift. Like tach_tech said, you would generally want somewhere between .04-.06 to the left to oppose the crown of the road.

The only thing I would be worried about with yours is that they didn't get your camber even side to side. The fact that you have a little extra negative camber on the front left wouldn't bother me, as long as both sides were evenly out. For me, every vehicle I have ever owned would wear the outer 1"-1.5" of tread faster than the rest of the tire, I need to slow down on corners, but a little negative camber helps combat that.

On vehicles that have adjustable camber/caster I’ll usually try to split the 1/2 degree left pull between the camber and caster. So camber/caster won’t be the same side to side but the difference gets split between the two so it’s not an issue.

Without seeing OPs before printout, my guess is they just set the toe and kicked it out.

GRN69CHV · Nov 18, 2019

Had to replace driver side front tire today (it was the only original tire left on the truck, 46,100 miles). Had alignment checked, it was within factory specs. Outer edge of the tire was done, center looked pretty good. Interesting comment on the alignment set up for a slight left pull. On all the back roads around here it does track straight. On highways at times I do notice a slight drift to the left on dead flat road surfaces.

ram1500rsm · Nov 19, 2019

Nystagmus said:
So, I took my truck in over the weekend for an oil change and told them to check the alignment due to a slight pull to the right.

when I picked up my truck I immediately noticed that the pull had not been corrected at all and took it back. Supposedly the did some slight adjustments and said it was perfectly aligned, but still had a slight right pull.

See attached print out of the “after” settings. Is there any reason for the left front to not be in the green zone and could this cause the pull to the right ? I have no knowledge of the geometry under there things !!

View attachment 186408

They gave you a toe and go alignment. Press them to fix the camber towards the 0* on the driver side.

Nystagmus · Nov 19, 2019

I’m here now. Had a mechanic friend print off the specs and it looks like Firestone had the specs on the camber reversed. The left should be up to +.10 and the right -.10.

so I got a refund and going to a reputable shop tomorrow

Nystagmus · Nov 24, 2019

UPDATE: Had the alignment done at a dealership and I’m good to go now.

And with a good-buddy discount, the proper alignment was cheaper than the botched job at Firestone.

Ram-in-PA · Nov 25, 2019

Hmm, Interesting info here. I am on my 3rd set of tires now with only 56k miles, with rotation about every 5k miles. The OE tires made it to just about 30K miles, 2nd set made it to 56K. New set installed this weekend, and were pro-rated by Firestone as the tires have a 55k treadlife warranty. Firestone also did my alignment when they installed the 2nd Set, but I did not have them do a new alignment on this 3rd set as I am suspect of their skills.

Also, now wondering if the AirRide suspension is causing excess tire wear. Not sure if Firestone was intelligent enough to put the suspension in Alignment mode and if that has any impact on the alignment settings? Specs from my last Firestone alignment . . .

Service 2017-09-23 - Tires and Alignment.jpg

Tach_tech · Nov 25, 2019

Air suspension equipped trucks have to be in alignment/aero mode. It absolutely will change the alignment if it’s not put in that mode.

That alignment looks fine to me. The toe isn’t even on both sides but not enough to cause any tire wear.

Alignment issue

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