Hoping maybe some one can help me out here. I have an 02 dakota sxt 3.9 single cab, that I bought new in 02. Its right at about 59,000 miles right now.

Last year, I got some new tires for it, and a few weeks ago, I noticed the front driver side was wearing pretty badly on the outside already. I assumed it was ball joints, or tie rods or something like that. So i had a mechanic check it out and he said the ball joints were shot, and went ahead and replaced the tie rods also. He told me I should get an alignment right away, which I assumed. When i left, i noticed it really stiffened up the handling, and felt much better than before, and drove good and straight, but i didnt want to put off that alignment so I wasnt wasting more tires down the expressway.

So Yesterday, I stop by a shop that advertised alignment and had them do that, and repair a leak in the front driver side tire. The guy puts it ont he alignment machine, works around for an hour or so between that and plugging the tire, then backs it off for a test drive. Came back and said it steers straight but the steering wheel is ******. SO the guy at the counter said "ill just charge you for the tire repair if you dont have time but the steering wheel isnt straight. WHich left me with tons of questions "is this thing safe to drive now?" He said if i had time he'd lift it back up and try it again, I said "please!"

SO they lift the thing back up, then the guy comes to get me and shows me on the computer where everything is good, but said that my rearend is shifted so the steering wheel will be off center. He then assured me it would drive straight as an arrow, just the steering wheel would be off, no problems, no wear on tires. Now, I cant imagine how my rearend would have shifted, ive had the thing since new, has never been wrecked, always been a careful driver.

SO today, not only is the steering wheel off center, but its pulling pretty significantly to the left, at freeway speeds. to top it off, they did a hack job on the tire plug, its holding but looks kinf scary, this massive piece of rubber on the treads that resembles a glob of bubble gum.

Has anyone else encountered this? or have any ideas what to do? WIth under 60,000 miles id love to keep this thing and drive it to work for 10 more years, im just at a a loss of thought with it now and dont care to dump money into it once a week, or end up wrecking.

I sort of wish now, i would have just drove the thing into the ground on those bad ball joints and bought some tires every now and then.

 

First, did they take the tire off the rim to fix it? You really shouldn't be seeing a "glob" of anything on the outside. The patch should be applied to the inside of the tire, not a plug.

Could your rear end be out of line, yes. Is it likely, no. There are alignment pins on the rear springs.

Take it somewhere else for an alignment.

 

The alignment is not correct if the truck pulls left at speed.. You can either get the shop to fix it or find another more competent shop to align it again. It is always a good idea to ask whether their alignment machine has been calibrated recently before they do the job. It does not sound to me like the shop did a good job. Personally I would have a hard time going back there, because it sounds to me like the shop has no idea what they are doing, both with the alignment and the tire patch. The best and safest way to patch a flat tire is to plug it from the inside. It sounds to me like they plugged it from the outside, and while that will work, it is not the most reliable method. If it was a chain tire store or a shop with multiple locations, maybe you could try a different location and get it fixed by someone more competent who actually cares about doing a good job and doing it right the first time.

Once you get the alignment corrected it is still sometimes hard to get the steering wheel straight. A crooked steering wheel is a pet peeve of mine, I can't stand it. If the alignment is corrected, you have no drift or pulling to the side, you can straighten the steering wheel yourself. Here is a link for really good post telling how to do it. It is written for a Ram but it is exactly the same for a Dakota. I did it on my own truck and it works very well:

http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=46601

Good luck with it.

 

Agree on the plug. Tire should have been removed and plug from the inside.Most tire shops will do this to better inspect the tire & wheel. The alignment sounds like it wasn't done right. If you take back to the same shop chances are they will not admit they made a mistake if they did. Take it to another shop and if it has to be align again make sure to get a print out of the alignment and demand the first shop refunds your money.

 

Sad but soooooo true shops never admit to anything they do wrong

Or Brake, bend or damage you get it I’m sure

 

So hard to find a reputable mechanic/shop nowadays, follow the guys advice and get a second opinion. Good luck...

 

Thanks for the advice. I took my truck to a more reputable shop today, and they told me the toe specs were pretty ridiculous. Does anyone know where I can get ahold of the ffactory alignment specs for my truck. So far, I have no complaints, it steers straight and he steering wheel is centered. They said the caster and camber specs are not adjustable on my truck and I did notice the left caster seems to be a bit out of range (according to he printout).

 

Um, yes you can adjust caster and camber on a Dakota. Here are some of the specs for the adjustments, from my 2001 Dakota Dodge factory service manual:

VEHICLE 2 WD:
WHEEL BASE 111.9
Caster: 111.9 Camber: 2.99° Total Toe: −0.25° 0.10°

VEHICLE 2WD:
WHEEL BASE: 130.9
Caster: 130.9 Camber: 3.13° Total Toe: −0.25° 0.10°

It may involve some special tools but you adjust the camber and caster by turning and adjusting the pivot bar on the upper control arm. Toe is adjusted with the outer tie rod jam nuts. Sounds to me like this new shop today has no idea what they are doing either. If it were my truck I would find a reputable shop or maybe try the Dodge dealer at this point.

Jimmy

 

Did my control arms 6 months ago and the upper control arm does have adjustment on the pivot bar to adjust the caster & camber

 

After I did my lift the shop I bought the tires from did the wheel alignment and they were able to adjust camber and caster as well as toe-in. There's no pull and the steering wheel is straight. A good shop can do what you need without charging you an arm and a leg, keep looking...