installed a new moog track bar. before the install, my steering wheel was off to the LEFT about 4-8 degrees, now with the new track bar in its off about 8-15 degrees to the RIGHT. i checked and my wheels are dead center under the front end. i plan to just adjust the wheel with the adjustment collar, but should i get my alignment checked? is it normal for this to happen?

 

They aren't always the EXACT same length.... so, seeing some change isn't really a surprise. I would be REAL tempted to have it aligned again.

 

i will have the alignment checked. while we are on the topic of alignment, the only way to fix the camber on these trucks is to get adjustable ball joints right?
my tires wear on the inner edge. last time i went and got my truck aligned, they gave me a before and after results paper, i was told the camber is not adjustable on these trucks at all. ball joints or not. the camber was way off in the red, dont exactly remember the degrees.

 

There are offset ball joints for just such an occasion. I think the shops just don't like dealing with them, as they are such a pain to adjust.

 

do you know of ppl who have had issues with tire wear and installed adjustable ball joints and it solved their tire wear issue?

 

I have issues with strange tire wear, even though my front end is supposedly within spec..... A while back, a member installed the off set joints to correct his front end, but, that's been some time ago..... Thread is still around, but, I bet it'll be fun to find.....

 

ill have to do a bit of searching to find out if that is something i wanna do to my truck. sad part is i just put all new ball joints in a little over a year ago. not saying moog is the best but they are decent enough to not wanna spend money again and tear it all back apart before they go bad.

 

Keep you chin up, Brandon. I've been chasing front end issues for over ten years! And I still love my truck. . .

Don't sweat the track bar thing. Same thing happened to me on my first replacement and then the shop messed up my alignment. If you have Y linkage still, adjusting the drag link to center the wheel will throw everything off. That's why there's a bar on there from the factory that says "do not remove" but the shop ripped it off and I had to live with bad steering for ten years. (just this past winter have I finally dialed it in.)

Anyway, think how everything was new at one point and they all wear out together. Now you put one new part on (track bar) and it doesn't line everything up. Add in a lift and you can see where specs can be thrown out the door.

The only way to find factory alignment would be to use an adjustable track bar so that the wheel is not affected: center the wheel and adjust the axle. This is why the adjuster was locked from factory. Most trucks we would center the axle and adjust the wheel. But the Y steering doesn't allow for this. Dodge (Ram) and since changed this philosophy. But since you went with a solid track bar, you will have to adjust the wheel. By doing so, you now change the length between the passenger tire and steering wheel.

I would try this: line up the passenger tire perfectly straight dead on ahead. Lift the driver wheel off the ground just so it spins (or put a baking sheet under it; anything to allow it to move). Leave the passenger tire on the ground with weight on it. Adjust the steering wheel to center making sure the passenger tire doesn't move. Use a laser or 2x4 or something. Then adjust the driver wheel to zero toe between the tires. If all the parts are tight, it should be fine.

In my research, this should work for the Y linkage. The T linkage you reverse the process: Lift both tires, adjust toe dead on, then lower truck and adjust the steering wheel since the drag link is not connected to the passenger tire. It can be confusing but I've been working on this for ten years. The best thing that corrected my steering was a new Redhead, although it took two as the first one was junk. I had terrible pull and tire wear after two shop alignments that I finally did this myself and it cured it. Still had play but that was the gear box.

If your ball joints are newish, I would look at alignment for your tire wear. Or change tires. Not all tires wear perfectly. Shops will always blame the truck and we get left paying for parts we don't need. My dad's a trucker and he has more tire experience in 45 years on the road than we'll all have combined and he would say its the tires. If your ball joints and linkage are all tight, then it is the tires or alignment. Start with alignment. And honestly, I would do it myself. I've never had a shop get it right yet.