99 rodeo wont hold an alignment

I have a 99 rodeo ls v6 2wd. It makes a popping noise (sounds about the same as rocks hitting the undercarriage) when cornering so this weekend i checked out the suspension. One of the lower ball joints was bad so i replaced them both, no other steering problems. Once I was done, i took it in for an alignment, had started pulling to the drivers side, the first place i took it said it was in spec but his machine had been acting up lately.
The second place i took it did an alignment, test drove it, and when they hit a bump, it started pulling again. So they re-did the alignment, three times with the same result each time. They could find no reason for this or the popping noise.

I was thinking the popping might be body mounts, but why wont the alignment stick?

This is a question that the alignments techs you took it to should be able to answer. There has to be a reason and they should be able to find that reason. Some loose, worn out, broken, they should be able to find it.

Been looking into the car more and found some rear brake problems. The passenger side had a bad axle seal so the brake was slimed full of grease. The drivers side was running metal to metal in one area.

Replaced the axle seal and went with new shoes on the pass. side.

Replaced shoes and drum on drivers side. Noticed the shoes were engaged with the drum when it went back together. When I started the car, the BRAKE light on the dash stayed on, drove a little and put the car in neutral, it pulled itself to a stop. Still pulling to the drivers side BTW.

Does the BRAKE light indicate just for parking brake or the full brake system?

If the e-brake is off and the light is on it is suppose to mean that the brake fluid is a bit low or the e-brake button is stuck.....

Amigo-2k nailed it. The brake light was because of low fluid.

However, the drivers side rear drum is still rubbing on the shoes even after adjusting the e-brake.

It has a new drum, new shoes, new springs, and a new wheel cylinder. As i spin the tire by hand i can hear it make a rubbing sound but only for about half the rotation.

Pulling the e-brake lever bring it to a full halt as expected, so i don't believe the cable is bound.

Again, this you may already know, but there is a little spiked wheel in a small hole when you are looking at the assembly. That little wheel lets you adjust how close the shoes are to the drum. You just need to push it with flat head screw driver to make adjustments. One push and then rotate the tire to listen for any sound, push again, and rotate until the rubbing sound disappears.

Good Luck.



Amigo-2k nailed it. The brake light was because of low fluid.

However, the drivers side rear drum is still rubbing on the shoes even after adjusting the e-brake.

It has a new drum, new shoes, new springs, and a new wheel cylinder. As i spin the tire by hand i can hear it make a rubbing sound but only for about half the rotation.

Pulling the e-brake lever bring it to a full halt as expected, so i don't believe the cable is bound.

yeah, the adjuster is all the way in.

yeah, the adjuster is all the way in.

Try going the other way?

It's self adjusting, and while i could turn it the other way, that would force the shoes outward causing even more brake drag. So i'm thinking maybe the new drum is out of round.