Oil change, new fuel filter, and new idler arm and tie rods - but the Pitman was OK!

[Adventurer_96]

I recently bought a 1996 Tahoe that I knew had a few things to be done to it to get it running to where I'd want it to be, and the first things to do were a water pump and new tires. When I got the tires, the guys told me that the tie rods were bad (why didn't you find that on the pre-purchase inspection I paid you for then?) and I decided to do them myself since it was way cheaper and I could do them in the auto hobby shop. I'm fortunate in that I have access to an auto hobby shop on base, think of a multi-bay garage with a full tool crib & lifts where you do it yourself for those who aren't familiar with them. We've got a couple of really knowledgeable guys that work the desk too, and they helped a bunch today.

When I put the truck up on the lift, I could easily see tons of play in the right hand tie rods, and a little on the left. The truck pulls to the left, and I knew it would need an alignment. The shop will do that now that I'm done. I replaced the inner and outer tie rods on both sides as well as the idler arm, which was way loose. I've never worked on steering before, so this was a first. See my lessons learned. Thank heaven the Pitman arm was rock solid, I didn't have the time to do that as I've still got the water pump to do, even though I came armed with all the parts.

While I was at it I did an oil change with some Valvoline synthetic blend and I replaced the fuel filter. When I bled the system all I could smell was varnish. I hope that the new filter, some Sea Foam, a tank of hi test and a couple hundred miles on the highway will get rid of the buildups and cure my rough cold starts.

• Lessons learned (some are repeats):
  
  Gear pullers are helpful.
• Duralast tie rods look like they're really crappy, I don't like the boot design at all.
• Buy replacement tie rod adjusting sleeves. (Thanks, Autozone counter help...)
• Buy non-Autozone parts. (Hey, they give a military discount. Now I know better)
• See above.
• Having access to a lift made this job easier, but it can be done at home.
• Haynes says nothing about how to reach through the frame to remove the idler assembly.
  Lose a bolt in the frame and you're wasting a lot of time to find it. Same goes for sockets.
• Anyone can do it with the tools & time - don't be afraid to undertake this project.

Oh, one other nice 'new car surprise' was a check engine light on the way to the shop. I've got to finish water pump tomorrow and have them read the code to see what's up. I'll post results for the water pump and road test.

[Adventurer_96]

The check engine light went off after the battery was unplugged overnight (imagine that) and Walmart replaced the battery for free, as it had a sticker indicating it was installed in 2006.

The water pump installation went fine except for the fact I spilled Dex-Cool all over the engine compartment when the bottle slipped out of my hand while trying to fill the rad, so I wasn't able to leak-check like I would have preferred. But, so far so good, the radiator is pressuring just fine and there are no more air pockets. I'll look under the truck this week to double check for leaks.

I dropped it off for an alignment, and the shopowner is confused, they tried to align it three times with no luck. It indicated that it was aligned when it was on the machine but a drive down the road still had it pulling to the right. They're going to try again this week to see if there's something else out of whack. The steering is now very tight, but it does pull to the right and you have to have the wheel turned to the left to go straight.

Some other minor fixes on the list:

• Seat motor for the driver's seat is bad, needs to be rebuilt/replaced.
• Fuel gauge is crazy, it goes well past full when full, then indicates anywhere from 1/2 to full after about 150 miles.
• Blower motor squeaks like a hamster on a wheel, I've got the replacement for it and I'll throw it in Friday if I have the time.
• Doors need some lubricant on both the hinges and the striker plates.

[MT-2500]

Yes the pre-sale check should have caught the bad tie rod ends.
And with worn tie rod ends also check all ball joints and control arm bushings.
Was it pulling left or right before the alignment or tie rod replacement?
Firts thing the alignment shop should do is center the steerring wheel.
That can be done with the tie rod adjustment.
Also it should be put on a capable 4 wheel alignment machine.
A rear axel not tracking or set right or a slipped rear spring bolt can give you a pull left or right.
Is the left or right side front brakes running hot or draging?
Let us know how it goes.

[j cAT]

the wheel alignment was done with the steering wheel not centered. this is a common problem, that I used to encounter. as stated it is simply adjusting the tie rods length. shorten one, lenthen the other.the alignment shop should do this without any further charges..if the vehicle does not drift camber is ok.

[777stickman]

Another source of your steering pull to the right could be the tires themselves. Make sure the pressures are equal and then swap the fronts side to side and see what happens.

[Adventurer_96]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I tried to post a reply last night, and my long reply got dumped when I hit the submit button due to too many people on the board it said. Here goes again...

I agree, the inspection should have found the tie rod problems, and I asked the owner why. He called back later after asking the tech why he didn't write up the tie rods and he told me they'd pass inspection but weren't good enough to give a good alignment. He really seemed like I'd caught him with his pants down, and he wanted to make it right by giving me a half-price alignment (which has turned into a big job for him) to make up for their mistake. Not to mention, I'd just bought 4 new tires from them. I'm not thrilled as I would have preferred to know this before buying the truck, but he seemed genuinely pi$$ed at his guy for missing it.

The truck has been on the alignment rack 7 times as of yesterday morning, when I brought it back after swapping out the tie rod adjusting sleeve to put it in the correct place. I'd never done anything steering related before, so I didn't put it close enough in the middle to allow for adjustments, live and learn. I double checked the Pitman, it was rock solid in my opinion and the opinion of the guy working at the auto hobby shop, so that's not an issue. Ball joints & bushings all looked good, and feel good on the road. Plus, the steering is tighter than my '01 Yukon now.

When I drove the truck around after swapping out the tie rod, it still pulled right, but when the wheel was centered it went down the road straight.

When they were aligning it, they told me that they'd have it on the alignment rack, set the wheel straight, align, and then a test drive would have it go down the road pulling to the right as before.

Some changes from day 1:

• They DID find and adjust a dragging brake, on the one wheel I didn't spin when it was on the lift last week. Figures... It didn't fix the problem, but it pulls less than before.
• Four brand new tires, all force balanced & properly inflated, which is why I was getting an alignment from this shop since they sold me the tires.
• When the truck goes down the road straight, the wheel is straight now, compared to being turned to the left when this all started.
• It still pulls to the right, though not as much.

I also swapped out a rear window switch, pulled the three seat motors in the driver's side seat, and swapped out the blower motor for a new one. I'll be posting here about the seat motors.

How's that for two weeks with the new truck?

[MT-2500]

Thanks for posting back how it went.
Glad is is getting better.

On the front brake it sounds like there may be a problem.
There is no adjustment on it.
Drag on a front wheel is caused by sticking sliders or caliper sticking or a bad front brake hose.
If it still drags or runs warm it should be looked into.

The steering wheel center is part of a alignment and should have been done when it was aligned.

A slight pull can be adjusted on the front end alignment.

But rememeber the pitch of a road will make it pull to the right and should be set to your road conditions that you normaly drive on by the caster adjustment.
The more slope to the right the more it will pull to the right.
And the more caster you need on the right side.
Also load conditions if loaded on one side or a larger tire on on side and air pressure.

If it is pulling more to the right more than it should tell the aligment man and ask for more caster on right side.
Good Luck
MT

[Adventurer_96]

I'm glad, too!

It was the rear drum, passenger side, that they adjusted. I can see where "adjusting" the front brakes would raise an eyebrow based upon what little I know about these front brakes, but having fiddled with the drums on my 1965 Sunbeam Tiger I know there is a little more to adjusting them.

This truck really pulls to the right, let go of the wheel and you drive off the road, any road surface, some better than others, but to the right all the time. I'm fortunate to have the Yukon to compare it with, too.

He did mention a caster issue, that rung a bell. I think he had the "B" team on the first try on the alignment, now he's putting in the "A" team. Let's hope it fixes it, I didn't hear back today but we'll see on Monday.

[777stickman]

Please don't get me wrong on this. I fully agree with what MT is saying. The thing about the tires being a possible cause is not a joke. I haven't seen any mention of swapping tires in your posts. Until you can prove that "radial pull" is not the culprit with the pull to the right then you'll be at the alignment shop for ever. It could be just one tire out of the four. Please try it and let us know.

[Adventurer_96]

Got it, will try, if I seem like I haven't been thinking of that as the culprit it's just because it pulled to the right before getting it to the shop to get the tires on, so in my mind (before getting the tires) I knew I needed an alignment.

Now, it's hurry up and wait until Monday. Or, maybe Wednesday, if they take Monday off as a holiday.

Thanks again.

[Adventurer_96]

They can't figure it out, it's aligned within specs according to the machines but still pulls right.

I'll ask if they've swapped the tires.

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by Adventurer_96

They can't figure it out, it's aligned within specs according to the machines but still pulls right.

I'll ask if they've swapped the tires.

HAVE THEY CHECKED THE ALL 4 WHEEL ALIGNMENT.
You could have a problem on the rear end to.
Like a spring center bolt slipped.

If all else fails tell them to give it some more castor on right side.
Any good alignment man should be able to figure that out or why it is pulling.
Good Luck
MT.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by Adventurer_96

They can't figure it out, it's aligned within specs according to the machines but still pulls right.

I'll ask if they've swapped the tires.

all this for a wheel alignment! bring it to another alignment shop this is nonsense. all the suggestions mentioned should have been done when aligned . this is a bad auto repair shop . now i know why i have done my own alignments for many years now......this brings back bad memories.....

[J-Ri]

How bad is the pulling on a scale of 1 to 10? 1-drifts to the shoulder over 1/4 mile 10-you always have to have a hand on the wheel to keep from going off the road

Is there a considerable ammount of weight on the right side? I heard a story about a guy with a van that had 500 lbs+ in it all the time. When he took it in for alignment (and probably other work), he removed all the stuff and put it in another vehicle so he could still make his rounds. Needless to say, it pulled afterwards.

Also, make sure everything is tight in the suspension, especially the A-arm bushings. They could be lose and can be pushed around by the force of the toe-in driving down the road, but return to the correct position at slow speeds.

But... all that is something that I think a competent alignment guy would probably know... so i have to agree with j cAT

[Adventurer_96]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies, I've been traveling with work over the last few weeks.

It pulls about at a 7, or thereabouts. They did swap the tires. They gave me the printout of the reading for camber/caster/toe - all in specs.

The car's off the road now since I haven't registered it, but I'm going to take it to an alignment specialist in Salt Lake City (if such a place exists) to see what the problem is.

My last guess would be a bad steering box.

Any other thoughts?