ok guys, I am in need of a front end alignment in the near future, truck drifts to the right, and a bit too much play in the steering wheel. Where do you guys go? I want to get it aligned correctly, the 1st time.....

thanks!

 

I do my own. 4X4 are pretty easy. Play is likely the shaft between the box and column. Wandering is caster or toe. as the springs sag the caster goes away. Camber is built into the axle knuckles and toe is how the wheels are parallel.
the last time I had one to a shop it was so bad that I drove straight home and re adjusted it that was 30 years ago.

 

When you say it drifts to the right, do you mean that it drifts "downhill" following the crown of the road, or that it pulls to the right all the time, even against the pitch of the road?

Most of the time these trucks drift pretty good following the crown. If that is the case, and you don't want to just live with that, you will probably need to have a device installed that will allow you to adjust the wheel camber at the king pins. I think the style that replaces the bottom king pin is the best. They used to be available at Rock auto, listed for the GM D60 (look up an SRW k35 from 1985). From the factory, the ONLY alignment adjustment is toe-in.

That said, you might want to check out the upper king-pin bushings & their pre-load springs. There is a write up in the sticky.

Slop in the steering is almost always the "steering coupler". If that joint has any, I mean any, play at all, you really feel it in the wheel. Again, check out the sticky for solutions to that problem. After the coupler, check the ends on the drag link. Then the tie rod ends . . .

So, assuming you need a new steering coupler, and everything else is okay, but the truck drifts to the right, you will need to find an alignment shop that actually knows what they are doing, and they will probably have to set the truck up with a little "cross-camber". This requires the adjustable king pin device.

From another web site: "For vehicles set up to drive on the "right" side of the road, the right side is aligned with a little more negative camber (about 1/4-degree) and a little more positive caster (again, about 1/4-degree) to help the vehicle resist the influence of crowned roads that would cause it to drift "downhill" to the right gutter. Since most roads are crowned, cross-camber and cross-caster are helpful the majority of the time, however they will cause a vehicle to drift to the left on a perfectly flat road or a road that leans to the left."

I know that isn't really what you asked, but hopefully it will let you check out the truck a little before you take it anywhere, and screen potential alignment shops.

I just saw Marks post, and he is right about sagging front springs -- but I assumed you weren't planning to replace those, and it isn't a guaranteed fix for drifting . . .

 

Couple things go wrong with the shaft
as long as the box that goes on the splines with the roll pin isnt sloppy NAPA sells a kit for about $7 that rebuilds the coupler. Best thing i have found is replacing it with a borgeson shaft. its a little more money but well worth it. Just did mine with a new borgeson shaft, draglink and steering box a couple weeks ago and am kicking myself for not doing it sooner HUGE DIFFERENCE. Hate to say it but your probably getting ready to open up a pretty big can of worms. Dont be surprised if your king pins arent sloppy and needing changed and while your doing that you might as well put new axle shaft joints in as well.

 

thanks every1. I'll look into all that very soon. And I did not take into consideration, 'bout the crown on the road I was on....