livingwithcause

So recently I felt like my Jeep was getting out of alignment. Tire wear was off and it was pulling every so often. Took it in to a local tire and lube shop. Came back in and they said it was all in spec and good to go. I pull out of the drive from there and it feels a bit funny. But assumed it was just getting use to it being in actual alignment. Thus I drove it for a week. It is yanking me everywhere. Get home to check the alignment and you can see this from just looking from the top:







Way off and looks like some is shifted. So I run a line around both tires (holding a silver sharpie and spinning the wheels. Assuming one would cause like a spiral...it doesn't. So I measure from front of the tire (one the line I made) to the other tire's line. Move to the back and do the same and its only 1/4 of an inch wider on back....... so there is a toe in. I measure about 6 more times and its the same every time. So I measure inside the wheel well to solid points and the passenger side tire that looks off shows almost an 1.5 inch difference in toe than the driver side tire. Thinking I might have a warped wheel I spun and marked again and the line is straight as an arrow on both wheels. I'm lost.

Here is a front view too. Maybe I am measuring wrong. Who knows.

6Cylinder

Did the lube shop give you an alignment sheet showing the specs? If not here is a high chance they did nothing because they don't want to align your car. A lot of shops that don't know the gentle specifics of lifting a car and how it effects your alignment readings avoid aligning such cars because it can return as a comeback (problematic car). So they'll lie and tell the customer what they want to hear to not deal with it.

If you think there is a real issue, take it to a real shop and ask for an alignment with the spec sheet. If they sell you on a warranty alignment (they'll do it for free up to so many years) I'd say buy that and have them align it. If you have issues you can fix it yourself and with each additional fix you can go back to them for your free/warranty alignment.

Wandering issues are related to many front end parts. Rarely , but absolutely possible, will it be he rear end. With Jeeps steering linkages, trac bar, and ball joint setup you can get anything from a small drift to a large -safety issue- type of wander. Get a pry bar and wiggle your track bar, ball joints, and linkages. If you notice any excessive play then you'll have a start on what you'll need to replace.

Alignments are finicky and they get worse with increased speed. Drive safe and post what you find and we'll get you steering straight again!

Crazy 8s

You need to either adjust your track bar or get an adjustable trackbar to adjust...your lift is such that your axle is pushed to the left. The toe-in is not...it is toed out. You want toe-in of 1/16". Yours looks way out of spec.

So many folks say that we should have pros do aligment for us...but almost everytime I have gone to pros to do alignments they get it wrong in one way or another. I can muss it up myself and just use that money for beer...to drink while I try to fix it myself.

(The track bar issue is probably what threw off the alignment measurements...)

Crazy 8s

I also do not know why pros would have a hard time with Xjs because they are really easy to align...as there is not much that can be adjusted. There is not much we can do about camber and caster so half the work is eliminated right off the bat...

Crazy 8s

Brandonrcm

Well, just looking at fenders to where wheel is won't show you its out of place or not. The front end narrows slightly making your eyes deceive you. When I did my own alignment it was driving me nuts because it was right on.

livingwithcause

I'm pretty sure this is the case of them acting like they did something and didn't. They didn't give me a sheet and I see why now. I got up under it and tried spinning the tie rod (with it loosened) and it ain't budgin'. Which makes me believe they didn't do a thing to it and just charged me for it. I'll see what shops around here will do that. Might be able to find one close. I've checked on the stuff around the tires and everything seems to be good to go. No cracks or give.

livingwithcause

BTW Thanks Crazy 8s. That video helps a ton on understanding the track bar.

6Cylinder

Most people aren't pro, aka professional, and they want cars in then out. Retail places don't want to spend time looking and measuring track bars, linkages and verifying a lift is done properly. If it's not it can effect alignment, just like the op is having. Putting it on a rack and getting specs greatly improves your odds of efficiently wearing your tires. Without it you can damage components and cause safety issues. I'm not trying to be a lark, just sayin' it's better to have specs from a machine than not.

livingwithcause

Well I think I found a problem I need to fix before I can get the alignment done: (Front passenger side axle)

livingwithcause

After welding the mounting bracket back on, no more swaying issues. Now just to adjust the track bar that was never set up correctly.

madmanmarty

I can't tell from the pic,where is the crack?

livingwithcause

Front passenger side control arm mount on the axle. It had just split one side. So the control arm was still connected. No issues now after getting it welded back together.