Alignment Failed - Repairs Needed

[HRTKD]

I'm not sure what to think of the local Firestone. A couple of years ago they were unable to align my Nissan Titan because of the "big tires" - which were OEM. Yesterday they said they couldn't align my Ranger because the tie rod ends and the pittman arm are too worn and were allowing too much play.

So how difficult is it to change the tie rod ends and the pittman arm? I've never worked on steering components so I have no how big a job it is.

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

Take it to another shop, apparently they are idiots.

The pitman arm on a Ranger isn't a wear item. It's a chunk of metal with two holes in it.

I may be a dealer tech, and fix all my own stuff, but if I was to take it somewhere it would not be a dealership or any franchises or chain stores. Find you a good local shop that has an alignment rack. Or possibly a local TRS member to point you in the right direction.

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[canyoncritter]

Call alighment shops in your area, ask how much, then ask if they adjust camber and caster as well as toe. if they tell you something like. We adjust all factory points that are serviceable. most likly your going to get aset toe, and let it go near worthless....if the guy starts talking about ecentric bushings and that it will be a extra cost have half a chance.

and replacing your tie rod ends,and drag link not that hard, one of the easier things. will need a pickle fork, and a hammer and some wrecnches. other then the pickle fork no special tools.

no dought your toe will be off. depending on your skills , you could reset it as good as a shop, or good enuff to get to a shop with a tape meassure

 

[Road Angels]

I think you miss under understood pitman arm for idler arm, have some one turn the steering wheel a small amount side to side with the engine off and the steering lock in the run postion so the steering wheel can be moved, also set the park brake, watch the Idler arm for a kind of up and down movement as the wheel is rocked from side to side there should be very little to no up and down play, also watch the tie rod ends, for movement, if they move and the tire doesnt there bad, here again zero to very little play , auto zone loans out the correct tool for removal

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

There has never been a ranger built with a factory idler arm...

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[adsm08]

I think you miss under understood pitman arm for idler arm, have some one turn the steering wheel a small amount side to side with the engine off and the steering lock in the run postion so the steering wheel can be moved, also set the park brake, watch the Idler arm for a kind of up and down movement as the wheel is rocked from side to side there should be very little to no up and down play, also watch the tie rod ends, for movement, if they move and the tire doesnt there bad, here again zero to very little play , auto zone loans out the correct tool for removal

You show me a ranger with an idler and I will show you a chicken with teeth.

Postin' from teh Galaxy

 

[ab_slack]

It could be the shop. I've certainly had plenty of shops that always seemed to say something needed major work no matter what I brought my vehicle in. Oil change, oh your breaks need to be done and rotors are bad.

On the other hand, if they are really worn, they could no doubt take your money and put it on the machine and dial in numbers, but it won't stay there.

I can't speak for the other item, but if the tie rod ends are bad you very much want to replace before aligning. I had one that was going bad and the most obvious symptom was when I would drive over some uneven pavement my BII would shift direction slightly which I had to correct for in steering. The amount of correction needed always seemed to be out of proportion compared to what I would expect. I knew something was not quite right and was moving. Looking at the ends the rubber bushings were pretty much shot as well.

I couldn't really put my finger on what it was with the steering just knew something was needed and the tie-rod ends were on the list of possible culprits. Then one day one of the tie-rod ends failed while driving. Fortunately it didn't detach completely and wheel stayed pointed roughly in the direction I was traveling and was able to limp the last 5 miles home at 10mph. After replacing them the steering was nice and firm.

I found replacing the tie-rod ends to be easy and hard at the same time, but I had never done anything like that before. My BII didn't have too much rust so getting the bolts loosened wasn't difficult. What was a royal pain was getting the tie-rod end out from where it attached at the wheel. I had asked at my local auto parts about a tool to help with that and person said one wasn't needed "Oh they come out easy, just bang the joint on the side with a hammer and they fall right out". Well that didn't work and to hammer along the axis of the bolt space was so constrained. Ended up having to heat the outer piece really good and hammer. Having a pickle fork like mentioned above would have been the way to go.

As far as getting the tie-rod end off the tie-rod, it was mostly getting dirt off, getting penetrating oil on and un-screwing the tie-rod end out. I marked the original positions well and when I put the new ends in, set them to the same distance and was able to get it all together with the alignment still good enough to get up to highway speeds without any instability problems. I was close to needing tires and this was good enough I didn't bother with a real alignment till it was time to change the tires. After replacing both tie-rod ends the funny in the steering went away completely.