Wheel Alignment Question 93 Ranger 4x4 XLT SC

[Angry Possum]

Hey all, I just had a wheel alignment done on my 93 Ranger 4x4, because the front tires were wearing on both sides,, inners only. The mechanic aligned/adjusted only one side of the front end (drivers side) as I watched him perform the whole alignment. When I asked him why only one side he said the other side didn't need to be adjusted. Is this normal procedure to align one side only?

Further, I watched the alignment screen during the procedure, the lights were green on the front tires on the screen which had appeared to be fine, indicating alignment was good. However, while driving home I noticed my steering wheel wasn't centered, and it drifts slightly to the right when I let go of the wheel without braking. Should I go back? Your thoughts.

 

[Angry Possum]

Again I'm assuming green on the tires is good, with respect to the Alignment Screen.

 

[Curious Hound]

Green is good. Butbthere is a range of good. So, as with anything else, a tech can get it in the range and call it good. Another tech might spend a few extra minutes and get it in the center if the range and that's a better alignment. Now, your other 2 issues.

1. Most roads are not flat. They are crowned (higher in the centet) so that rain water runs off. So, as you drive, the vehicle will naturally want to gently drift to the right. In other words, it wants to drift downhill off the side of the crown.

2. The steering wheel.being off-center when you drive just means that the centering adjustments to the tie rod ends were not done evenly. One side adjusted more than the other. It's easy to fix. A good tech would not have let it go out the door that way. You should be able to have them fix that free of charge. But that depends on the shop. It's just a matter of adjusting both tie rod ends the exact same amount to center the steering wheel. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt anything It's just annoying to drive and look at if it's off by a lot.

 

[Angry Possum]

Green is good. Butbthere is a range of good. So, as with anything else, a tech can get it in the range and call it good. Another tech might spend a few extra minutes and get it in the center if the range and that's a better alignment. Now, your other 2 issues.

1. Most roads are not flat. They are crowned (higher in the centet) so that rain water runs off. So, as you drive, the vehicle will naturally want to gently drift to the right. In other words, it wants to drift downhill off the side of the crown.

2. The steering wheel.being off-center when you drive just means that the centering adjustments to the tie rod ends were not done evenly. One side adjusted more than the other. It's easy to fix. A good tech would not have let it go out the door that way. You should be able to have them fix that free of charge. But that depends on the shop. It's just a matter of adjusting both tie rod ends the exact same amount to center the steering wheel. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt anything It's just annoying to drive and look at if it's off by a lot.

Thanks, that makes sense about the roadway. I will ask him about the centering of the steering wheel. What about the adjustment on one side, does that make sense?

 

[Curious Hound]

Thanks, that makes sense about the roadway. I will ask him about the centering of the steering wheel. What about the adjustment on one side, does that make sense?

It could. It depends what he was adjusting. Caster and Camber adjustments are (mostly) independent of each other from side to side. One side may have already been within the range (in spec) before he started. So, only the side that was out needed adjustment. The Toe adjustment is much more related from side to side, but not entirely.

 

[Curious Hound]

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