Ok, i stopped by the shop on my way home and took the alignment tech for a ride. This is the same tech that checked out my front end. He assured me that the inner tie rod end was not worn.

Im thinking that the click i hear in the front happens because the truck is not running and fluid pressure isnt there to help the steering, i had the secretary at work turn the wheels on her jeep just like i do to mine without it running and i heard the same small click come from hers.

Anyway, we went for a ride, and i showed the tech the alignment printout from the shop i took it to 2 weeks ago and he said it looked pretty good. And i said it still pulls the same. And it pulled the same after each of the other alignments. I showed him as we went down several different roads that i had to keep the steering wheel tilted left to keep the truck going straight. As we talked and tried a couple things, the truck doesnt as much pull, its just i have to keep the steerin wheel tilted left to go straight. And if i let go, the steering wheel trys to center itself and it drift right. So then i said, "Here is what happens when i center the steering wheel where it should be" and we went right off the road. And he said yes it shouldnt be doing that, and he said he was going to play with the alignment and make it straight. He also told the guy in service that i have been talking to that the steering had to be tilted left and if you straighten it you go off the road. This is the guy that is the service writer that told me he drove it all over and it was straight.

So now i think im getting somewhere, the guy that does the alignment saw exactly what it does and agrees it shouldnt. Now i think im going to get the straight wheel that ive been looking for. He said it almost seems like the toe is out too much. But i said all the alignments came back fine. So we agreed that he is just going to have to play with the alignment and then drive it and keep doing that untill it drives straight. A releif to me that someone actually sees what is happening. Hopefully it works out now.

 

Im glad to say that they fixed my tilted left steering wheel! They said they had to adjust the toe. I have not looked at the print out of the alignment yet, too many things going on this evening. But the guy in service appoligized up and down that they couldnt get the problem fixed during the entire week before. And they gave me a slip for a free oil change. I know its little but hey, at least they reached out to me. I think it might get a little getting used to cause im so used to fighting the wheel. Im glad this is finally fixed. Thanks guys for all your help and input!

Jason

 

cool beans! I'm glad you got it fixed!

 

I just dont know how 3 shops, including the one that finally fixed the problem, never found that the toe was out. Could it have been that 3 guys locked my steering wheel down in the wrong place? Just sounds weird to me, im going to keep an eye on my tread wear just to make sure they didnt "really" play with the alignment just to get it straight.

 

It is very possible that all three guys locked the wheel down off a little. Most techs get paid flat rate commission so they do tend to hurry. Doesn't mean the toe was off, but wheel can be. It's sometimes hard to tell if the wheel is exactly straight when you are outside looking in just because of the angle of the view. I am glad that they got things fixed up for you.

 

Ok, just a little update, you know how the dealership told me that my passenger side lower ball joint had the very slightest bit of play in it but it wasnt enough to effect anything? Well after they straightened the wheel and everything was straight, i still noticed a slight drift to the right, not very much but i could feel it. So i went back and talked to the mechanic that worked on my truck before and he drove it again and i told him about the slight drift and a very acute vibe every now and then, he felt the drift and the vibe and said the only thing left was possibly that lower ball joint. So i had them replace it, realign it and balance all the tires, and guess what? The drift is gone and everything is straight and no vibe. Wow does it feel good to have that all taken care of. I didnt care about having them replace that ball joint because it wasnt going to get better the joint would only get worse so why not replace it, i just wish they would have just talked me into replaceing it while it was in there the first time. But it gave me and excuse to get my camaro out of storage and drive it a couple days. And that is the first time i had a repair shop tell me that a ball joint had play in it but didnt try to talk me into replaceing it. Oh well all better now, so now i can focus on making the truck look cool and one of a kind instead of fixing problems!

 

Good to hear you got it all sorted out!