Alignment problem

[attainedage]

I bought my 04 Liberty (100,000 miles), SelecTrac, a few months ago. Excellent condition, runs well. Problem: it pulls to the right. With my hands off the steering wheel, it's on the right shoulder within a second or two. The alignment shop says there's no problem with the front end, but the left rear wheel is off by 0.35 degrees to the right - making it push to the right. They say there's nothing that can be done about it other than replacing the whole rear end, axle and all. Anyone had any experience with this?

 

[cplchris]

try a different alignment shop, that difference in the rear end is ok, i have a slight angle on my rear end and it drives fine, the front end alignment must be off or you have a worn out part somewhere along the line such as steering rack bushings, tie rod end... but as i said before there is no reason it should do that if everything is as you described.

 

[attainedage]

Thank you

try a different alignment shop, that difference in the rear end is ok, i have a slight angle on my rear end and it drives fine, the front end alignment must be off or you have a worn out part somewhere along the line such as steering rack bushings, tie rod end... but as i said before there is no reason it should do that if everything is as you described.

So, you're saying that the 0.35 degree reading is not what is causing the heavy drift to the right?

After receiving your response, I called the local Jeep dealer and explained the problem to them. Their alignment guy is supposed to call me back this afternoon to discuss it. They'll probably want me to bring it into their shop, which I may do. Before doing that though (because their shop charges are $95/hour), I may try to find a shop that just specializes in alignments.

By the way, the first shop I had it in wanted to charge me $195 for a new set of plugs (V6). They recommend 'platninum', but I wonder if I really need an expensive plug like that with 100,000 miles on my Jeep. Is there a near-term advantage of using platninum versus copper? I mean, they may last longer (or not), but are they more fuel efficient, more power, etc?

 

[1BADKJ]

Never platnuim plugs in a 3.7 Libby. Copper only. A real alignment shop could adjust caster to get your Libby to drive straight.

 

[attainedage]

Sequestration

Never platnuim plugs in a 3.7 Libby. Copper only. A real alignment shop could adjust caster to get your Libby to drive straight.

Ha, could be that these guys are just pushing for their own private sector version of sequestration: a revenue increase for them, balanced by a reduction in service to me. Thanks for the tip on the platninum plugs. The guy kind of clued me in when he said "Well, I think replacing the plugs is a good place .. to start." I thought, "To start?? What's this, another trial and error repair job?" (I had told him I thought it was idling a little rough when cold.) I didn't order the plugs.

That Jeep dealer called me back. I'm going in tomorrow so they can put it on the rack to see what's going on. Probably because I asked how much money this would cost, the service manager told me "Anything I do to find out what's wrong with it is on my dime. If I have to adjust alignment, that'll probably cost you around $40 - $45. Most of the time it pays to let them know you're aware of the value of a dollar.

I'll let you know how the trip to the dealer turns out. Thanks again.

 

[cplchris]

x2 on caster angle, it doesnt impact tire wear but it does affect the amount of effort it takes to turn at lower speeds and the vehicles ability to keep itself straight at higher speeds, and definitely find a shop that specializes in suspension and steering, even if its a speed shop for cars if they are good an alignment is a piece of cake for them to do and have it dead on.

 

[tjkj2002]

If the L/R is .35 degrees out,asuming toe, while the R/R is pretty much dead on that means you have a bent axle tube.That is alot,.10 degree is ok but .35 is way to much and will cause a pull no matter what.

 

[attainedage]

Uh oh!

If the L/R is .35 degrees out,asuming toe, while the R/R is pretty much dead on that means you have a bent axle tube.That is alot,.10 degree is ok but .35 is way to much and will cause a pull no matter what.

If I have a bent axle tube, what does that mean in terms of repair expense? Sounds kinda beefy for my household budget.

 

[Cardhu]

Have you got an alignment sheet to post?

 

[tjkj2002]

If I have a bent axle tube, what does that mean in terms of repair expense? Sounds kinda beefy for my household budget.

If it is bent it requires a new or used rear diff.

 

[attainedage]

Posting an alignment sheet

Have you got an alignment sheet to post?

They showed me one at the shop I had visited, and they asked if I wanted a copy of it. I declined because I figured that I would be taking my Jeep to someone else I trusted. I'll get all the numbers tomorrow when I'm at the Jeep dealer. I'll post that info then. Thanks.

Could be that, although this Jeep is 9 years old, Jeep would stand behind it and swap out the rear end free. Of course, maybe that's dreaming too. Since I'm not the original owner (the guy I bought it from bought it new), I really don't know if it's been in a wreck. I did the CarFax thing on it before I bought it, but sometimes CarFax isn't aware of damage from wrecks. For example, I bought a Bravada a few years back. Clean CarFax, but I found out later it had been in a flood.

 

[tjkj2002]

They showed me one at the shop I had visited, and they asked if I wanted a copy of it. I declined because I figured that I would be taking my Jeep to someone else I trusted. I'll get all the numbers tomorrow when I'm at the Jeep dealer. I'll post that info then. Thanks.

Could be that, although this Jeep is 9 years old, Jeep would stand behind it and swap out the rear end free. Of course, maybe that's dreaming too. Since I'm not the original owner (the guy I bought it from bought it new), I really don't know if it's been in a wreck. I did the CarFax thing on it before I bought it, but sometimes CarFax isn't aware of damage from wrecks. For example, I bought a Bravada a few years back. Clean CarFax, but I found out later it had been in a flood.

Why would you expect Chrysler to replace the diff on a 9 year old vehicle that you bought second hand? Thinking so is just that,a pipe dream.



You are right that carfax is a joke since it is optional to report any repair to them,that goes for all those types of reporting agency's.

 

[1BADKJ]

Try cross rotating your front tires. could be a radial pull.

 

[attainedage]

Success

try a different alignment shop, that difference in the rear end is ok, i have a slight angle on my rear end and it drives fine, the front end alignment must be off or you have a worn out part somewhere along the line such as steering rack bushings, tie rod end... but as i said before there is no reason it should do that if everything is as you described.

I took it into the Jeep dealer this morning. Turns out that the reading the other shop had done on the rear wasn't even close to actual. The whole problem was in a front end alignment improperly done by the first shop. No parts required. No problem with the tires. Total bill for the alignment = $49.

The Jeep dealer completed the front end alignment and my 04 Liberty now runs straight down the road. Thank you very much for your input here.

 

[cplchris]

glad to hear it worked out for ya and didnt cost you much at all

 

[martin_metal_88]

Dealer can be real jerk trying to make you pay a lot for nothing but sometime they are also a great place to go. Glad you got it fixed for cheap and now beat the hell out of it