• Advertisement

wheel alignment issue.

Get help fixing your Isuzu from other club members

wheel alignment issue.

Postby CptClinac » Thu Sep 13, 2018 11:26 am

Hi All,
Just bought my '96 Isuzu Bighorn 6 months back. The steering felt wrong and I have had the alignment checked. It still feels wrong. The alignment bloke said "Wasn't far out".
I believe the alignment is still out.
Here's the symptoms:
1/ Self centring - Self centring OK at slight turn, At 3/4 lock it pulls toward full lock!
2/ Edges worn off tyres. May be 'historic' but bloke said alignment not far out!
3/ Hard to describe but here's how I noticed it. There was some road works done at our place and a small amount of loose gravel migrated to the middle of the road. When I did a U turn (full lock) and the front wheels got onto the gravel the front of the car lurched sideways !!! (This was repeated several times). When you look at the front tyres when manoeuvring you can see the footprint of the tyre stressed outwards.

OK. here's my dilemma. Is this a feature of the geometry of this model? If not then why did the alignment bloke make the same mistake as the previous bloke? How do I make sure the next bloke gets it right.

Thanks for your comments.
Dave
:?
CptClinac
Isuzu Baby
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:51 pm
Age: 64
Country: nz
City: christchurch
Vehicle: Isuzu Bighorn 1996 3.1 turbo diesel. But I never let her get her feet wet !!!

20 ft Pelin Caribou trailer sailer. (full masthead rig). I can't stand up in her ! 8hp Yammy longshaft outboard.

Re: wheel alignment issue.

Postby geeves » Thu Sep 13, 2018 5:39 pm

Did they give you a printout?
The answer may be in there but maybe not. Castor and king pin angle affect self centering and how it tracks on uneven surfaces. Also a lot of wheel alignment places only look at toe as most modern cars that's all you can adjust.
Is the car at standard night?
If lifted has it had a ball joint flip?
A rough and ready check of alignment is with a long straight edge comparing the angle of the wheel to the chassis rail. I have adjusted toe to this after bending bits to get home. Wheel guy said it wasn't far out.also a spirit level and 2 match boxes taped to the rim with the car on flat ground will verify camber.
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
User avatar
geeves
Site Admin
 
Posts: 8962
Joined: Sun May 10, 2009 1:36 pm
Location: Rangiora
Age: 63
Country: NZ
City: Rangiora
Vehicle: 94 bighorn 4jg2
2013 Subaru XV

Re: wheel alignment issue.

Postby CptClinac » Thu Sep 13, 2018 7:18 pm

Wot Ho Geeves, :D

No paper changed hands (in my direction anyway).
The company assures me they did camber, caster and toe.
I suspect they looked up the settings for a different model.
My machine is factory standard.
From my quick eyeballing the toe is incorrect.

(I'm wondering if my rego plate is incorrectly logged against a different model (2 door or something) as Repco always give me wrong parts.)

Thanks for the response.
Dave
CptClinac
Isuzu Baby
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:51 pm
Age: 64
Country: nz
City: christchurch
Vehicle: Isuzu Bighorn 1996 3.1 turbo diesel. But I never let her get her feet wet !!!

20 ft Pelin Caribou trailer sailer. (full masthead rig). I can't stand up in her ! 8hp Yammy longshaft outboard.

Re: wheel alignment issue.

Postby geeves » Fri Sep 14, 2018 2:38 pm

A common trick for the wheel alignment is within spec is good enough but this isn't always so. Toe ballences between the wheels so positive toe will even out negative on the other wheel giveing a good result but camber castor etc can be 0+-1. If one wheel is 0and the other +-1 its OK according to the book but it will drive terrible
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
User avatar
geeves
Site Admin
 
Posts: 8962
Joined: Sun May 10, 2009 1:36 pm
Location: Rangiora
Age: 63
Country: NZ
City: Rangiora
Vehicle: 94 bighorn 4jg2
2013 Subaru XV

Re: wheel alignment issue.

Postby mudslinger » Thu Oct 04, 2018 7:29 pm

where abouts did you go for the wheel alignment? if your not happy with it take it back and they should always give you a printout, if not then maybe it wasnt done correctly. i have found kats,tyres2go and mag and turbo and flags do a shit house job, if you need to get it done again i can recommend a place, also as i have 10 years experience doing alignments i can vouch for these guys that they know what they are doing.
mudslinger
Isuzu Master
 
Posts: 297
Joined: Thu May 21, 2009 5:07 pm
Location: chch
Age: 25
Country: NZ
City: CHCH
Vehicle: 91 mu 2.8TD manual

Re: wheel alignment issue.

Postby CptClinac » Thu Oct 04, 2018 8:12 pm

One of the above. M&T in Whangerei. I suspect they didn't tweek anything as the nuts are not clean.
I'm stuck in Waimate at pres but have already talked to M&T. They have offered to redo it. I'm not sure I want them to.
Where do you suggest?

Thanks
Dave
CptClinac
Isuzu Baby
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:51 pm
Age: 64
Country: nz
City: christchurch
Vehicle: Isuzu Bighorn 1996 3.1 turbo diesel. But I never let her get her feet wet !!!

20 ft Pelin Caribou trailer sailer. (full masthead rig). I can't stand up in her ! 8hp Yammy longshaft outboard.

Re: wheel alignment issue.

Postby geeves » Fri Oct 05, 2018 3:59 pm

Waimate to Whangarei is hardly worth the free alignment.
If this is why your stuck though any mechanic should be able to do a straight edge alignment to get you home.
Sanding your knuckles before starting work can help. That way you cant skin them
User avatar
geeves
Site Admin
 
Posts: 8962
Joined: Sun May 10, 2009 1:36 pm
Location: Rangiora
Age: 63
Country: NZ
City: Rangiora
Vehicle: 94 bighorn 4jg2
2013 Subaru XV

Re: wheel alignment issue.

Postby CptClinac » Fri Oct 26, 2018 6:31 am

Thanks Geeves and Mudslinger.
I took the truck in to the 'local' (Whitehorse Motors) and the new bloke sorted it out. 6.4mm of toe (3.7 & 2.7).
Error not just one side and 1mm different between sides. How Mag&Turbo (Whangerei) managed to get it this wrong is quite incomprehensible !
Current theory is they drove car from the 'in' queue to the 'done' queue and charged me the full $$.
(May I be a mudslinger too :D )
Thanks for your thoughts and advice guys. I have asked M&T how they managed to stuff up so thoroughly and had no response yet.

Hoping to head back up north soon(ish)
Dave
CptClinac
Isuzu Baby
 
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2018 7:51 pm
Age: 64
Country: nz
City: christchurch
Vehicle: Isuzu Bighorn 1996 3.1 turbo diesel. But I never let her get her feet wet !!!

20 ft Pelin Caribou trailer sailer. (full masthead rig). I can't stand up in her ! 8hp Yammy longshaft outboard.


Return to Drive train, Steering and Suspension

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests