Changed Tie Rod ends, got alignment, truck still steers to the right suggestions?

I will update once I get the truck back today. In the 15 miles I drove it it tracked pretty straight just with the wheel off center. I’m wondering if they got mis-readings on the rear since they seemed to eff everything else up. It’s a solid rear axle and I got 67k on the first tires with no abnormal wear and could have easily squeezed out 70-75k and had space to the wear bars, it’s never been crashed or off road.
 
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I will update once I get the truck back today. In the 15 miles I drove it it tracked pretty straight just with the wheel off center. I’m wondering if they got mis-readings on the rear since they seemed to eff everything else up. It’s a solid rear axle and I got 67k on the first tires with no abnormal wear and could have easily squeezed out 70-75k and had space to the wear bars, it’s never been crashed or off road.

Could be, but see if you can drive alongside a straight line or if the truck crabs over it. 0.3 degrees is not so much it would cause abnormal wear, and both sides have the toe off, so likely the whole axle is off a bit. If one wheel on a solid axle is off it's likely measurement error, but both? esp since the wheels appear parallel.
 
Just got the car back, drives arrow straight with the wheel dead center. They told me they didn’t center the wheel properly at Firestone when they did the alignment. Will upload video of the before and after. Everyone at the shop got a great laugh at the fact that that was Firestone’s third attempt at an alignment on the vehicle.
 
Just got the car back, drives arrow straight with the wheel dead center. They told me they didn’t center the wheel properly at Firestone when they did the alignment. Will upload video of the before and after. Everyone at the shop got a great laugh at the fact that that was Firestone’s third attempt at an alignment on the vehicle.

Glad to hear that the shop aligned your truck properly!! (y) lesson learned to stay far, far away from Firestone, wow three times, how sad is that!?

Did the new shop align the rear? The toe was out (when you showed the other alignment printout)
 
Glad to hear that the shop aligned your truck properly!! (y) lesson learned to stay far, far away from Firestone, wow three times, how sad is that!?

Did the new shop align the rear? The toe was out (when you showed the other alignment printout)
I don’t have a print out from them, and forgot to ask about it to be honest (sorry it was a long day yesterday and picked it up last minute). It’s a solid rear axle. With the tire wear I’m getting (or lack thereof) as well as the handling, alignment (did do the drive along line test with the mirror down) I’m not super eager to hunt down numbers that aren’t creating issues for the truck at least for me. If something develops though I will do a deep dive into aftermarket adjustments on the rear thrust angle or changing the axle, can’t see that being a problem to be honest since the truck has had a very gentle life with no accidents.
 
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hey no problem.. at least it drives straight now!
Yeah a good lesson in trusting your judgement. I always advocate people to go find a local guy based on referrals who deals with suspension to do your alignment over a big chain. It’s one of those tasks that seems simple but takes someone giving a crap about the job to get a good result. Best thing was the proper alignment was 40% cheaper than the terrible one.

Of course I was in a hurry and the mechanic I could ask for a good referral was closed so I went against my judgment. It’s a bad habit I have with repair work that I have to be mindful of. No reason at all I couldn’t have waited a day to go to the right place. I just didn’t want to get the other car dirty. Now to process a charge back with my credit card company.
 
Yeah a good lesson in trusting your judgement. I always advocate people to go find a local guy based on referrals who deals with suspension to do your alignment over a big chain. It’s one of those tasks that seems simple but takes someone giving a crap about the job to get a good result. Best thing was the proper alignment was 40% cheaper than the terrible one.

Of course I was in a hurry and the mechanic I could ask for a good referral was closed so I went against my judgment. It’s a bad habit I have with repair work that I have to be mindful of. No reason at all I couldn’t have waited a day to go to the right place. I just didn’t want to get the other car dirty. Now to process a charge back with my credit card company.

ya I think we've all been there, in a rush, wanting to get the job done.. off of the to-do list. But then we all learn that being in a rush doesn't get the job done the right way. Oh well, at least nothing was damaged since Firestone never really did the correct work! And you're right.. one day wasn't that much to wait.. glad you got it all fixed now! good that you have access to some good techs! I have been there before, it's almost crazy trying to find a GOOD technician, and honest! Almost like finding a unicorn! lol
 
I've done the last two alignments on my '02 Ford Escort using a string line and had better results than I've had at most alignment shops First one was when I put new tires on it about a year ago and the second was when I replaced the tie rod ends and ball joints this summer. The only adjustment that the Escort needs is toe in. I've got the steering wheel centered back to near perfect from other poor alignment jobs, I've got no pulling right or left and the tires I put on it about a year ago are wearing perfect. I think I probably spent between 15 and 30 minutes doing it myself under the shade tree in my front yard. About 25 years ago I took a car in for an alignment and the idiot that did the alignment didn't tighten the jamb nut on tie rod end back down when he finished the toe adjustment. The next afternoon in downtown Charlotte, NC the tie rod backed out. This could have been disastrous if I hadn't been making a turn and only going about 5-10 MPH at the time. I went back to the shop that had done the alignment and told the owner how incompetent the person was that he had working for him.
 
To be honest, I couldn’t be effed to do the string alignment after struggling to get that lock nut off and if I couldn’t count how many turns the tie rod ends took to come off then god knows I’d probably would have screwed that up 🤣. Luckily I live in the bougey burbs with pristine roads and the truck is babied. I also grew up and learned to drive and park in NYC so I don’t have any issue hitting curbs parking. Probably could go a lifetime without an alignment to be honest assuming nothing on the suspension needed to be changed.
 
Probably could go a lifetime without an alignment to be honest assuming nothing on the suspension needed to be changed.
Back in the early 80's I bought a used Chrysler with 32K miles on it. I drove it until the early 90's and sold it with 231K miles on it. I never had to replace any suspension components and never had to have an alignment.
 
Back in the early 80's I bought a used Chrysler with 32K miles on it. I drove it until the early 90's and sold it with 231K miles on it. I never had to replace any suspension components and never had to have an alignment.

ya, if you don't hit anything to bend steering/suspension components no need to get an alignment! Michigan is finally fixing roads around here (well the ones I use are getting better) and my alignments are lasting a lot longer! (y)
 
I need to learn more from you guys because a lot of alignment places mess up the alignments and then say it’s perfectly aligned
 
A good alignment shop is a rare find these days. I've been lucky enough to live within an hour drive of one of the best ones in the Southeast. They're not cheap, but they're the type of shop that remembers your name, and what you drive and don't care if you hang out and chat them up while they're working on your car. I will take my cars there until they decide to retire, I just don't trust anyone else.
 
A good alignment shop is a rare find these days. I've been lucky enough to live within an hour drive of one of the best ones in the Southeast. They're not cheap, but they're the type of shop that remembers your name, and what you drive and don't care if you hang out and chat them up while they're working on your car. I will take my cars there until they decide to retire, I just don't trust anyone else.
That’s what I need because I can’t spend a lot of money on vehicle repair without knowing that it will be done right the first time

The reason I learned how to do everything myself, even engine rebuilding, which is the part I enjoy the most. I honestly want to rebuild engines in my spare time which I used to do full time before
 
Your tires could have been causing the pull this whole time, but with the worn tie rod it actually making it track straight. Now that the tie rod is replaced and it's aligned, the tires may be showing their true colors. I'd rotate and see what happens.

If that isn't the problem, get an alignment somewhere else, maybe the dealer.
I would have my tires inspected and balanced. Drive it. If the same. Go to another shop and tell them exactly what you been thru already. Help them to help you.
 
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