How hard is it to align a torsion bar Chevy

[redhat]

I guess this might be more of a vent… I keep getting the run around on getting my truck aligned.

Entire front end in the truck is new as of January/March of this year. And the truck isn’t a rotted out pile. It is a pretty clean truck.

I’ve had 5 alignments this year.

Firestone, couldn’t align it, said it needed struts (no struts on a torsion bar truck).

Local Chevy dealer 1 - steering wheel crooked. Drove OK but pulled. Went back and they said they “accidentally” worked on the truck… their policy is they don’t work on anything that old and wouldn’t do anything.

Performance shop - aligned it, steering wheel crooked and never tightened the upper control arm nuts tight enough so it came out of alignment. Conveniently outside of their 2 week warranty.

I put new tires on, tires were wearing weird and the DuraTracs are just loud.

Went to another local Chevy dealer. Again crooked wheel and they left the jamb nuts loose on the inner tie rods. Truck drove like a hot tub. I called them up to discuss and they didn’t want to do anything about it and denied any wrong doing. I was polite also.

So I went to another local shop in Hamburg NY. I waited for 5 hours while they kept trying to align it. They ended up telling me that my upper control arm bolts are stripped. Then changed their tune saying when they were trying to adjust the camber the bolt didn’t move smooth, kept popping, and they weren’t happy with the results. Charged me $200 and wanted me to come back for them to pull it apart and realign it, all on my dime.

I asked if I bring it back with new upper arms and bolts/camber plates if they’d align it again for free. They told me “no, we already have 5 hours into this and these trucks suck to align”. I said “why didn’t someone tell me after hour 1 the issues and suspected problems, send me on my way to rectify and go from there?”. Crickets. No response beyond mumbling and trying to come up with something.

So I guess I’m going to warranty my upper arms, which are not old (Mevotech TTX). And replace the upper arms and bolts again just so there’s no complaints and try another place.

Can anyone chime in? Are GMT800s 1/2 tons THAT hard to align with stock wheels and tire size and everything new?

I keep saying to shops, these trucks can’t me much different than brand new Chevy 3/4 ton and up. So it’s not like this technology is 30 years in past and not produced.

What’s a man gotta do to get a new front end, new steering box stock tire and wheel truck to just drive somewhat OK and not eat tires off of it?

 

[ls1mike]

My kid just put a lift on his 03 3/4 ton Duramax. To include a new Redhead steering box. No problems with the alignment. I have never had any problems with any of mine either.

That is odd to me. Granted all of the stuff on the kids truck is new and is made by Kryptonite, but I have never had anyone say to me the torsion bar stuff was hard to align.

 

[Marcozi]

Has the truck been in a front end collision? What brands of parts were installed? Who installed the parts? How did the truck drive before installing the parts?

 

[redhat]

The truck has never been in an accident. I installed all parts.

Everything is Mevotech TTX. I inherited the truck with some worn components, but previously when my mom owned it, it always drove well.

the printout I have now from this last shop shows camber off. I am starting to think places have no how to align. I need to (A) buy an alignment rack or maybe (B) find an off road shop??

 

[redhat]

Also, two shops told me you set the toe then do the camber caster.

I have always thought you do your camber caster the set the toe as it can change. I mean it has to if you’re changing those two angles. Correct?

I’m no certified tech but I think I could figure out an alignment rack.

 

[D60]

The truck has never been in an accident. I installed all parts.

Everything is Mevotech TTX. I inherited the truck with some worn components, but previously when my mom owned it, it always drove well.

the printout I have now from this last shop shows camber off. I am starting to think places have no how to align. I need to (A) buy an alignment rack or maybe (B) find an off road shop??

Yeah try off-road or a diesel/brodozer shop. Doesn't matter if it's a Duramax or not, obviously. Locally here we have a diesel shop who started out with MDTs but allegedly does great alignments on pickups.

Try also frame/spring shops. Seriously. Look for places that re-arch leaf springs and bend up u-bolts etc. Sometimes they also have a frame machine and do alignments.

I will say, there's miles of adjustment in those UCAs. If you didn't have a good starting point it might be kinda challenging, but that's why there's alignment racks.

Call ahead and try to chat. You're not looking to waste their time -- you're looking for someplace other than a chain with a young kid running the rack like paint-by-numbers (paint-by-numbers only works if everything goes perfectly and requires no problem-solving ability)

 

[BrendanC]

i have never had an issue getting my lifted HD or any of the fleet trucks aligned but we are in an area where there are almost more work trucks on the road than cars. the shop has to know what they’re doing on an IFS GM product or you will get a terrible result.

 

[Trav]

Also, two shops told me you set the toe then do the camber caster.

I have always thought you do your camber caster the set the toe as it can change. I mean it has to if you’re changing those two angles. Correct?

I’m no certified tech but I think I could figure out an alignment rack.

Camber directly effects toe so no you do not set toe first, caster has no effect on toe. The first setting on a torsion bar vehicle is ride height which is adjusted by the torsion bar adjustment bolts. I have seen a few of these GM vehicles with broken torsion bar adjustment bolts so make sure you can see the whole bolt. Once the ride height is good, lock the steering wheel straight and do the camber and then toe, caster is usually stays within spec with torsion bars.

 

[redhat]

i have never had an issue getting my lifted HD or any of the fleet trucks aligned but we are in an area where there are almost more work trucks on the road than cars. the shop has to know what they’re doing on an IFS GM product or you will get a terrible result.

Everything up here in NY is new trucks every 3 years or compact cars cause no one keeps stuff with the salt snd rust.

It is some effort keeping old trucks clean and on the road. If I was down by you my fleet would fit right in

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I'm not familiar with the GMT800s, but on the 400s, they're nearly impossible to align unless you replace the idler arm and bearing.

 

[redhat]

I'm not familiar with the GMT800s, but on the 400s, they're nearly impossible to align unless you replace the idler arm and bearing.

That jogged my memory. I also have a new (2023) pitman arm, idler arm, and idler assembly.

 

[paulo57509]

If you still have the original parts, you may want to compare those with the replacements.

I can't recall the specific brands, but there's a lot of geometric issues with replacement aftermarket front end parts with 3rd Gen F-Bodies. There's not many components after the struts, other than pitman arms, idler arms and center links.

Like others, I think seeking out a specialty shop might be in order.

 

[johnmyster]

Find a grumpy alignment tech with a beard, his own name on his shirt patch, and his name on the sign out front. Bonus if you sit on a church pew while he works and his race car is parked in the last bay.

Your shops are tired of doing an alignment on a truck that actually needs an alignment.

These trucks are a cakewalk to align, and they don't have to touch the back half. If the frame is straight and you haven't cranked the torsion keys, this is an easy $75 for a shop.

Granted, my grumpy tech once (correctly) diagnosed a brand new GMT800 pitman arm that had play in it.

 

[clinebarger]

The cam bolts have to be Tightened....Tightened!

Also clean the frame ears good...No oil/lubricant between the bushing & frame.

I drill & roll pin my adjusters....Tells me if things move.