I've driven less than 100 miles after replacing struts, upper control arms, lower control arms/brackets, and both outer tie rods. I had an alignment done after replacing everything. Prior to all this work my steering wheel would always try to turn itself back to center. Ever since the rebuild and alignment the wheel no longer centers itself - not nearly as well anyway. There's also a very slight "knock" that is now present when turning the wheel while the vehicle is moving very slowly. I viewed the post-alignment report and everything was right down the middle in terms of specs. Any ideas?
Steering wheel does not "self center" after front end refresh and alignment, new "knock" in front end while steering at low speed.
- Thread starter TequilaWarrior
- Start date
gmcman
Member
- Dec 12, 2011
- 4,656
Who replaced the parts, was it you?
Was this noise present right after the alignment or after a hard stop?
I would check the 3 lower control arm bolts to see if one is loose or missing. Those bolts thread into welded nuts and have been known to come loose on occasion.
I would also turn the wheel all the way to one side when stopped, and have someone look at the outer tie rod and upper control arm for any movement that coincides with the light popping noise. Just wiggle the wheel back and forth, too much movement might hide the noise or source of noise.
Those lower control arm bolts take alot of torque, the small bolts are I believe 177 foot pounds and the large bolt is 195 foot pounds.
The reason I ask about the hard stop, when I replaced my LCA, I was adamant about the shop tightening the bolts correctly. I came to a hard stop shortly after and my LCA slid backwards.
Was this noise present right after the alignment or after a hard stop?
I would check the 3 lower control arm bolts to see if one is loose or missing. Those bolts thread into welded nuts and have been known to come loose on occasion.
I would also turn the wheel all the way to one side when stopped, and have someone look at the outer tie rod and upper control arm for any movement that coincides with the light popping noise. Just wiggle the wheel back and forth, too much movement might hide the noise or source of noise.
Those lower control arm bolts take alot of torque, the small bolts are I believe 177 foot pounds and the large bolt is 195 foot pounds.
The reason I ask about the hard stop, when I replaced my LCA, I was adamant about the shop tightening the bolts correctly. I came to a hard stop shortly after and my LCA slid backwards.
I replaced everything but the driver's side tie-rod and I "aped" everything down myself. Of course it is entirely possible that my version of tight isn't tight enough or that they loosened stuff to do the alignment. I had planned on going over everything with a fine tooth comb at my first opportunity and this just gives me more reason to do so. I'll have someone give me a hand checking the outers as you suggested. There have been no hard stops, but depending on how loose those mounting bolts would have been, it may not have taken much. I abhor the shop I took it to as they failed my inspection and virtually everything they identified was actually "ok"... but I found much worse stuff while replacing what they failed me on. I hate the shop but they're the closest alignment shop... it was either them (and get my inspection passed) or have it hauled an hour away to another shop as it wasn't drivable after I did the passenger side outer.
gmcman
Member
- Dec 12, 2011
- 4,656
When you replace the lower control arm bracket, the shop will certainly need to loosen those brackets to perform the alignment.
FWIW, I handed the guy the torque specs for those bolts, low and behold, they didn't tighten them to spec, so they got to re-align the Envoy after my hard brake.
When I picked it up, I put a torque wrench on those bolts to be sure.
FWIW, I handed the guy the torque specs for those bolts, low and behold, they didn't tighten them to spec, so they got to re-align the Envoy after my hard brake.
When I picked it up, I put a torque wrench on those bolts to be sure.
Mooseman
Moderator
I have found that a lot of shops don't know how to align these trucks properly with the lower control arms. A lot of shops are on my black list because of it. I finally found one with an old Russian tech that knows his stuff. He was even able to align my Caprice which no tech here would have ever seen.
I know it sucks that you pay for an alignment that they aren't able to do right until you find a good shop that can. Keep going back until they do it right or find another shop.
I know it sucks that you pay for an alignment that they aren't able to do right until you find a good shop that can. Keep going back until they do it right or find another shop.
I've found loose mounting hardware on some critical stuff(caliper mounting bolts!) straight out of their shop before so this will definitely be the last nail in the coffin for them. I'll report back after I go over everything.
After a quick once over of my lower control arms I noticed that they move inside the bushings - slightly but noticeably - when turning the wheel side to side. The knock occurs when the control arm shifts inside the bushing. I got the knock to virtually disappear by spraying WD-40 onto the bushings. Not my preferred fix but it worked. Did i get crap control arms?
--edit-- I tried to upload a video of the bushing movement but the the server says the video is too big.
--edit-- I tried to upload a video of the bushing movement but the the server says the video is too big.
Blckshdw
Moderator
If you can, upload it to a streaming service, like Youtube or something similar, then post it. That works best.
Mooseman
Moderator
Were they a brand name or ? It's pretty hard to screw up those bushings unless they were made with bubble gum.
Mevotech "Original Grade" from RockAuto - warranteed for 5 years or 60,000 miles. They were nice & tight when I installed them. I'm wondering if I'm just hyper sensitive to the motion since I was under there troubleshooting the knock. Since I sprayed WD-40 over the bushings the knock has disappeared. The through-bolts are tight and everything looks good... I just never saw bushings move before. I'll see what I can do to upload the video and get it posted here. I think I'll email Mevotech (if possible) and touch base with them...
Mooseman
Moderator
Ah, Mevojunk! I don't have much faith in them except for their TTX line. I've had a cracked tie rod out of the box and a pair of inner tie rods wear out within a month.
Did you tighten the through bolts after putting the truck's weight back on them? Tightening them while at its highest down angle can rotate the bushings within the can once the truck starts bouncing.
Did you tighten the through bolts after putting the truck's weight back on them? Tightening them while at its highest down angle can rotate the bushings within the can once the truck starts bouncing.
Thanks for the reply.
Well... sh!t...
I didn't retorque the through bolts at any time. Would it be prudent for me to loosen then tighten them with the truck on the ground?
You mentioned the bushings rotating... if they have, are they trashed or is retorquing the arm the solution?
Mooseman
Moderator
If they separated from the can and rotated, they're thrashed. They're only supposed to flex some much either way so if they were at their lowest point, they would always be flexed when the weight was back on and overflexed when it would compress the suspension even more. Either have to replace the arms or the bushings alone, which is a b!tch.
I think if they quiet down when you put some lube on them, they're rotating.
I think if they quiet down when you put some lube on them, they're rotating.
Mevotech Tech Support has been "less than helpful".... they're basically avoiding answering my questions. I'll report back when I have more useful information.
Mooseman
Moderator
Mevotech did finally say that's exactly what they want me to do.... return them to RockAuto under warranty. I'm going to loosen and retorque them at ride eight after inspecting them very closely and see if I can get away with not having to remove them. Having my car up on jackstands for a week or two waiting for the exchange is just not gonna work for me... and I sure as hell don't want to pay for a realignment.
Mooseman
Moderator
What you can do is just order a new set and once they arrive, then do the return for a refund on the first set. That's usually how they do it.
I finally caved and crawled under my Bravada. All four UCA to strut-tower bolts were less than hand-tight. 3 out of 4 LCA to bracket bolts were less than "snug". After tightening everything (CRANKED THEM DOWN HARD), the popping is completely gone and the steering wheel now self-centers VERY well. Recently, my Bravada started getting a little "squirley" when braking at high speed.... that's completely gone, too. She feels factory fresh.
Mooseman
Moderator
Yep, I had the same issue when my LCA bushings were worn. She would pull hard to the left when braking. Not good with oncoming traffic!