Paid for 3yr alignment, lifted & still out, tech says needs lifted data

Hey all,
Long story short: '00 RHD 4DR 4L 4WD, Tough Country EZ-ride 3.5" lift with skyjacker AAL's & quick disconnects.
Just had the lift installed (i know i shoulda done it myself, kinda tough with 1 arm) and it feels like its a mile out of alignment. It pulls left on the highway, but turns right wayy easier than left. So I go to NTB for an alignment thinkin' that unlimited alignments for 3 years for the price of 2 jobs is pretty good. Well they're not mechanics, they're techs, and can't seem to think for themselves. They only go by what their computer tells them to do, so the stock camber/caster/toe values must not be right (especially with the track bar relocation bracket that comes with the kit, i assume).
Any suggestions/links would be great, 'cause right now all I can think to do is take it to a real mechanic, have him align it, then use those numbers from here on out.
I poked around a bit for the answer, but as this is my DD i need one soon, and am having a hard time piecing one together.

Thanks a lot y'all.

oh, btw, here's the link for the install manual for the suspension (which just says "Take directly to an alignment center for proper alignment")

Never mind the stock caster/camber figures. They mean nothing now.

Set the wheel centering and toe.

Check the front pinion angle, it should be set to zero degrees difference, or slightly down. Both will work, but slightly down at 4.5deg of lift will likely be closer to the right caster figure. Yes, there is a stock adjustment for this.

If you adjustable Upper or lower control arms, you can adjust the pinion angle/caster, but be sure to adjust each the same exact amount. setting each side differently to try and correct caster side to side will result in an axle which is crooked on the vehicle.

So, if you can't align your vehicle due to a handicap, who lifted it and why didn't they adjust it for you?

If your control arms are adjustable I would measure wheelbase on each side to make sure they don't have the front axle cocked sideways a little bit. After that is correct proceed with the alignment. My jeep is lifted 6" and its aligned to dead stock specs and it drives great. Well I should say that it DID drive great for years, something is wrong now and it goes to my alignment guy next week .

by "set the wheel centering and toe" you mean to stock values?
I do not have adjustable control arms. Does that mean I have no reason to be concerned with front pinion angle?
To answer your question I don't know the first thing about actually aligning a vehicle, manually or otherwise. My mechanic, who is a jeeper himself, doesn't do alignments for whatever reason. He just informed me that he didn't; I didn't think to ask why.

As a general note, I can scan/pdf the result sheet from the alignment if that'd help

Thanks again!

A tape measure, a peice of flat wood, and an eye ball.

Measure the front of the front tire and see what you get. Then measure the rear of the front tire and see what you get (All from the other front tire).

You want 1/8 to 1/4 of toe IN at the front. Once you get this, tighten everything up and never pay for an alignment again!

The toe-in spec depends on which TC you have. The factory recommended toe-in for the 242 is 0*. I have the 242 in 2 of my rigs and set them both to 1/8" toe-in, because I think it tracks a little better. I set the rig with a 231 to 1/4" difference between front and rear. All 3 rigs are running 33" tires.

The alignment shop uses the same specs. Wheel centering and toe in adjustment don't change with a lifted vehicle. They can give you a read out on the castor so you know what it is, but tell them they don't need to adjust it. So, what they need to do an alignment is to set the toe, which is simply the two tires pointing straight ahead. 0* of toe means the two tires are parallel, 2* toe in means they point in very slightly. The spec doesn't change with the lift. Centering the steering wheel isd also part of the alignment, and they do this by adjusting the length of the drag link with an adjustment collar that's next to the pitman arm. This also is the same regardless of the lift, and is something most of us do ourselves after changing the lift height.

So, set the toe and center the wheel. That's it.

Toe:
For wheel centering and toe, just use stock figures as they are in degrees. This accounts for all tire sizes.

Per the FSM, the toe in should be .25deg within a range of 0 to .45 degrees. No mention of FT vs PT case.

I usually shoot for just shy of a 1/8" figure for 31's as 1/16" is hard to measure lug to lug when you're doing it alone.

Caster/pinion angle:
Even though you do not have adjustable control arms, don't rule out the stock adjustment slots. That could move the axle a degree or two.

Edit: Goatman has a great explaination he did while I was typing...

Deadman 94 xj said:

A tape measure, a peice of flat wood, and an eye ball.

Measure the front of the front tire and see what you get. Then measure the rear of the front tire and see what you get (All from the other front tire).

You want 1/8 to 1/4 of toe IN at the front. Once you get this, tighten everything up and never pay for an alignment again!

Click to expand...

Agreed, its really easy, though you do have a handicap so I dont know. I dont go by piece of paper with numbers on it, i just tighten/loosen my drag link with a pipe wrench untill my steering wheel is center, thats the "steer ahead". Then to do the "toe in" you just make it so your front tires are dead forward (if you use the full time mode on a 242 or if you had a 249, which you dont) or if you have a 231, toe it in a little more, about 1/8th of an inch. Then do the castor, adjusting the castor/pinion angle isnt hard, i have adjustable LCAs but if you have stock fixed ones or aftermarket fixed ones, its still pretty simple, there is an alignment tab with a plate in it. The plates in it are sold from jeep, i think the Country edition since its an inch higher has a different thickness plate. Anyway, you can make these plates too, just take them out and then get some sheet metal and pretend you are using a cookie cutter on christmas, then add/remove plates as needed untill your castor is what it should be at a 3.5" lift. Optimal castor is 5-7*, 5* favoring good steering geometry and 7* favoring a mellow pinion angle. I suggets set it to 5*, drive it, if you get no vibes then leave it, if you get vibes then go to like 5.5, then 6, then 6.5, etc....

Thanks y'all, I'm gonna assume that with this info my mechanic and I can get the truck workin'. I've got more time than I thought for. I noticed the tranny wouldn't shift coming up my street last night, limped home, parked it & killed it, went out today: no fluid. (awesome)^-1...damn automatics!
So alignment takes somewhat of a backseat, but thanks again. Much appreciated.

If the fluid ends up not being the cause, you can replace the TPS. A bad TPS usually causes auto shifting problems.

where the hell did the fluid go? Hope you dont have a leak, that would suck.

MoFo said:

The toe-in spec depends on which TC you have. The factory recommended toe-in for the 242 is 0*. I have the 242 in 2 of my rigs and set them both to 1/8" toe-in, because I think it tracks a little better. I set the rig with a 231 to 1/4" difference between front and rear. All 3 rigs are running 33" tires.

Click to expand...

The ONLY reason to set it to 0* for a 242 is if you intend to run it in full-time on dry pavement a lot. Otherwise normal toe-in is recommended.

my toe was so far off after putting in the 4.5" lift, the alignment tech had to eyeball/tape measure align it before the computer would read it and align it. he said it was the first time he ever had to do that.