alignment WOAH's!!!

so i got my rig lifted in april...then i found out i had 2 bad ball joints and wheel bearings up front...got them all replaced and a tie rod end..then an alignment....(this was all after i noticed some brutal uneven wear on my 2 month old Trxus 31's)

BUT--now the Trxus are TOAST up front...so obviously the alignment is screwed still or something's wrong..i haven't even been wheeling since the alignment...what else could be causeing this?? i'm in school and can't afford to be ripping through tires like this!!

thanks

how long has it been sence the alinment?

You're not giving us much to go on. How much lift? Stock or adjustable control arms? What are the settings from your most recent alignment?

Can't tell you anything without knowing more.

sorry... 3"lift..skyjacker.... not stock control arms (adjustable?!?)...i donno...they are greasable though...alignment was done in august...haven't been wheeling since....um..that's about all i can think of

i don't know the settings though.. (i don't know much about this stuff...but am being forced to learn FAST!!)

thanks guys

what kind of wear are you getting?

well at first i was getting bad wear on the passenger side tire...the inside of the tire was getting killed...so that's why i replaced everything and got the alignment.....

now the passenger side has remained consistent...but the driver side is RUINED now and it wasn't before...every second lug is really small now...(so small that if it's a little wet out, only half of the lugs get wet)....all the way accross it seems...when driving at low speeds...or under breaking, it feels like i'm driving on a tank tread! the whole truck vibrates...i thought it was problem with my front end somewhere..so i swapped the stock tires back on..and smooth as butter.....so i figure it's because of the brutal wear...?!?

i've heard that something as simple as a bad set of control arm bushings could cause a wacky alignment...is this true? i can change those pretty easily (i was going to before..but got lazy)

You are likely just out of aligment again. I know folks who think once you get aligned it lasts forever LOL...hit one good pothole though and you're out again. I end up needing one every 2 months or so.

same thing happend to my front driver side tire. like someone said before hit one good pot hole and that alignment is out the window. might be a bent rim or if your ride'n on them nice black steel rims then that is probably part of your problem too. tire could be out of balance too.

cheers,

jj

Have you ever heard of tire rotation?

thanks guys....

one good pot-hole eh?...well what about wheeling? does that mean that you have to get an alignment after every time you wheel if you hit a bump?!? are they really THAT sensative??

as for rotation...my rear tires have more then 90% tread on them...and i sure as hell ain't gonna ruin 2 good tires till i get this thing figured out!

yeah wheeling will do it for sure.

I didn't bother all summer just bacause of all the trips.

I have to check my alignment (myself) and rotate my tires everytime I wheel or else my tires start to wear funny.

jayzus!!... what a POS! i hate XJ'S now!! we've taken air in my buddy's TJ...pretty big too..and the thing didn't go outta alignment.... i've also taken air in my friends minivan! that thing even stood up to it...FAWK, TIME TO GET A ZUK OR TJ!!

XJ for sale!! red...4 door..skyjacker 3" suspension lift with add-a-leaf in the rear, Trxus 31" x 10.5 x 15"... AR steel black rims...P225 at's on stock rims (10 hole)... 218 km's on it (canadian) not much rust at all...waxed a bunch of times...only wheeled twice..no carpet and lined throughout...removable doors...2 12" subs and an 800 watt amp...runs like a top!!

first $7000 (Canadian) takes it!! hahaha

dork said:

jayzus!!... what a POS! i hate XJ'S now!! we've taken air in my buddy's TJ...pretty big too..and the thing didn't go outta alignment.... i've also taken air in my friends minivan! that thing even stood up to it...FAWK, TIME TO GET A ZUK OR TJ!!

XJ for sale!! red...4 door..skyjacker 3" suspension lift with add-a-leaf in the rear, Trxus 31" x 10.5 x 15"... AR steel black rims...P225 at's on stock rims (10 hole)... 218 km's on it (canadian) not much rust at all...waxed a bunch of times...only wheeled twice..no carpet and lined throughout...removable doors...2 12" subs and an 800 watt amp...runs like a top!!

first $7000 (Canadian) takes it!! hahaha

Click to expand...

It's all in the name...

Do you throw in the towel on everything just because it's hard to figure out? All vehicles have the possiblity of the alignment changing due to shock, like hitting a pothole at speed.

Just to backtrack a little........you said that you had 2 bad BJoints and 1 wheel bearing? Did you go ahead and replace all 4 BJ's and both hub assemblies and all the TRE's at that time, prior to your last alignment?
What year is your rig and how many miles are on it?

I went 3 years without an official alignment, made 3-4 trips to Moab each year, logging hundreds of offroad miles, even put new tires on and just did the driveway toe check method.
Treadwear has been even and the rig tracked straight.

Then I did my over the knuckle steering setup and had a shop dial in the front end, just for grins...........it pulled to the right on the way home. I took it back a few days later and explained the pull, all I heard were excuses about 4 link lifted rigs all having a pull to the right. So I asked for my money back and got it. Went home and aligned it in the garage and it drives just fine.............figure that one out, dork.

Don't just assume the shop did it right and all your components are good. Severe tire wear is a sign of bad alignment and/or worn components. Don't rule out a bent housing, which would be on the extreme end of the spectrum of course.
Good luck

dork said:

jayzus!!... what a POS! i hate XJ'S now!! we've taken air in my buddy's TJ...pretty big too..and the thing didn't go outta alignment.... i've also taken air in my friends minivan! that thing even stood up to it...FAWK, TIME TO GET A ZUK OR TJ!!

Click to expand...

I hate to tell you this, but the front suspension of the TJ is exactly the same as the XJ. AFAIK they even use the same upper and lower control arms. We have members running TJ front axles in their XJs even as I type. If you got air in your buddy's TJ and didn't totally screw his front end or alignment, that just means you got lucky that day.

VUG...woah..didn't think i was going to stir shit up with that post....relax!..not selling the heep...was a joke

XJEEPER-- yea i changed all the BJ's..both front wheel bearings, tie rod ends, stearing stabilizer (just because) she's a 93 w/ 218 kms on it..i think that's around 140 miles.

Eagle-- i know a Tj is the same...i know we were lucky...sort of half joking there! haha..i really DO love my XJ...just godamn frustrating... thanks a million guys

It sounds like your tires are cupping. Are the lugs getting high and low spots? Like one lug is high, the next low, the next high? When you run your hand down the length of the tire is it smooth or is it bumpy as hell?

If your tires are cupping, it's not your alignment, it's your lack of rotation. Depending on how severe it is, they may even out when crossed to the rear, but they may not if it's too bad.