Why is my TJ pulling to the left after having it aligned?

WLDRIDE

WLDRIDE

WLDRIDE
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SouthCentral Colorado
I'll try and keep this story short. Today I had the front end aligned at the local shop that was recommended by my usual shop as being the best at doing front-end alignments in this small town. Before doing the alignment, they replaced the driver's side steering knuckle, as well as the ball joints and u-joint on that same side. The mechanic said that it all went back together really well and the alignment was within very close tolerances.

But now my TJ pulls left constantly and the mechanic doesn't know why. Any ideas?
 
If that alignment shop can't figure out why your TJ is pulling left you need to find a competent alignment shop. That one is clearly incompetent, like a doctor saying he can't figure out what's wrong with a broken-arm bent 90 degrees.
 
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I say this with all due respect, but your mechanic sounds like an idiot. Seriously... the guy does alignments and he can't figure out why it's pulling to the left? :LOL:

The alignment shop has a rack, they should easily be able to figure out why it's pulling left. I'm at a loss for words here almost. Find a new alignment shop ASAP. Chances are... your alignment is off :ROFLMAO:

Again no disrespect, I'm just shocked that a "mechanic" is this incompetent when they are "the best" at doing front end alignments. Sheesh
 
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Check tire pressures also. A low tire will pull. But yes it they have it on a rack there should be no reason they can’t figure it out
 
It could have a gas charged damper , with the left pull they sometimes create masked by the prior issues...but this is a little far out .

The reality is it shouldn’t have left the shop like that.

I rebuilt 22 plus foot of book case today due to a dimensional error on my part... fun? No . Right thing to do ? Yes. Client impressed? They ‘ll never forget us .

What’s the moral? Check your work , adjust , correct and move ahead . You won’t die.

Also, You might have a TJ with left wing tendencies......
 
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Did they give you an alignment printout? I assume you have adjustable control arms. Otherwise the only thing they can adjust is toe.IMHO
 
I am going to swap the tires and see what happens. No I do not have adjustable control arms and I am going to get a copy of the alignment. Thanks for all the suggestions!
 
Unless I am sadly mistaken, without adjustable control arms, all you can adjust is the toe in. Caster could be adjusted with adjustable control arms.
 
Tom Hendrix said:
I am going to swap the tires and see what happens. No I do not have adjustable control arms and I am going to get a copy of the alignment. Thanks for all the suggestions!
Click to expand...

I'm confused, you're responding to this thread as if you're @WLDRYDE (the original poster). What am I missing?
 
Chris said:
I say this with all due respect, but your mechanic sounds like an idiot. Seriously... the guy does alignments and he can't figure out why it's pulling to the left? :LOL:

The alignment shop has a rack, they should easily be able to figure out why it's pulling left. I'm at a loss for words here almost. Find a new alignment shop ASAP. Chances are... your alignment is off :ROFLMAO:

Again no disrespect, I'm just shocked that a "mechanic" is this incompetent when they are "the best" at doing front end alignments. Sheesh
Click to expand...
I took it back in this morning; the mechanic is going to go back through it and see what's wrong. He said something about "the wheel bearing not getting seated properly and it may be dragging a little bit." We'll see...
 
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If ball joints were only replaced on one side there is a slight chance that could be your issue. Hopefully he didnt put an offset ball joint in. Typically when bearings, balljoints, TREs are replaced, it is best to do them in pairs.
 
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I was told by some local Jeep owners that typical alignment shops don't usually have the equipment or know how to align a lifted 4x4. And to take it to a 4x4 shop. Luckily we have a 4WP nearby who did the job easily.
 
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