Townfair has failed my alignment 4 times now

KeroJK

KeroJK

New member
I got new tires from town fair recently and I paid extra for the 4wd alignment. On the day I got my tires, they could not do the alignment because they could not get the tire rod bolt to budge. I ended up getting a crown replacement tie rod that I installed myself. I go again and they did my alignment which was initially good but it keeps going off. I went 3 other times, 1 of which was a whole different town fair branch. The same symptoms show it is straight until it's not. It's not consistent on which way its bias, one alignment it would be left and the next would be right. I was wondering if there is anything wrong or maybe I installed the tie rod wrong. I have a 2007 JKX 2 dr. I attached 2 alignment readings from 2 different town fairs. I asked them if they are tightening everything down, they said yes and they thought I was messing with it after they would do it, which I'm not.
Is my axle bent?
Is the tie rod installed wrong?
I'll take not to a Jeep dealer for alignment next but was hoping to find some kind of answer.

Thank you20180816_121046.jpg20180816_121036.jpg

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You have insufficient caster. Stock is 4.2 degrees. You have less than 3. That’s going to cause your jeep to wander and not hold a straight line. You may need adjustable control arms in front to get your caster fixed.
 
KeroJK said:
I got new tires from town fair recently and I paid extra for the 4wd alignment. On the day I got my tires, they could not do the alignment because they could not get the tire rod bolt to budge. I ended up getting a crown replacement tie rod that I installed myself. I go again and they did my alignment which was initially good but it keeps going off. I went 3 other times, 1 of which was a whole different town fair branch. The same symptoms show it is straight until it's not. It's not consistent on which way its bias, one alignment it would be left and the next would be right. I was wondering if there is anything wrong or maybe I installed the tie rod wrong. I have a 2007 JKX 2 dr. I attached 2 alignment readings from 2 different town fairs. I asked them if they are tightening everything down, they said yes and they thought I was messing with it after they would do it, which I'm not.
Is my axle bent?
Is the tie rod installed wrong?
I'll take not to a Jeep dealer for alignment next but was hoping to find some kind of answer.

Thank you

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What is the symptom that YOU'RE noticing that made you think it has an alignment issue or made you think you needed to take it back in? As far as your caster number being different twice, you could have some worn bushings there. I would follow our DIY alignment thread on the forum and do it yourself so you know if it's being done right.
 
fiend said:
You have insufficient caster. Stock is 4.2 degrees. You have less than 3. That’s going to cause your jeep to wander and not hold a straight line. You may need adjustable control arms in front to get your caster fixed.
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Lower or upper? And just front?? I assume you mean lower front. If so what's a good set and is it worth doing all of them?

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KeroJK said:
Lower or upper? And just front?? I assume you mean lower front. If so what's a good set and is it worth doing all of them?

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Front lower adjustable is all you need to fix caster. Evo, currie, core 4x4 would all be good choices.

How tall is your lift? If tall enough to throw off your caster, you may have other issues to fix, such as bump steer (fixed with a drag link flip) and/or too much driveline angle at your rear differential (fixed with adjustable rear upper control arms).
 
WJCO said:
What is the symptom that YOU'RE noticing that made you think it has an alignment issue or made you think you needed to take it back in? As far as your caster number being different twice, you could have some worn bushings there. I would follow our DIY alignment thread on the forum and do it yourself so you know if it's being done right.
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What kind of bushing would it be? Because I know that should not change. Why I took it back to town fair was because it was not driving straight. Later found out that the toe which is the only thing they are adjusting from my knowledge, keeps going off. Why would my toe change after its set?

I really appreciate all the help.

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fiend said:
Front lower adjustable is all you need to fix caster. Evo, currie, core 4x4 would all be good choices.

How tall is your lift? If tall enough to throw off your caster, you may have other issues to fix, such as bump steer (fixed with a drag link flip) and/or too much driveline angle at your rear differential (fixed with adjustable rear upper control arms).
Click to expand...
I have not researched control arms at all. How would i know how much adjustment to make? Also my lift is a 10a spring swap and if i had to guess id say i have about 2.5 inches of lift if not

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KeroJK said:
I have not researched control arms at all. How would i know how much adjustment to make? Also my lift is a 10a spring swap and if i had to guess id say i have about 2.5 inches of lift if not

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You will need an angle finder to figure out your caster, then adjust your control arms accordingly. You should read the DIY Alignment thread to get idea of what to do. It’s really not that difficult if you have EVO control arms, they will allow you to make adjustments while still on the Jeep. As far as your toe goes, that will all be covered in the thread mentioned. Check it out


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TrainWreck618 said:
You will need an angle finder to figure out your caster, then adjust your control arms accordingly. You should read the DIY Alignment thread to get idea of what to do. It’s really not that difficult if you have EVO control arms, they will allow you to make adjustments while still on the Jeep. As far as your toe goes, that will all be covered in the thread mentioned. Check it out


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fiend said:
You lengthen the front lower arms until your caster is around 4.2.

See:

Basic Do-it-Yourself Jeep JK Wrangler Front End Alignment
https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=3861
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Amazing! Thank you guys. So we don't think it's me messing up the tie rod install? And its not the drag link? I'll go with adjustable control arms and do it the way the write up says. Someone suggested the bushings might be bad but if that's the case, what bushings are we talking about? The control arm bushings?

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KeroJK said:
I measured the tie rod to the old one in size and installed it, torqued it and everything but could i have messed something up?


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Your tie rod adjusts toe. If you have zero or negative toe, you could get some adverse handling similar to insufficient caster. I suggest you get the adjustable control arms and then fix the caster and toe using the information at the link. If you still are having problems after that, you can consider other things like worn bearings or blown bushings.
 
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