Easy front-end alignment on a semi truck.
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- Learn how to adjust the toe and check the camber on the front axle of a semi truck. Front end alignments on semi truck's are pretty basic. My truck is a 2007 Freightliner Columbia.
Tools needed:
1. Big pipe wrench
2. 15/16 deep socket, 3/4 drive
3. 3/4 breakover or ratchet
4. Tape measure
5. Really sticky clear tape
6. Pen
7. Paper
8. Scissors
9. Patience
10. Another person
Heres how to take a wheel off a big rig: • Changing a wheel on a ...
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Nice trick for doing this at home. Saving it for future use. Thanks.
Most welcome 😊
Good job man thanks for sharing, if prices per mile going to stay this low we'll have to do a lot of things by ourselves. Ps just changed my brakes by myself for the first time.
That's awesome. You got to learn somehow. Did you do all of them, or just an axle?
@aftersolo All of them, just the truck no trailer. Springs were pain in a but because I didn't have a tool.
@arsenzabiyaka2112 Yes. Without air, it sucks too. I use a torque converter to get my lugnuts off. Beats using a 6 ft bar and jumping up and down on it. For those springs, I just use vice grips and a pry bar to get them off and pretty much the same way to get them back on, which is always harder. Well, the next time will be a lot easier. You'll know what to expect.
Thanks
No problem
That was informational. Thx
You bet
I find that when they are toed out they wander all over,. Checking to see which way the tires are feathering by rubbing your hand across them can tell you a lot too
Yes. My truck gets waves on the inside of the tires a lot from them getting splayed out over time and bad shocks. I got to keep an eye on that stuff. Seems like once they get any kind of uneven wear pattern, it doesn't take long for them to go bad even with correcting what caused it. It's best to always catch it before it happens.
Good stuff bro thank you
No problem 👍
Thank you man. Respect what you do.
You're welcome
Good job mann👍....
Thank you so much
Thank you
No problem. Are you doing an alignment on your truck?
Thanks appreciate you
No problem
Is that how we got Duo? You commented on a cursed video? He just ate the budget worksheet I spent all morning on, btw. Lol
You're saying your dog ate your homework?
I did steer wheel alignment in TA , now my steer pulls to passenger side and edge of tire is worn out
Did you do the alignment or did T/A? Make sure the pressure is good. I do 105 to 110 psi on front. Check your kingpins and shocks too. It could be that your rear alignment is off and it's basically pushing the truck to one side. That just happened to me recently. I put on 4 new leaf springs on the rear axles a few weeks ago and should of went in for an alignment immediately. In just a couple weeks, I developed flat spots on my passenger tire on the outside. I took it to get aligned yesterday at t&w tire. Cost $300. The rear axles were out of alignment. The guy who did the alignment said bc the passenger tire has flat spots and is wore a little more on the shoulder than the other side that the truck will now pull to the right. He was right. I switched out the front tires yesterday. I moved the passenger to drivers side and drivers side to passenger. If it's going to pull, I would rather have it pull to the left bc the roads lean to the right anyway. So far, it doesn't pull at all now. 😆 🤣 Keep an eye on that tire. They don't last long after they start getting flat spots unfortunately.
My passenger tire is wearing out the outer edge fast but not the driver tire. Is this a symptom of toe out alignment problem? Why would it wear out only one tire?
First off, make sure your tire pressure is good. Wear on the outside of the tire is a sign of bad toe-in. If your alignment is off, usually one tire (in my experience) starts to wear unevenly first, then the other one will later on. Honestly, there's so many things that could be. I would start with the easiest things to check. I would start by having somebody move the steering wheel back and forth while i was underneath checking for play in the tierod ends and the drag link as well. Check for play in your pitman arm and steering rod that goes to it from the steering wheel. If theres no visible play, i would jack it up and check the kingpins for play. I would also pull off the shocks and check them to make sure they still have good pressure. I would also check to make sure the wheel is centered and how much runout you have on the tire. The tire can be moved rotated on the rim to account for runout. While it's in the air, I would check the bearings by spinning the wheel and feel and listen for grinding. If all that checks out, you got to move onto bigger things. It could be off center from the frame, meaning one side is a little farther forward than the other. Your rear alignment can actually cause irregular wear on your front tires. These are things I would have a good shop check. If everything is good, it could just be that you're using cheap Chinese tires. I always use American made, 16 ply tires up front. Since you already have the uneven wear, you can have it pulled off the rim and have it turned around. You can also move it to the other side. Just remember, uneven wear isn't always alignment issues. Good luck, and I'll do my best to answer anymore of your questions.
@aftersolo thank you. I found the main problem and more. My rear drive axle is angled to the left too much, pulling my truck to the right, i counter steer left to drive straight, the brand new expensive michellin right edge wear down fast. I also have bad leaf spring bushings, and shock absorbers, and drive tires need replaced. My dilema is, if i get the alignment 1st, I'm afraid the doing the bushings and shocks and tires might null the alignment, and also end up paying for 8 new u bolts twice. But if i wait to get the other way around, i still pay for new u-bolts twice, and by the time i get the alignment my new expensive steering tires might also need replaced.. it's tough when you're trying to survive and parts are more expensive, fuel is more expensive, and brokers keep paying less and less..
@alvarohernandez2764 if you can, just get the rear axle straightened up, new bushings for your leaf springs, and new shocks and have your tire flipped on the rim and I bet it will wear down fine after that. I know that's all expensive though, but its probably cheaper than having to replace the front tires when they're only halfway wore down all the time.
Question..some people will take the steering wheel off to recenter the steering wheel,can you do that on a truck with airbags?
Idk. I would go online to the forums to ask.
If semi tractors are 96'' wide, why are the measurements off by ten inches?
I started from the 6" mark and went to 86". So, center to center, the tires are 80". The tires are roughly 10" wide. Add 5" to that for one side and 5" for the other and you get about 90" give or take. The truck itself is 8 feet wide fender to fender. The tires are inset a little. Now the newer trucks are probably wider. They look like the tires are almost flush with the fenders on some trucks. I would have to measure.
How do you fix steering wheel that is not straight and feels too heavy when you turn?
That's another video, lol. My steering wheel is crooked. You can park straight, then pull the steering wheel off and put it back on straight. Have to rent out a steering wheel puller for that. As far as steering thats heavy when you turn, that could be a lot of things: low tire pressure, bad power steering pump, low fluid, or a seized up kingpin or tierod. I'm probably missing some stuff too. I would start with the tire pressure and fluid level. Look for the easiest and cheapest things first.
@@aftersolo9
Better to adjust the drag link until the wheel is straight. There should be a similar kind of adjustment mechanism as the tie rod, but at the knuckle end on the driver side steering knuckle.
@jonathanrabbitt wouldn't it just be easier to park the truck straight, pull off the steering wheel, then put it back on straight? Seems like a lot less work to me honestly. I hate crawling underneath the truck and trying to free up parts.
@@aftersolo Splines only allow a discrete angular adjustment. The threaded adjuster on the drag link allows perfect adjustment.
Man, why americans using inches? Metric way easier.😊 tnx for great video
We're stuck in the stone ages here when it comes to that. Lol
Thanks
No problem