Found out my centerlink is bad, when I went to get an alignment...

Anywho, I'm getting a new centerlink, both inner and outer tie rod ends, and ball joints. The idler arm is only a couple months old, and the pitman arm doesn't really wear, right?

Any suggestions on alignment specs? 245/50/16s on the front...

 

pitman arms can wear out, but not usually. I belive the test is if you cain rock it up & down a certain amount of distance.

 

85's right, I'm still on my +261,000 mile Pitman arm! It's not really a joint, it's more of a swivel. The idler arm attaches to the centerlink in the same manner (not a joint), BUT, it's the joint in the middle of the idler arm that wears out.

If you're on a budget, you usually don't have to replace the tie rod ends unless you bent one- they're "self-adjusting for wear", whatever the hell that means. At my last alignment check-up (when the guy rattled off everything that was bad), he didn't include the tie rod ends. He'd included everything else which I knew about, so I was a bit surprised the tie rod ends were still good. (See https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=153839 ) That's when I read in the GM book that the tie rods self-adjusted for wear.

But it's definately smarter to replace them while you're in there anyway. (Why pay for two alignments?)

 

I hate to say this but the pitman arm is nothing more then a piece of metal with a hole at each end. Nothing to wear out. Parts house won't even have a number for it.

RBob.

 

set camber straight up at 0. caster the max it will allow depending on year either 4.5 or 5.5. toe depends on what you can take 0 is performane but can be vary darty otherwise use stock setting.