trouble with envoy

[beastwono]

Hey guys,

I put markmc 3 inch suspension lift on 2 weekends ago and when I took it for a drive im getting a wobble sound when i give it a gas. can anyone explain whats happening? i checked my axels to see if they were okay because I had to replace the front driver side due to leak and broke into two pieces. My mechanic friend says the axel are being stretch and causing it to do that because its lifted. I dont understand why it has to do that when those of you that have similar lift on your blazers or envoys.


Please dont bash at me. Im still a newbie at this and I have a lot going on in my life. thanks!

[Mudwheelin]

Did you get an alignment?

[06MidnightBlue]

Alignment will not cause any noise.

[Mudwheelin]

Having a bad alignment will cause a noise if theres a bad wobble.

[The Roadie]

There is a slip joint in the CV shaft so it doesn't "stretch".

But the lift may be causing CV joint binding depending on the brand of the CV shafts installed, but that effect is usually only seen at full extension, not on the street.

Get it on a lift, let the tires hang down and rotate the tires and see if you detect any binding or hang-ups in the rotation, or noise. How many miles? Noise from the hub bearings? How's your diff fluid level? When was it last changed or the level checked? Same questions for the transfer case.

[The Roadie]

Having a bad alignment will cause a noise if theres a bad wobble.

Won't the root cause of the noise be the wobble, in that case? A good alignment won't silence a wobble in my experience. Can you elaborate?

[Mudwheelin]

I'll try and explain this the best I can. When I first had the 2.5" lift on I had a bad wobble which also caused a weird noise coming from the front that wasnt there prior to having a lift. So I brought it into the shop and had the Alignment done. I drove it home and still had a slight wobble and the noise was still there. So I brought it to another shop 1 week later and had them do an alignment. The TB had no wobbles and the noise was not there anymore. All my fluids were up to date and I was and still am on the same cv boots. I get the same sound just before a wobble feeling and thats when I know its time for an alignment. Maybe thats just a fluke?

Edit: just re read the first post. He said wobble sound... He hasnt chimed in since, so maybe we wait and see if its a wobble combined with that sound?

[beastwono]

Mudwheelin I had one already but I will try go to a different shop and see if its any better. thank you

Roadie I will bring it to a different place for alignment and see how that goes if I am still hearing it I will do what you mention.

I thought one alignment would do it but i guess not. I saw couple of you guys mention it that have to do it couple times a year. I will get on to that when I can make time and I will let you guys know. THANKS!

[The Roadie]

Is everybody asking for the pre- and post-alignment printout?

An alignment should be a pass/fail item, unless something like camber is out of spec and they can't bring it back inside spec. Or they're an incompetent shop and believe our platform has NO camber and caster adjustment as so many imports are stuck with. But seeing the printout will show if they did the job properly.

I know of nothing technically in an alignment that could cause or cure wobble. Imbalance, binding in a rotating part, loose parts can cause wobble. A competent (there's that word again) inspection before the alignment should weed those out, and the shop should refuse to do the alignment until the suspension parts are fixed.

So what about those printouts?

A new alignment is needed if you wheel hard and whack it OUT of alignment, mostly because of moving the LCA if the three bolts aren't tightened enough to withstand the impact.

[Mudwheelin]

I would be interested to see you before and after print out Bill. What your saying is making sence, I just dont understand why an alignment would have solved my issues unless the shop fixed something else that was loose and didnt bother charging me for it?? Maybe thats why.

[The Roadie]

The few times I take the Roadiemobile into a shop, I discuss the issues with the tech and the owner before and after they touch it. No reason to allow any activity to go undiscussed, IMHO. I also do my own alignments now. Most of the shops are scared of the truck or tell me I have too many marginal parts.

[Mudwheelin]

I wish I knew how to do my own Alignments. Could you do a write up of how to do one? Or should it only be done by someone who really knows what there doing? I've watched youtube vids but they seem really bad lol.

[fishsticks]

I wish I knew how to do my own Alignments. Could you do a write up of how to do one? Or should it only be done by someone who really knows what there doing? I've watched youtube vids but they seem really bad lol.

It's reasonably simple if you understand the principles behind each measurement.

I start by setting as much caster as I can get, then adjust the camber by sight. After that toe can be done with a tape measure. Expect to have the truck on and off the jack several times the first time you do it. After you become familiar you'll be able to get it "close" by sight, then make one or two fine adjustments.

[v7guy]

I've done my own alignment on my other car a few times to see if I could get it in the ballpark (and because very few places will touch it). Turned out I had it damn close on the two times I took it to get checked. Fortunately I have a shop now that takes the time to make sure my vehicles are aligned. Like Bill, I speak to the manager and the tech and then it's aligned. But they're familiar with me and my vehicles at this point.
It did take me a significant amount of time to get a level area to do it in. But you can use pretty cheap/average tools to get the job done. There's a lot of really solid info in this thread on corner-carvers...
http://www.corner-carvers.com/forums/sh ... hp?t=13211

There's a lot more info on that site too. I wouldn't advise just going over there, signing up and asking questions though.

[06MidnightBlue]

The few times I take the Roadiemobile into a shop, I discuss the issues with the tech and the owner before and after they touch it. No reason to allow any activity to go undiscussed, IMHO. I also do my own alignments now. Most of the shops are scared of the truck or tell me I have too many marginal parts.

Why can't I have customers like you?

[beastwono]

i just got my envoy back this morning from alignment and they actually gave me a piece of paper with measurement and that on it. i kinda got lost reading it cause it has couple red boxes and mostly green boxes. i took it for a ride again today to test it out its like butter. im still mad about the first time when i ask for some garage to do it for me. its like they didnt do anything to it and still charge me for it and no paper like roadie said. Lesson learned. it was first alignment i have gotten done so lesson learned for the next time. thumbs up!

[Mudwheelin]

So did that fix all the issues you were having?

[The Roadie]

If you scan or take a good picture of the paper we can explain it all.

Red would be (hopefully) the PRE-alignment numbers, proving the previous shop was incompetent. You might be able to use that to negotiate a refuld. At least give the shop a review on Yelp. The green (hopefully) is the POST-alignment numbers. There should also be spec limits for each of the three kinds of adjustments: camber, caster, and toe-in. Many other sites you can find using Google can explain what those are better than we can here. Why re-create the wheel?

[06MidnightBlue]

One thing I've always liked about our setup is we give you what your adjustments SHOULD be, what they are pre-alignment, and what they are post-alignment. Though 90% of the time our customers have no idea what they're reading, for those who do they really seem to appreciate it.

[beastwono]

mudwheelin yes it did. i dont hear or feel anything now.

roadie ok ill have to do that later on today or tomorrow.