My daughter was driving her little H3 (compared to my H2) down the mountain on a hard road when a driver caused her to slam on the brakes. She heard a loud thump and now it pulls to the right. She just had an alignment at 4 wheel parts along with extended Bilstein 5100's put on the front. I am unable to get to her to check it unti tomorrow but she says the tires don't look slanted and there is no other noises, just pulling badly.
Any help on where to start would be appreciated.

 

i had a similar issue when a new brake pad broke off the metal backing plate on the highway. my thump was the pad material hitting the underside of my van.

 

Pulling when braking, or NOT?

 

Good question, she is fast asleep at the mountain house in NE GA. I spent hours in Atlanta traffic and couldn't get to the computer. I will check with her in the AM. Her brakes are in great shape or at least they were a month ago. The drive to the mountain house will wear them quickly though, up down around then up again.
Thank y'all for the help, I will be there tomorrow to do a visual inspection and try to update the forum. She said it was pulling all the time but not as bad at slow speeds.

 

I didn't see any obvious signs of what caused the sudden misalignment, the ball joints etc. look ok and the tires did not move when the truck was jacked up.
It pulls the same with or without the brakes applied. I did find a broken rubber boot at the end of the tie rod on the passenger side.
That steering linkage is foreign to me, and I'll be downloading a manual shortly. The earliest appointment for an alignment is Tuesday.
I'm starting to think that her H3 eats more cash than my boat. But worth every penny when it's running right and on the side of the mountain in harsh weather.

 

Did the wheels spin when jacked up?

 

The passenger front camber/caster adjustment bolt was not tightened well and was loose. I know that in the current labor shortage qualified technicians are hard to find. But this could have been a more severe problem if she had continued to drive it.
I know things happen in lives that distract us from being on our game 100%, but for the mechanics out there, please understand that your job influences lives much later than when the vehicle leaves the shop.
The new shocks and the alignment were performed by 4wheelparts less than 300 miles before the loose bolts allowed the shift. If she had kept driving, then the pin may have fallen out.
I treat my machines like an airplane mechanic, if it breaks it will fall from the sky. Including my H2, my 2002 Avalanche 2500, my 2006 Cadillac STS-V, my 2002 Boss Hoss 502, my 56-pan head, my 88 springer and the 98 Heritage Springer with a turbo. An alignment is not something I can do in my garage.
I am more than a little peeved at the mechanic at 4wheelautothat worked on my daughters H3 and I am grateful to the mechanic that did the repair and alignment today at the shop way up in NE ga.

 

Relax drama queen. The uca bolt is difficult to remove and would not fall out if left loose! Not like loose lug nuts, when the wheel could separate from the vehicle when driving. Your daughter did the right thing, knew it wasn't driving right and it needed attention. Wheel alignments come with a warranty, just take the receipt & alignment printout to 4 wheel parts for a refund, letting them know it was difficult to drive(unable to take back to them?) and they will see why. Also have them recheck torque on the shock bolts. Sh/t happens.

 

I'm not quite the know it all that you are, only going by what the mechanic said. He did not say it was the uca bolt but did say a pin was about to fall out. I'm not going to fight with 4WheelAuto over 70 bucks. Like I said, people aren't always at 100%, even you and me.
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with the rest of us though.

 

"Tell me what i did wrong: Experts seek and respond to negative feedback!"

Why not at least notify them to find/stop the cause of failure?
Btw, the alignment I did on mine in '14 is still good today.