Car & Light Truck Alignment in De Soto, MO

A tradesman's pickup lives a different life from the one on the brochure. Toolboxes across the bed, a ladder rack, a hitch with something on it most days. The truck spends far more of its time loaded than empty.

That matters for alignment in a way most owners never think about. A vehicle's alignment is set and measured at a particular ride height. Add a few hundred pounds permanently over the rear axle and the back sits lower, the front sits slightly higher, and the angles at the front wheels shift. The truck can be perfectly aligned on the rack and still wear its front tires unevenly in daily use.

Two things help.

Tell the store how the truck is actually used. What lives in the bed, roughly how heavy it is, and whether it tows. That is information worth having before the alignment is set.

Look at the ride height. A rear end that has sagged over the years, with tired springs underneath it, changes the angles too. If the truck sits noticeably nose-high when parked with its usual load, that is worth raising.

• Front tires wearing on the inside or outside shoulder.
• Steering that wanders on a straight road.
• A steering wheel that is off center when driving straight.
• Any hard knock against a curb or a pothole followed by a change in how it drives.

Sagging at the rear is often suspension repair, and a vibration rather than a pull is usually tire and wheel balancing, both here. The national alignment page explains what the check measures.

Fenton and Washington also align cars and light trucks.

The De Soto store carries all nine Purcell tire categories and is managed by Cathy Bequette.

See the national car and light truck alignment page for all 40 locations.