2021 SUSPENSION

Wheel Alignment - Trailblazer

SPECIFICATIONS
WHEEL ALIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS

Alignment Condition: Full tank of fuel, no passengers and placed on flat level surface.

Front Wheel Alignment Specification

Caster Cross Camber Cross Total Steering
Caster Camber Toe Wheel
Drive Type Left Right (L - R) Left Right (L - R) (L + R) Angle
6.52В° 6.52В° -0.47В° -0.47В° 0.15В°
В± 0.00В° В±
FWD В± В± В± В± В± 1.00В° В±
1.00В° 2.50В°
1.50В° 1.50В° 1.00В° 1.00В° 0.20В°
6.37В° 6.37В° -0.25В° -0.25В° 0.15В°
В± 0.00В° В±
225/60R17 В± В± В± В± В± 1.00В° В±
1.00В° 2.50В°
1.50В° 1.50В° 1.00В° 1.00В° 0.20В°
AWD
6.37В° 6.37В° -0.30В° -0.30В° 0.15В°
В± 0.00В° В±
225/55R18 В± В± В± В± В± 1.00В° В±
1.00В° 2.50В°
1.50В° 1.50В° 1.00В° 1.00В° 0.20В°

Rear Wheel Alignment Specification

Caster Cross Camber Cross
Caster Camber
Total Toe Thrust
Drive Type Left Right (L - R) Left Right (L - R)
(L + R) Angle
-1.25В° -1.25В° В± 0.20В° В± 0.00В° В±
All - - - В± 1.00В°
В± 0.75В° 0.75В° 0.35В° 0.30В°

FASTENER SPECIFICATIONS

Single Use Threaded Fastener/Component Tightening Specifications

Specification
Application Metric (English)
NOTE:
All
fasteners/components
listed in this table
MUST BE
DISCARDED and
replaced with NEW
after removal.
Front Suspension Strut Bolt Torque mating fastener

Reusable Threaded Fastener Tightening Specifications

Specification
Application Metric (English)
NOTE:
All fasteners
listed in this
table can be
 Specification
Application Metric (English)
reused after
removal.
Front Suspension Strut Nut
First Pass: 100 N.m (74 lb ft)

Final Pass: 45 - 60 degrees

Steering Linkage Tie Rod Adjuster Nut 75 N.m (55 lb ft)

REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS
WHEEL ALIGNMENT MEASUREMENT

Steering and vibration complaints are not always the result of improper alignment. One possible cause is wheel
and tire imbalance. Another possibility is tire lead due to worn or improperly manufactured tires. Lead/pull is
defined as follows: At a constant highway speed on a typical straight road, lead/pull is the amount of effort
required at the steering wheel to maintain the vehicle straight path. Lead is the vehicle deviation from a straight
path on a level road without pressure on the steering wheel.

Before performing any adjustment affecting wheel alignment, perform the following inspections and
adjustments to ensure correct alignment readings:

Inspect the tires for the proper inflation.

Inspect the tires for irregular wear. Tire Diagnosis - Irregular or Premature Wear
Inspect the runout of the wheels and the tires.
Inspect the wheel bearings for backlash and excessive play.
Inspect the ball joints and tie rod ends for looseness or wear.
Inspect the control arms and stabilizer shaft for looseness or wear.
Inspect the steering gear for looseness at the frame. Fastener Specifications
Inspect the struts/shock absorbers for wear, leaks, and any noticeable noises. Suspension Strut and
Shock Absorber Testing - On Vehicle
Inspect the vehicle trim height. Trim Height Inspection
Inspect the steering wheel for excessive drag or poor return due to stiff or rusted linkage or suspension
components.

Give consideration to the condition of the equipment being used for the alignment. Follow the equipment
manufacturer instructions.

Satisfactory vehicle operation may occur over a wide range of alignment settings. However, if the setting
exceeds the service allowable specifications, correct the alignment to the service preferred specifications.
Wheel Alignment Specifications

Perform the following steps to measure the front and rear alignment angles:

1. Install the alignment equipment according to the manufacturer instructions.

2. Jounce the front and the rear bumpers 3 times prior to checking the wheel alignment.
3. Measure the alignment angles and record the readings.
4. Adjust alignment angles to vehicle specification, if necessary. Wheel Alignment Specifications

FRONT CAMBER ADJUSTMENT

1. Before performing any adjustment affecting the wheel alignment, review the wheel alignment
measurement procedure. Wheel Alignment Measurement

NOTE: A service bolt is available for the upper strut to steering knuckle position.
Do not attempt to file on the strut holes to make camber adjustment. The
service bolt is approximately 2 mm smaller in diameter to allow
2. adjustment. Refer to the electronic parts catalog for proper application.

Determine the actual camber, Positive (1) or Negative (2).

3. Raise the front of the vehicle.

4. Remove the front tire and wheel assembly. Tire and Wheel Removal and Installation

5.

Front Suspension Strut Nut (1) - Remove [2x]

6. Front Suspension Strut Bolt (2) - Remove and DISCARD [2x]

 7.

CAUTION: This vehicle is equipped with torque-to-yield or single use fasteners.

Install a NEW torque-to-yield or single use fastener when installing this
component. Failure to replace the torque-to-yield or single use fastener
could cause damage to the vehicle or component.

Front Suspension Strut Service Bolt - Upper (1) - Install NEW

8. Front Suspension Strut Bolt- Lower (2) - Install NEW

Use a NEW service bolt for the upper front suspension strut bolt to adjust the camber angle.

CAUTION: Fastener Caution

9. Front Suspension Strut Nut (3) - Install and hand tighten [2x]
10. Adjust the front camber to specifications. Wheel Alignment Measurement
 11.

Front Suspension Strut Nut (1) - Tighten [2x]

1. First Pass: 100 N.m (74 lb ft)

2. Final Pass: 45 - 60 degrees
12. Install the front tire and wheel assembly.
13. Lower the front of the vehicle.

NOTE: After adjusting the front camber, it is necessary to adjust the front toe.

14. Adjust the front toe. Wheel Alignment - Steering Wheel Angle and/or Front Toe Adjustment

WHEEL ALIGNMENT - STEERING WHEEL ANGLE AND/OR FRONT TOE ADJUSTMENT

1.
 Ensure that the steering wheel is set in a straight ahead position and centered.
2. Steering Linkage Tie Rod Adjuster Nut (1) - Loosen
3. Adjust the toe to specification by turning the adjuster (2). Wheel Alignment Specifications

CAUTION: Fastener Caution

4. Steering Linkage Tie Rod Adjuster Nut (1) - Tighten 75 N.m (55 lb ft)
5. Check and center the steering angle sensor. Steering Wheel Angle Sensor Centering

DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION

CAMBER DESCRIPTION

Camber is the tilting of the wheels (1) from the vertical when viewed from the front of the vehicle. When the
wheels (1) tilt outward at the top, the camber is positive (+). When the wheels (1) tilt inward at the top, the
camber is negative (-). The amount of tilt is measured in degrees from the vertical. Camber settings influence
the directional control and the tire wear.

Too much positive camber will result in premature wear on the outside of the tire and cause excessive wear on
the suspension parts.

Too much negative camber will result in premature wear on the inside of the tire and cause excessive wear on
the suspension parts.

Unequal side-to-side camber of 1 degree or more will cause the vehicle to pull or lead to the side with the most
positive camber.

Cross Camber is the difference between the left camber value and the right camber value.

Cross Camber = L camber - R camber

CASTER DESCRIPTION
Caster is the tilting of the uppermost point of the steering axis (1) either forward or backward, when viewed
from the side of the vehicle. A backward tilt is positive (+) and a forward tilt is negative (-). Caster influences
directional control of the steering but does not affect the tire wear. Caster is affected by the vehicle height,
therefore it is important to keep the body at its designed height. Overloading the vehicle or a weak or sagging
rear spring will affect caster. When the rear of the vehicle is lower than its designated trim height, the front
suspension moves to a more positive caster. If the rear of the vehicle is higher than its designated trim height,
the front suspension moves to a less positive caster.

With too little positive caster, steering may be touchy at high speed and wheel return ability may be diminished
when coming out of a turn. If one wheel has more positive caster than the other, that wheel will pull toward the
center of the vehicle. This condition will cause the vehicle to pull or lead to the side with the least amount of
positive caster.

Cross Caster is the difference between the left caster value and the right caster value.

Cross caster = L caster - R caster

LEAD/PULL DESCRIPTION

At a constant highway speed on a typical straight road, lead/pull is the amount of effort required at the steering
wheel to maintain the vehicle's straight path.

IMPORTANT: Vehicles will tend to lead/pull in the direction of the road slope as part of normal operation.

Lead/pull is usually caused by the following factors:

Road slope
Variability in tire construction
Wheel alignment (front cross caster and camber)
Unbalanced steering gear
Improperly calibrated Electronic Power Steering (EPS) steering position and torque sensors

MEMORY STEER DESCRIPTION

Memory steer is when the vehicle wants to lead or pull in the direction the driver previously turned the vehicle.
Additionally, after turning in the opposite direction, the vehicle will want to lead or pull in that direction.

SCRUB RADIUS DESCRIPTION

Ideally, the scrub radius is as small as possible. Normally, the Steering Axis Inclination (SAI) angle and the
centerline of the tire and the wheel intersect below the road surface, causing a positive scrub radius. With struts,
the SAI angle is much larger than the long arm/short arm type of suspension. This allows the SAI angle to
intersect the camber angle above the road surface, forming a negative scrub radius. The smaller the scrub
radius, the better the directional stability. Installing aftermarket wheels that have additional offset will
dramatically increase the scrub radius. The newly installed wheels may cause the centerline of the tires to move
further away from the spindle. This will increase the scrub radius.

A large amount of scrub radius can cause severe shimmy after hitting a bump. Scrub radius is not directly
measurable by the conventional methods. Scrub radius is projected geometrically by engineers during the
design phase of the suspension.

THRUST ANGLES DESCRIPTION

The front wheels aim or steer the vehicle. The rear wheels control tracking. This tracking action relates to the
thrust angle (a). The thrust angle (a) is the path that the rear wheels take. Ideally, the thrust angle (a) is
geometrically aligned with the body centerline (2).

In the illustration, toe-in is shown on the left rear wheel, moving the thrust line (1) off center. The resulting
deviation from the centerline (2) is the thrust angle (a).

If the thrust angle is not set properly the vehicle may "dog track", the steering wheel may not be centered or it
could be perceived as a bent axle. Thrust angle can be checked during a wheel alignment.

Positive thrust angle means the thrust line is pointing to the right hand side (RHS) of the vehicle.

Negative thrust angle means the thrust line is pointing to the left hand side (LHS) of the vehicle.

If the thrust angle is out of specification, moving the axle to body relationship will change the thrust angle
reading.

If the vehicle is out in the Positive (+) direction-moving the RHS forward and/or LHS rearward will move the
thrust angle towards zero degrees.

If the vehicle is out in the Negative (-) direction-moving the RHS rearward and/or LHS forward will move the
thrust angle towards zero degrees.

TOE DESCRIPTION
Toe is a measurement of how much the front and/or rear wheels (1) are turned in or out from a straight-ahead
position. When the wheels are turned in, toe is positive (+). When the wheels are turned out, toe is negative (-).
The actual amount of toe is normally only a fraction of a degree. The purpose of toe is to ensure that the wheels
roll parallel.

Toe also offsets the small deflections of the wheel support system that occur when the vehicle is rolling
forward. In other words, with the vehicle standing still and the wheels set with toe-in, the wheels tend to roll
parallel on the road when the vehicle is moving.

Improper toe adjustment will cause premature tire wear and cause steering instability.

TORQUE STEER DESCRIPTION

NOTE: Components are shown removed for clarity. The graphic perspective is as
viewed from the front of the vehicle.

A vehicle pulls or leads in one direction during hard acceleration. A vehicle pulls or leads in the other direction
during deceleration.

The following factors may cause torque steer to be more apparent on a particular vehicle:

A slightly smaller diameter tire (1) on the right front increases a right torque lead. Inspect the front tires
for differences in the brand, the construction, or the size. If the tires appear to be similar, change the front
tires from side-to-side and retest the vehicle. Tire and wheel assemblies have the most significant effect
on torque steer correction.
 A large difference in the right and left front tire pressure.
Left-to-right differences in the front wheel drive half shaft angle may cause significant steering pull in a
vehicle. The pull will be to the side with the most downward sloping front wheel drive half shaft from the
differential to the wheels. Front wheel drive half shafts typically slope downward from the differential.
The slope of the powertrain to level (a) may be used as an indication of bias front wheel drive half shaft
angles. The side with the higher powertrain, shown on the left side of the graphic, has the most
downward sloping front wheel drive half shaft angle.

WANDER DESCRIPTION

Wander is the undesired drifting or deviation of a vehicle to either side from a straight path with hand pressure
on the steering wheel.

Wander is a symptom of the vehicle's sensitivity to external disturbances, such as road crown and crosswind,
and accentuated by poor on-center steering feel.