Rear wheel can't be aligned
 

On Saturday I bought a set of 4 new tires and had an alignment done at the same time at NTB. At NTB they gave me a print out showing the before and after of the alignment. The paper shows that the rear drivers side wheels toe degrees is out of specification. So I asked the guy who did the alignment and he said that he could not align the left wheel properly because it has a solid rear axle. I have a couple of questions to you guy. First, is the rear suspension on the Max actually adjustable or not? Second, I was thinking of asking the dealer about this and maybe see if they could put some shims in place to even things out in the back. Have any of you guys had any problems like this before with the rear alignment? Thanks.

I was told somethig along those lines too a few weeks ago.

Our cars dont ever need four wheel alignments. We only need front two wheels aligned.

Guy at the shop told me something might be bent. Wasn't sure whether or not to believe him but my alignment is still off.

I'm pretty sure if the rear alignment is truly off, then something is bent/twisted/improperly installed/etc...

Thanks for the quick reply. Hey have you ever experienced any unusual tire wear due to the mis-alignment? I never noticed any unusual wear on my old tires so I'm hoping that it isn't really a big deal. Thanks

They will check the angle of the rear wheels. I believe it can be a small amount off and still be ok. Then they align the front wheels based on the angle of the rears.

At least that's what Tires Plus did with mine.

So the next time I go in for an alignment should I ask for half off since they are only doing the front two wheels?..... hey just thought I'd ask.

Tires Plus charged me for a 2 wheel alignment. Part of that job was to check the rear wheels first.

When I put on my RSB I thought that it looked like the locating arms could be adjustable. I could be FOS on this one, but that is what sticks in my mind.

Uhh, yes. If they're charging you for a 4-wheel alignment you're getting ripped off.

I was wondering the exact same thing about rear alignment on beam suspensions.. I went to test drive a 2002 Max and noticed that the rears had inner tire wear. Then i thought this can't be, since the rears are a beam type suspension so it can't be adjusted. Can beams have off camber?

I would imagine so, if the beam is bent due to harsh impact or an accident...

that is normal on the Maximas...don't worry about it. I have 75K miles on my car and replaced the factory tires at 63k miles due to normal wear of the tires. I took the car for an aligment and told me the same story about the shimms and sh****t but take goooood care of your front alignment... my .02

I had my car at Ardmore Nissan(in PA) a few months ago and the service advisor said I needed a four-wheel alignment for $70 because my tires weren't wearing evenly. I told him I'd hold off and later when I looked at the tires, they seemed to be wearing just fine. I felt like they were trying to rip me off at the time. Am I correct?

yes ........

I'm sure they would have topped off your blinker fluid at no extra charge though. :grinno:

Please give me a little more credit than that. I'm pretty good about knowing the basic repairs on my car but I've never had to do an alignment on any car I've owned so when I read this thread and found that only the front wheels can be aligned, I had to ask.

if you had drum breaks then they can shim it. But since our Maximas don't have drum brakes, (I know the 3rd and older gen's had drums) it's can't be shimmed. Also because the calipers are mounted to the beam and you can't shim the calipers or your brakes will get messed up. They have to check the rear wheel alignment to do the fronts or else they can't really align the front ones properly. I read somewhere that if they automatically suggest a 4 wheel alignment it's either they're ripping you off or they treat everyone like they don't know what's up. Because to do the fronts, they have to check the backs no matter what or you'll be back and they'll have to check your alignment again.

I hate lying mechanics. Go back for a full refund or tell your story to the local news!

I never had the service done because:

1)i thought $70 was too high and I was going to shop around before considering having it done.

2)I personally saw no unusual wear on my tires so I thought he might be lying to me for that reason.

I've noticed my left rear wheel toes in a little bit compared to the right rear wheel.

I think you misconstrued what I was saying. I am giving you full credit because you did not fall for his/her line of bull. I was just adding more bull to what the service advisor told you. It's all good mane. :)

Since having my car, I have never been pleased with the alignment on this car, never had this much problems with other cars.

I am going to clarify this a little.

A beam axel could be out of square ( not perpendicular to the front to rear centerline of the car) checking this, having it adjusted as needed, and paying for it is not a bad idea. But I would argue about paying the full 4 wheel rate.

Camber and toe of course cant be done. But a lot of VW guys do that as well with a torch.