I brought my car into the stealership because something was loose in the front end and they ended up replacing the right axle and sway bar links. I won't even get into how much they charged me for the axle. But when I left the stealership I immediately noticed that the steering wheel was tilted to the right when I was going straight. The car still seems to drive straight but I know that part of an alignment is to set the steering wheel so it's straight. When I called them they said they didn't align the car because it wasn't needed for the work that was done. Now I'm a freak about little things and I'm 200% sure that the steering wheel was perfectly straight before I brought it in for service. Anyone know if replacing the sway bar links or axle would somehow mess with the alighnment?

 

There are a few different ways to do the axle. Some prefer to unbolt the strut from the spindle, while others unbolt the whole lower arm from the car. Either way you do it you should at least check the alignment when done. Even though there is no visable adjustment for these items there is some play in these parts. Even after changing my struts and springs I checked mine and it was pretty far off. I had to loosen the bolts on the struts and push the spindle a different way and tighten the bolts back up to get the camber right. I would take it back and insist that it isn't right, you might even want to tell them that it's pulling one way or the other.

 

Normally if the dealer does work on a car that requires an alignment afterwards like tie rods do they charge for the alignment?

 

Yes a Dealer charge extra for everything they do. You would have to pay for the alignment.

 

Did the axle and sway bar link solve the looseness problem? Just wondering because I think that I am having the same problem.

 

I had the sway bar link replaced on my car before and an alignment wasnt needed, but I think a axle replace would require one. Hell after the dealer replaced my wheel bearings I needed an alignment.....

 

Speaking of alignment, is it true that our cars only need the front alignment? Since we have a solid beam rear, nothing needs to be aligned in the back right?

 

You are correct.

 

that is why I stay away from the dealer

 

That is good to know because I'm going in tomorrow for an alignment. Thanks.

 

Does any place do a 2 wheel alignment anymore? Most places I called told me that they charge the same rate regardless of whether they align 2 wheels or 4 wheels.

 

all 4 heads have to be hung, its all the same. the actual adjustment of the rear, if there were one, would only take about 3-5 minutes at most.

besides, the rears need to be checked anyway as they are what the front wheels are aligned to

 

I read an interesting article about Alignment shops a few days ago.

The article basically talked about how alot of these corporate alignment shops are actually bad for our cars, because the machines are set to a certain number or standard that fits all cars, so you are really not getting a precise alignment tuned to your cars specifics.
The article went on to say, that alignments are really a fading art, and that to get a true alignment that is personally fit to your car, you have to shell out about $200 and have a true professional work on it for a day...
Any thoughts on this?

The article went on to show how with a few plumbers tools and a laser level you can do it yourself in half a day...

(Check out IMPORT TUNER Issue #089, pg. 118)

 

Ive heard this too. I am taking my car in for an alignment tomorrow because I just put my new coilovers on. So only a 2 wheel alignment is needed?

 

lol.


um, no. the 'heads' are hung to the wheels, and the compensated. this gives the machine the exact angles of each wheel. each angle is adjusted to the manufacturers specifications.

i can align just about any car in an hour, as perfect as anyone who requires $200 and a full day to do it (lol).


and yes, you can align your car with a bubble gauge and a yardstick, though the method is quite outdated and not all that accurate.

 

You are probably confusing it with corner balancing.

 

did anybody read the artice in either sport compact or modified mag wehre they show how to do a allingment yourself? good article.

 

Link? 10char

 

I have had the laser Hunter computer alignment and that seems to work well. I just put a new CV axle and new tires on so it is time to go again. I think I am going to be charged 75 bucks. Seems to be pretty precise, I had alot of trouble balancing and aligning before and that worked for me.

 

i cant picture a shop trying to get my car on an allingment rack due to the drop.