white4d96 Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 For the umpteenth time since June, when I had a ball joint fail under cornering stress (probably at about 20mph) I have had my alignment shift on my car. I haven't had it professionally aligned, but I had it so that the car didn't drift and there was no bumpsteer. I jacked the car up to check something, and when I set it down, the wheel had shifted from off 5* right to off 40* right and pulls hard left. Under WOT, it ends up 10* left. I'm starting to wonder if something got damaged in June that I haven't noticed. Could a inner tie rod be screwed up? I have new outers and lower ball joints all around. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 IMO, I would take it in for an alignment and if it cant be done, youll find out why Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonpro03 Posted November 26, 2010 Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 I agree, take that poor thing in! See if you can't get a free estimate and they'll tell you whats wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted November 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 I'll ask around and see if anyone does free estimates. IDK if they do, most places I checked earlier in the year wanted up to $30 to look at it and tell me "yeah, you're right, the alignment's off." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted November 26, 2010 Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 go to firestone or something where you pay like $100 for lifetime alignments for the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted November 26, 2010 Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 go to firestone or something where you pay like $100 for lifetime alignments for the car. 149 with some coupons, normally 179. Have that alignment checked every tire rotation at 6000 miles. Even if it doesn't need it us techs still make money off the lifetime alignment rechecks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted November 26, 2010 Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 149 with some coupons, normally 179. Have that alignment checked every tire rotation at 6000 miles. Even if it doesn't need it us techs still make money off the lifetime alignment rechecks!! Thanks for the numbers! Thought about this many times, but with my fickle thoughts on keeping the car, I never decided to throw down. I've never touched the tie rods other than removing them from the knuckles and I eybelled the camber in the rear. I dont have any wear patterns on my tires indicative of a gross misalignment, so I'm happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted November 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2010 I don't want to do a lifetime one because I'd void it in the spring when I go coilover, I'm guessing (do they void that if you make changes to your car? How does that work). I just need it to stop trying to kill me around town and on the weekly trip to Milwaukee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted November 27, 2010 Report Share Posted November 27, 2010 I don't want to do a lifetime one because I'd void it in the spring when I go coilover, I'm guessing (do they void that if you make changes to your car? How does that work). I just need it to stop trying to kill me around town and on the weekly trip to Milwaukee. I know at my shop we could give a fuck less:lol: Hell, people rebuild their suspensions, and we hang the heads and align em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted November 27, 2010 Report Share Posted November 27, 2010 Thanks for the numbers! Thought about this many times, but with my fickle thoughts on keeping the car, I never decided to throw down. I've never touched the tie rods other than removing them from the knuckles and I eybelled the camber in the rear. I dont have any wear patterns on my tires indicative of a gross misalignment, so I'm happy with it. You know when doing alignments, this isnt ancient technology these days with strings. Toe is measured in hundredths of an inch. Camber in tenths of a degree. Eyeballing it doesnt do much good. I bet if you had a proper alignment you would be suprised how much better the car drove. I love our Hunter DSP600! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted November 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Question: Our strut mounts (specifically, the part you can see from under the hood with the cover/STB off,) are they supposed to have any play in them with steering? My passenger side doesn't seem to, but my driver's side does. Neither looks damaged though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted November 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 I'm an idiot. The ball joint bolts were snapped and/or bent again. Easy fix. Sorry about the hassle guys. Anyone know how to keep this from happening? I've been dealing with this since I put these ball joints in in June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 Dang, $150 (with coupons) for lifetime alignment is awesome. Is that 4 wheel alignment, or just 2 wheel? Does it include trucks and SUV's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 thats a ripoff IMO... It takes about an hour to do if that... I know a guy in Toledo that does it for 25 bucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted November 30, 2010 Report Share Posted November 30, 2010 You also worked with him! If I had that connection still, maybe I would still use it. But $150 for unlimited alignments is a good deal. Anytime you rotate tires, replace ANY suspension parts, hit a big pothole, etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted December 1, 2010 Report Share Posted December 1, 2010 I just had my moms car aligned by him about a month and a half ago... He does it for anyone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.