Jump to content

Random alignment shift


white4d96

Recommended Posts

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. :lol:

 

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!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...