Alignment Shop

[Guest Simpson36]

sloryde:

I'll call you and make an appointment to get the alignment done.

There are two issues I want to check out first.

The rear axle seems really tight . . like the pinion is binding. I want to figure out if this is caused by a normal and correct preload, of if something needs attention. If I end up having to yank the rear, I certainly want to do that before any alignmnet.

Also Network alignment checked the alignment and said it was way off, (driver side rear camber is 1-1/2 degrees, for example) but they said the upper driver's side ball joint was worn. Just that one joint . . none of the others. I have a hard time believeing that because the entire front end was rebuilt a few thousand miles ago and the joint is an obvious new replacement part and it feels tight to me.

Is it your practice to check out the suspension joints prior to an alignment? Could you offer an opinion on the tighness of the rear before going ahead with the alignment?

As a point of curiosity:

With the car on the rack they lifted the rear wheels with a jack that's built into the rack, put the apparatus on the wheels and then let the car back down onto the rack to measure the alignment.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the camber change over the travel of the rear suspension? They did not bounce the car so the ride hight was over and inch higher than normal after they let the car onto it's wheels, and that's where it was when they measured the alignment.

Same with the front, but not as obvious. The factory manual says to bouncs the car several times to get it to it's normal ride hight prior to aligning it.

[Desertdawg]

I have never heard of bouncing it, but you definitely need to roll it back and forth a few feet to "settle" the suspension after lifting it off of the ground...

[sloryde]

Before you actually do the alignment you roll the car back and forth with the wheel adapters on the wheels to check runout in the wheels themselves and in the bearings. After setup you can put a hold on the alignment computer and lift the vehicle to check ball joints and what not. When you lower it on to the turntables the susp. settles instantly as the turntables move under the tires. So what they did was O.K. Also while the vehicle is lifted up you can put the computer in a different mode so it still reads off the susp. and do some wiggleing on susp./steering parts to visually see how much slack is in the susp. on the comp. monitor. hope this helps Joe.

[Guest Simpson36]

Maybe bouncing (per shop manual) and rolling accomplish the same thing, which is to settle the suspention to it's normal ride hight.

I understand the situation with the turntables, but there were no turntables under the REAR wheels. When the car was let down onto the wheels, the rear was on tippy-toes when they measured 1-1/2 degree rear camber driver side and 0 degree rear passenger?? The passenger side bumped the curb, so how is it in spec while the side that didn't hit anything get so far out of whack? I'm not an alignment expert by any means, but something seems fishy to me.

Sorry to be so paranoid, and I don't mind paying top dollar for top quality work, but I just wasted over $1000 on shoddy work . . most of which I had to do over, so I'm just doing my homework and asking more questions ths time.

Thanks for the information and patience.

[Overkill]

I'll let these guys work on the alignment of my car anytime! Eddie did a fantastic job getting my baby all "straightened out".

Classic Gold Auto Centre 317 S. Rockford Dr. Tempe, AZ. 85281 480-967-2521

[vmi_vette]

I also recommend Classic Gold. Eddie did a great job aligning my 92 Vette and I also had them replace an opti-spark.

Joe is a fellow Vette enthusaist and understands how much we care about our cars. You should see his 96 Grand Sport. It has to be the nicest C4 I have seen.

VMI_Vette

[sffiredude]

All of the support for this shop is great to see. Once I get my '02 lowered, someday after I get access to a lift, they will be on my list. It is great to this way to share great service experiences and learn from it.