Front end

[midwestLTD]

Ok here is the problem. I have replaced everything up front. Ball joints,inner & outer tie rod ends pittman idler arm..Everything but engery bushings.My problem is that it is still cambered out some.Had it aligned by a pro(?). What can I do to make my front tires line in right??

[gadget73]

do you have the exact alignment specs after it was set? If its a camber problem, and the ball joints are good, the only thing that can cause that is improper adjustment or dead bushings. Usually if the bushings are bad, the top of the tire will kick inward, not outward.

Just a side note, my car went to three "pros" before someone finally got it to go straight. The first guy didn't even set the caster and camber.

[mrltd]

I doubt they set the camber. Most shops don't bother with it because they are lazy and incompetent. They only set the toe.

The one Pro that did my car never bothered tightening the tie rod sleeves.... and it was toed in an INCH. And the assholes wouldn't give me my money back.

[85crownHPP]

"set the toe and let it go" they say... did you tell them the camber and caster were most likely way off?
The father-and-son at the 2 bay alignment shop we shuttle ours to are fully aware of what they will be getting into whenever I do my big brakes...

[86GmLsCoupe]

I agree with them, a lot of places of places do half ass alignments or try and charge for a 4 wheel alignments. Goodyear did an alignment when I got tires in 03 and they didn't touch caster and it was out of range. You're best bet is to get a copy of the before & after printout which is good for records in general. Make sure you let them know you want it beforehand. If they don't give one then where's the proof the work was done other than getting under the car looking for marks?

[turbo2256b]

Is your car lowered in the front? Many shops dont even have compident techs. You might ask around see who does race cars. My specs are something i figured out along with a real sharp tech took a couple tries.

[gadget73]

oh yeah the "4 wheel alignment". One of the places tried to bang me for that, I pointed out that I had requested a front end alignment, not 4 wheel. Also, the car has a solid rear axle, there is no adjustment back there. Got the $20 difference knocked off so it only cost me $65 to have the upper control arm bolts come loose 800 miles from home.

[86GmLsCoupe]

My Dad worked at a Goodyear for a bit after retiring so he filled me in on what kind of stuff they can try and pull. I hate having anyone touch my car and from some of the stuff I've heard, I'd much rather do almost everything I can myself. I took my friend's fairly mint red Mark VII LSC for an alignment at Strauss. They dinged the car's door, gave no printout (and i asked beforehand), and cursed and yelled at me. I had to call the cops because they tried to move and lock the car in the garage because I was paying and I wanted something done about the damage. They redid the alignment at another location and it turned out no one even checked the suspension before the first one and the car needed ball joints, ties rods ends, ect. I'm just glad I finally found a good shop to take my car to for alignments.

[85crownHPP]

I was about to say holy crap! But then i noticed you life in Jersey... worst we got are jiffy places that sell you nothing...