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View Full Version : how bad can a shop mess up your alignment? really bad.



Michael
09-18-2005, 04:15 PM
had alignment done after i put my lift on....

now after a few thousand miles, i notice my front tires are totally messed up (read: gone). the tread is messed up and doing weird things, and its wearing on the inside on both tires really bad. the back tires haven't worn at all. running trxus mt's in 31" size. i digged for the print out from the alignment shop, and had a friend look it over, he says every setting they set is not within specification. why does every shop in gunnison colorado not know how to do anything right?

(begin rant)
where the hell do i have to drive to get my car worked on by someone who knows wtf they are doing? why does a zj (98!) do nothing but break? my d35 is messed up, my exhaust is messed up, my engine is messed up, the brakes don't work, my alignment/steering and tires are messed up. i just fixed my a/c, and its the only thing that does work, although when you put it on one blower setting, say top vents only, it switches to the foot vents only without reason. i think i'm about to just go set it on fire. i've saved up a little over $1000 to get it running right, but i realize that won't fix half of the things that are wrong especially with my limited mechanical ability. what else could possibly go wrong with this pos?
(end rant)

I even quit drinking, COMPLETELY, in order to save up some cash to get this thing running before it just quits out in a blizzard.

Is it time to start making payments on a toyota?

AprilzWarrior
09-18-2005, 06:38 PM
Is it time to start making payments on a toyota?



To answer your question.




YES.:smt116

Jim311
09-18-2005, 07:17 PM
How about a Waaaaaaaaaaaamburger and some French Crys?

LouisianaZJ
09-18-2005, 07:54 PM
where the hell do i have to drive to get my car worked on by someone who knows wtf they are doing? why does a zj (98!) do nothing but break? my d35 is messed up, my exhaust is messed up, my engine is messed up, the brakes don't work, my alignment/steering and tires are messed up. i just fixed my a/c, and its the only thing that does work, although when you put it on one blower setting, say top vents only, it switches to the foot vents only without reason. i think i'm about to just go set it on fire. i've saved up a little over $1000 to get it running right, but i realize that won't fix half of the things that are wrong especially with my limited mechanical ability. what else could possibly go wrong with this pos?
?
TRUE :-D

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
09-18-2005, 07:56 PM
learn to work on your own junk and empty that beach of a vagina.

norton
09-19-2005, 03:44 AM
learn to work on your own junk and empty that beach of a vagina.

for once i agree with elliot

happy
09-19-2005, 07:08 PM
get some rockwells

MaineZJ
09-20-2005, 08:09 PM
alignment - 2 wrenches, a pipe wrench, and a tape measure. no real need for a shop to do it.
and if you had the printout, you should have known something was wrong when they handed it to you.

dasVettemeister
09-20-2005, 08:16 PM
and if you had the printout, you should have known something was wrong when they handed it to you.

Not if they had the rack set up improperly. All indications could be within limits while the allignment is skewed.

MaineZJ
09-20-2005, 08:28 PM
Not if they had the rack set up improperly. All indications could be within limits while the allignment is skewed.


i digged for the print out from the alignment shop, and had a friend look it over, he says every setting they set is not within specification.

sounds like the machine was set correct but the mechanic was off.

dasVettemeister
09-20-2005, 08:37 PM
sounds like the machine was set correct but the mechanic was off.

I didn't see that part. Yup, the tech is a nitwit.

StinkoMan20X6_
10-04-2005, 12:02 PM
Every alignment shop you take your jeep too is only out to make a quick buck on alignment. Absolutely NO alignment shop acutally does alignments. They just get it close enough to end the complaint and get you out the door. The reason for this is because it would take long enough to get an alignment perfect that is't no longer worth the $70 to them and because they're greedy and/or lazy. Tire shops have even more incentive to NOT do an alignment because the sooner your tires get fucked up the sooner they get to try to peddle some more to you. SO good luck on that one. I've been to several shops in my area and am giving up. I'm just going to do my own alignments from now on.

As for everything else on your jeep breaking...The A/C seems to be a pretty common problem, but I'm not sure about everything else. Welcome to the world of JEEP (post chrysler).

18to80DDC
10-05-2005, 11:16 PM
I would suggest you buy a Haynes/Chiltons manual, not just to be able to fix things yourself, but to research something before you send it to a so called "expert", to know when they are BS'ing you.
Don't be afraid to raise the http://home.comcast.net/~rothos/bs.gifif you think they are taking you for a ride. A lot of 4x4 shops will try to feed you crap if they think they can get away with it. "That's the way we always do it.", "Everybody does it this way."

Be sure you get the service you wanted when you went in and if you don't, report them to the BBB so the rest of us can have an idea of what to expect with them.

OverkillZJ
10-05-2005, 11:40 PM
Use Chiltons as firewood, Haynes as a paperweight, and keep the Factory Service Manual close at hand since it's the only one worth it's weight in gold!

18to80DDC
10-06-2005, 11:47 AM
Use Chiltons as firewood, Haynes as a paperweight, and keep the Factory Service Manual close at hand since it's the only one worth it's weight in gold!

Yah, it costs a little more, but I bet it is worth it, I have the FSM for my 71 Jag and I would be lost without it.

Michael
10-08-2005, 04:15 PM
i have a manual, and just got more tools so i can do more of my own work. i did my lift, bullbar, and brakes. stuff like that, but i can't weld or anything. called kevin, and got my exhaust parts on the way, so that will be fixed next week. got a carsound cat and a flowmaster 70 for the heck of it. got 2 new trxus mt's for the front, and getting them mounted monday. got a new trackbar to replace the stock one, but can't get the damn bolt out of the bracket. tried my new pickel fork and bfh that i picked up with no visible sucess other than making it so i can't just put the nut back on and take it to a shop and have them deal with it. i tried heating up the mount bracket with my propane torch but that didn't work. do i need to get it red hot, or just heat if for 5 min? i don't have any "puller" type tools, so any advice on getting the damn bolt out? i think its tapered. i got the cotter pin and nut off this morning after a soak in pb blaster. spent 2 hours pounding on a pickel fork to try to free it. any ideas? i already bought a bigger hammer and that didn't help.

HyenaZJ
10-08-2005, 06:55 PM
Get an angle grinder with a cut off wheel to take the head off. Then pound the bolt through with your "bfh". That's how I got mine out! Just be careful about chopping up the trac bar bracket. If the bolt won't pound out, cut off the other side of the bolt and let the trac bar drop down.
Good luck!

18to80DDC
10-08-2005, 10:17 PM
got a new trackbar to replace the stock one, but can't get the damn bolt out of the bracket. tried my new pickel fork and bfh that i picked up with no visible sucess other than making it so i can't just put the nut back on and take it to a shop and have them deal with it.
I beat on mine forever, till my arm felt like jelly, let my buddy beat on it for a while and then took back over, and it finally popped off.

I like the cutting wheel idea much more. or this :smt067

Michael
10-09-2005, 05:47 AM
it took 8 hours of pounding. i can't feel my arm now.

PassRunnerZJ
10-17-2005, 03:42 PM
If you make it down or can make it down to Grand Junction, Motor City Alignment (970-242-4135) has done well for me over the years with my FJ40, Subaru, and ZJ. I alway make a list of items (lift, tie rods, control arms...) I've changed on the ZJ and go over it with them as I drop the vehicle off.

egon
10-27-2005, 09:46 PM
Different vehicle, same steering... http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoAlignment.htm

I've done my own ghetto-quick-tape-measure-alignments before and had no issues. Did one right after my last lift and drove about 1000 miles before taking it to a shop. It drove straight, but knew it wasn't perfect. The best medicine for your wallet is knowledge. I was there once also, my wallet is better off but my head hurts now.

Oh, and there are alignment shops out there that won't fsck you over.

--Matt

OverkillZJ
10-28-2005, 09:42 AM
My tape measure alignments are usually dead on. I've even had it checked by a good shop.

gsh
11-16-2005, 02:14 AM
I used to do my own alignments on my Chrysler RWDs. In addition to the tape measure, I used a level for the camber. It's a little more involved with those two upper a-arm bolts with no cams. These alignments are simple in comparison.

If it drives straight, steering wheel is centered, no DW, even tire wear, you have a good alignment. Numbers from an alignment rack really don't matter then.