Leaking front struts

Bad struts will create bad tire wear and once you change the struts, you will have to align it again. A descent, honest mechanic would have checked the front end first, told you of any problems, and told you to get any/all problems fixed before wasting money on an alignment.

yes and no. The bad struts may not be the cause of your misalignment, but replacing them will definitely require a realignment.

nate

You are wasting your money to align a front end with bad struts. Alignment is usually included in strut replacement charges one way or another. The mechanic should not have done anything to the front end before checking it's condition and advising you of his findings - especially if repairs are needed that will require re-alignment like strut replacement.

Lugnut

Very likely true. If you had of went to the dealership, this probably would not have happened.

Mark

Leaking struts will not *cause* the front end to go out of alignment. The part that leaks is just the equivalent of the shock absorber on a conventional front suspension, it doesn't mechanically affect the alignment at all.

But on the other hand, when you do have the struts replaced, you will HAVE to have the front end re-aligned because replacing the struts disconnects some of the bolts that are used to set the alignment, and the alignment settings are lost.

Since your struts are leaking and the alignment is also not holding its setting, there's probably quite a lot wrong with your front end (struts obviously, but probably bushings, lower ball joint (if equipped) and tie-rod ends as well. You should have a complete front-end service performed.

Probably. I am surprised that they'd even bother doing the alignment if they noticed the struts were bad.

Was this done at a frame shop that specializes in alignments, or was it done by the kid at the local tire chain? The kid at the tire chain probably doesn't know any more than you do... he just puts the car on the machine and does whatever the machine tells him to do.

--scott

Done at Canadian TIre. The mechanic is in his 50's.

The strut cartridge in and of itself doesnt cause the misalignment, but it can affect ride and tire wear.

The problem is, as you probably understand by the good counsel you have gotten here, that when you replace the strut, you upset the alignment that was just done, so it has to be done over again.

The last time I replaced struts, I used a juryrigged bubble gauge to get the geometry as nearly as possible to what it was before I started. Then I had it aligned and it was a degree off on both sides. I could have driven with it a few days, but not good enough.

This is a learning experience, but I would have thought the mechanic at Can Tire would have been kind enough to have alerted you to the situation.

Not necessarily true.....Dealerships pull this sort of thing all the time. You would hope they didnt, but if you go in and tell them to align the front end, some of them will do it...and nothing else.

The key is to find a garage, and a mechanic in that garage, that you can trust. And then support him (or her).

Finding such a situation can be a struggle.

yes, what he said.

That *good* mechanic and garage may charge more per hour than others... but you still may end up paying less for your auto maintenance needs.

nate

Amen! Another case of an incompetent mechanic. Bet a dollar it was a chain store or a place that sends out coupons...

Ben

It is a chain store.

The last time I had Canadian Tire do an alignment, they and I ended up in a spat when they insisted the back end of the car needed to be done as it was WAAAY out of alignment. Short version, their alignment machine was out of whack and they had three days worth of free re-alignments to do. Apparently I was the first one to complain.

(I changed the tie rods on the Beretta but I suck at doing alignments - I can do it with a friend on the race cars with tape measures but I'm just crappy at it so I decided to let someone else mess with it - it was winter and spending the day measuring in the snow just wasn't happening...)

And in case anyone was wondering how I knew the back end wasn't out of whack - I had done the tie rods and balljoints, gotten an alignment from the same CT, and then during the next oil change I noticed one axle boot had torn badly - it was winter - and shortly afterwards I did struts and replaced an axle because the CV was all clunking. It was my printout of the before/after alignment from only 4 months ago that finally got it through the service manager's head that the rear end of this car wasn't totally out to lunch.

It just reminded me why I service my own cars. I can do just as crappy of a job for a lot less money.

Ray