Wheel alignment - how do I know they really fixed it?

You have no direct way of knowing what they did. You can take it to a second shop to proctor their work, I guess. Your best assurance is to find a mechanic/shop of impeccable reputation and ability.

Being a 'dealership' guarantees you nothing. And there are plenty of less-than- ethical independents out there too.

a) hang around and watch them work b) check the bolts under the car for fresh wrench marks and signs of motion on the adjusting pieces. c) go to a place that gives you a computer print-out of the "before" and "after alignment values (caster, camber, toe) and save the printout.

Cheat, Before you take your vehicle in stop by a store and buy some cheap spray paint. Spray the parts they will be working on with a LIGHT spray of paint. When they finish with it look for damage to that paint.

Or DIY.

Are you certain that your car needed realignment? If you took it in and they found that when they put the alignment tester on the car it was in alignment, there would be no signs of adjustment because they made none.

Right, that just shows that they changed them... it doesn't show that they changed them to anything correct.

My experience has been that shops that do old-fashioned hand alignment tend to do a better job and have people that can explain what is wrong and how it got that way. They also tend to have people who can explain the difference in handling that you'll get with different alignment configuration... like how you can toe in the rear tires on some models for better cornering at the expense of tire life.

The problem is that these alignment shops are few and far between these days, and they are going away. So most folks today have to rely on the crew at some chain tire shop, who put the car on the machine and adjust it the way the machine tells them, and if the machine is wrong, nobody will ever be the wiser.

If you have issues with something that prevents the car from keeping alignment, they will usually show up on a hand alignment, but when some high school kid at the tire shop goes through the computerized menu, the chances are much lower. If you have something worn or loose that results in the vehicle not staying aligned, putting it up on the machine and going through the procedure is just wasting his time and your money.

--scott

I had an unreal alignment experience at Pep Boys(need no new flaming; did it to myself immediately!). I told them about the pulling problem I had & that I wanted a before-and-after printout of their work. They had the audacity to give me just that, which showed both front and rear out-of-spec readings before AND after their adjustment. Actually, all they did was adjust the front toe-in. And somehow, one or more of the other readings was actually worse after than before. And to add salt into the wound, they charged me for a *complete* alignment--about $50-$60 at the time, ~11 yrs. ago. I read the printout on the way home, and the further I drove, the iller I got. Turned around, returned to store, asked for manager, showed him the printout and bill, and let him fume without provocation from me. He openly criticized such shoddy work and voluntarily refunded the money. Suggested I take it somewhere else. Honest, he seemed. Doing improper work PLUS happily furnishing written proof really was amazing! The nerve! Guess the tech. thought customers either couldn't or wouldn't read. Or else, no thinking at all on his part. With low scruples, they can always blame future comebacks with the old

Is it difficult to DIY aligment ? What equipment you need for this job ?

Not really but it takes TIME and an understanding of what each adjustment does and how it interacts with the others. For starters a nice flat level floor, good tape measure, alignment plates, floor jack, jack stands. Caster/Camber gauge, good laser level. Book of specs for different vehicles. Lug wrench, hand tools.

Toe is VERY easy to adjust on most vehicles. Caster/Camber can be depending on the vehicle. You can do front end and 4 wheel both with those tools.

Steve W.

While I'm glad you were happy, that is the wrong way to do a 4 wheel alignment. You always have to set the rear up first before doing the front.

Old equipment, brand new fancy equipment...it all boils down to who is operating the equipment.

Ian

You have to be able to trust the folks that are working on your car. If you just pull into the closest "alignment" shop and get your work done, who knows what you might come out with?

Get a "before and after" printout. Become familiar with what your vehicle alignment specs should be.

Ian

Thanks, Ian, but I'm not going to tell HIM! (BTW:What difference could it possibly make, when adjusting toe only on rear, which end he starts with?) I hope I made it obvious that his old equipment was for 2-wheel alignment only, and in no way did I intentionally imply he was doing a complete 4-wheel alignment. Just an added effort on his part to do the best with what he had! I thought it cool that he just cared enough to go the extra mile and even set the rear toe. Hope this clears up any misconception I may have caused. s

I'm presuming from the context that "oldtimer" had a spotbeam type machine like a Visualiner. With this machine there is no reference to the rear wheel angles and therefore it would be pointless to adjust the rear wheels first. It has no rear heads and no parallelogram measurement system for centerline or thrustline purposes.

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Stick with a garage you trust. Also, unless you have proof otherwise, don't think everyone is out to screw you.

---------------- Alex

Modern alignments also require the mechanic to get his hands dirty. The bolts don't miraculously turn themselves. This is a case where the tech using the tool is more important than the tool itself. That is always true. It has nothing to do with being modern or old-fashioned.

Unless the alignment is way off, it is not something you can eye ball, so again modern equipement is not the problem.

Part of doing an alignment is checking wear on components that would not allow the car to stay aligned. That has nothing to do with the technology used to check the alignment.

------------ Alex

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. As in most cases, the operator is much more important than the tools they use. If you can't do the work yourself, it is best to find a mechanic you can trust and use them.

----------- Alex

I know what you are saying (I used to use an old machine like this), but while the machine cannot see thrustline, you the mechanic will see thrustline when you drive the vehicle and the steering wheel is off center. So it still makes sense to do the rear first (which is what we did years ago when doing a 4 wheel align, back the car on first, do the rear, then do the front) and then the front.

Ian

It really only will show up when you drive the car and steering wheel is not centered. But in the old days, you would drive the vehicle and then compensate for the thrust line. Now, the new equipment does it all for you, but you must do the rear wheel camber first, then rear wheel toe, front wheel camber/caster, then finish up with front wheel toe.

No, no misconception. I used to do alignments on the old light/line machines. When we had vehicles that had rear wheel toe adjustments, we would always do the rear first, then do the front. It just saved time. An old flat rater here!

Ian

Sounds like you, too, might have been an acceptable choice for my business :). s

If you are sensitive to the limitations of this machine from lots of practical experience then it may be somewhat helpful to set the rear first, but I don't think that I would notice a difference using either method if I were to operate a Visualiner after so many years. Thanks for the insight, Ian.

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