Ever hear of an alignment shop that does not do Caster/Camber?

[RmvBfrFlght]

Toe and go, take it to an old timer like me. I busted lots of knuckles going alignment on these cars in the 80's. They where all out of whack right from the factory.

I started to reply to this thread a couple of times and canceled out. What gnmaster posted about "toe and go" is right on the money. It got so bad that I have have been doing my own alignments for years now.

It isn't easy, but it is well worth it.

The last alignment I paid for was on a car with a strut suspension. They used a hammer to move the upper strut mounts. Ack. Never again.

The tools to do a decent job yourself includes: a set of turntables or some greased 12" square floor tiles, an angle measurement tool, and some laser pointers (levels).

RemoveBeforeFlight

 

[novaderrik]

i do alignments with jackstands, string, framing square, angle finder, and a tape measure.. it's not hard once you figure out what you are trying to accomplish..

 

[decaturforlife]

Most high end rims shop can do it. Bulter tires here can get the job done.

 

[fitz3820]

I almost lost it in the place and on the phone with customer service getting a refund.

Me: You didn't do a full alignment, only toe.
Them: You need a "camber kit", that is an aftermarket part - we don't install parts.
Me: No, I need shims, I will buy them for you.
Them: No, we don't do parts.
Me: I want my $ back as I still need the car aligned.
Them: No we did a "Factory" alignment.
Me: No you didn't - you just set the toe.
Them: Camber/Caster is factory set, not adjustable.
Me: No it is not.
Them: Those shims are from the factory.
Me: How can you tell how old shims are on a 25 year old car?
Them: Rust.
Me: Your sign says "Full Alignment Service" - you only did toe, not a full alignment I want my $ back.
Them: We did a "Factory" alignment.

This went on and on for 20+ minutes in the store - they started mentioning rear adjustments (none on my GN, all stock), mentioning struts (WTF) saying that the tires will not wear, don't worry about it - anything to shut me up.

Got the $ back for the alignment after I called customer service and had the charge disputed on my credit card. Found a local place that can do it and knew all about shims, etc. Said it will take some time and they will test drive it with me.

 

[cdsttype]

HOW DO YOU DO THRUST ANGLE WITH A LEVEL AND FRAMING SQUARE HOW DO YOU DO CASTER
WHAT A JOKE LOL

 

[charlief1]

HOW DO YOU DO THRUST ANGLE WITH A LEVEL AND FRAMING SQUARE HOW DO YOU DO CASTER
WHAT A JOKE LOL

The same way they did it in the30', 40's 50's and 60's Bill. They didn't have a lot of fancy machines back then so they had to know the furmula (mathmatic that is) so that a car could be aligned. Ever heard of a toe bar or camber guages? 4 slip plates an a pair of camber guages with the right math you can do it and with string, a good level, a tape measure, and some math it's not that hard.

 

[cdsttype]

I HAVE DONE ALIGNMENTS FOR 35 YEARS. I DONT THINK I WILL HANG UP MY CALCULATOR FOR A ABACUS.
I HAVE PROBABLY HAVE USED EVER TYPE OF ALIGNMENT EQUIPMENT EVER MADE AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER.
I LIKE MY 2012 MACHINE THE POST WAS ABOUT A LEVEL & CARPENTERS SQUARE NOT SLIP PLATES AND MAGNETIC
SPINDLE MOUNTED CASTER CAMBER GAUGES.

 

[novaderrik]

HOW DO YOU DO THRUST ANGLE WITH A LEVEL AND FRAMING SQUARE HOW DO YOU DO CASTER
WHAT A JOKE LOL

it's all about finding the centerline of the car and going off that.. it's not rocket surgery- it's done every day by circle track racers in 2 car garages across the country..

 

[cdsttype]

I DONT KNOW ABOUT OPERATING ON A ROCKET I AM NO ROCKET DOCTOR LOL.WHAT I DO KNOW IS AUTOMOBILES ASE MASTER CERTIFIED FOR 25 YEARS. IF YOU THINK THEIR ALIGNMENT IS AS ACCURATE OR FAST AS MINE YOU ARE
SADLY MISTAKEN

 

[we4Mateo]

... IF YOU THINK THEIR ALIGNMENT IS AS ACCURATE OR FAST AS MINE YOU ARE
SADLY MISTAKEN

That wasn't the dispute; simply that it could be done.

 

[novaderrik]

I DONT KNOW ABOUT OPERATING ON A ROCKET I AM NO ROCKET DOCTOR LOL.WHAT I DO KNOW IS AUTOMOBILES ASE MASTER CERTIFIED FOR 25 YEARS. IF YOU THINK THEIR ALIGNMENT IS AS ACCURATE OR FAST AS MINE YOU ARE
SADLY MISTAKEN

do you always yell?

when i aligned my Nova in my shed with some basic tools, i got it pretty damn close to the numbers i was shooting for.. i can't remember exactly what specs i had or what i was going for- this was in 2003, so it's been a while- but when we put it on the shiny brand new alignment machine at the repair shop my cousin worked at, everything was right on except for the Camber, which was a degree or so off. and this was the first time i had attempted anything like that and pretty much made it up as i went along..