85CamaroZ28

iTrader: (7)

I took my car in to have an alignment done when I broke one of the tie rods. They got it aligned well but the steering wheel was slanted to the right about 15 degrees. I read on here to take it back and have them redo the alignment. They tried to get the steering wheel back straight and even when they set it straight and get the alignment done it still shakes past 60 mph.

The car was hit in the passenger side and I thought it was light enough not to mess anything up but the mechanics all say the car's chassis could be bent. The car basically just "sits" on the right side when you start to drive it? they said it could either be my rack or the chassis could be bent. I'm going to take it to a shop that does chassis alignments and see if they can help me out. Just looking for any more advice.

RARON455

iTrader: (35)

Yeah, if you suspect that it has a damaged front end take it to someone who deals with it, When you have a front end alignment, they set the car within the specs from GM and center the wheel. If you had a front end alignment, and they didnt center the wheel, I would have raised cain before I got out of the parking lot. The shop you used could be suspect also.

O2Form

Its almost impossible to bend a unibody car, If it shaking above 60 you need to find new mechanics. Shaking could be tires, the road, wheels, drive shaft, trans mount etc. Alignment is not going cause shaking nor is a bent chassis which in your case seriously doubt. The car wooood have had to been mashed hard before you could cause serious unibody damage. Even then you woooodn't get a shake above 60...........................where do these mechanics get their training?

RARON455

iTrader: (35)

UHH, No it is not, Consider the fact that you have plastic fenders, if the vehicle sustains an impact on the front apron area, that energy is forced to be absorbed completely by the front subframe, strut tower, and Kmember, It really does not take much to have the front end out of specs, and a substancial hit can total the vehicle. I am still thinking the shop is a hack, the fact that they would send your vehicle out after an alignment and the wheel being off center, I definately do agree with him where do these clowns get their training

O2Form

Unibody cars don't bend and get out of shape like a full framed car. They have crumple zones that give instead but anyways the point i was trying to make was a vibration woooooodn't be from the unibody being out of spec. Anyone ever tells you that find a new shop.




Never save anything for a special day, THIS day the Lord has given IS special.

stimpy

iTrader: (1)

O2 you don't know what your talking about , I worked in a body/frame shop for several years . Unibody car s bend easier than a ladder frame car ever will and you can twist the snot out of them and once they bend, you have to bend them back further as the the sheetmetal components take a spring like quality to them and never return to there original shape as the sheet panels deform and unless you cut them out and replace them with original it will never be right ( take a beer can and crunch it up and then try to get it back to its original shape without any dents ) , if it was hit on the passenger side or drivers side infront of the firewall he can bend the frame horn up which will cause a bad allignment issue , twist the shock/strut mounting area or the k member can be bent/twisted also , as for wobbles thats a rim or bearing hub issue or a bad ball joint . but sometimes if a alignment isn't done properly the tire can drag and cause issues with steering components and cause the front to hop . crumple zones are asorbers they displace the energy from impact they are totally destroyed and fold and the f body wasn't built with them its a specific design incorperated into the car and uses special materials . most cars with them once hit are ussually totalled as its more expensive to repair the damage than to buy a new car . ( most imports are built this way this is why you see hondas and toyotas with little exterior damage getting totalled and scraped but you pop the hood and see the doghouse bent or folded up .

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

I think this is nonsense. Something mechanical is wrong. You are probably good to take it to a decent mechanical/body shop to get checked out on a lift - but let them do the detective work and don't give them an excuse like a bent chassis. Could be a broken hub, strut mount, bushing, etc.

If you had a bent part, you would have problems tracking the car, but probably not the car sitting and vibrating. The fact that the shop couldn't do an alignment correctly and give you a straight steering wheel should make their opinion suspect...

85CamaroZ28

iTrader: (7)

That's what I was thinking. They had the alignment right the first time but the steering wheel was off because the car would ride perfectly straight and wouldn't shake at all. I thought it was a decent shop, I guess i'm going to have to look somewhere else.

O2Form

so you think his vibration is his frame is bend???????????? or are you trying to show your vast frame knowledge or are you typing for the sake of typing???????????? because you just said about nothing.

O2Form

Unibody cars DON"T BEND AS EASY...............they fold up!

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This has happened to me a lot over the years. With electronic alignment machines, they are hard to screw up - but the little details like making sure the wheel is straight first, get missed.

Every time I get an alignment now, I ask the tech to make sure the steering wheel is straight. If they say, "of course," I am a lot more confident. If they say, "What do you mean?" I pack up and take the car somewhere else.

CamaroZ28_LS1

iTrader: (5)

When i align a car, the steering wheel always has to be straight(alignment machine makes you do steering angle back and forth), park brake on, foot brake on, steering wheel lock on, rear wheels chalked. You do not want the car to move at all after you have it dead on in the straight ahead position.

85CamaroZ28

iTrader: (7)

well when I took it back to get the wheel straightened out, they put it straight and then took it for a drive and they said the car basically just "sits" on the passenger side. It's kinda weird that the alignment was perfect at first but the steering wheel was crooked. Now i take it back and they say there is something else broken because they can't get the wheel straight. I'm taking it somewhere else to see if they can do any better.

stimpy

iTrader: (1)

I have seen weirder things happen from bent frames taking the suspension specs and screwing them to the point that the car physically hopped as it drug the tire down the road . 1/16th of a inch is all you need to do this its like dragging the tire 85 ft sideways in one mile . it can compress and decompress the bushings at speed and cause a wobbling effect as the bushing gets worn out . as for the steering wheel alignment issue , thats a joke , as you can move the rack off one tooth( from side impact ) and it will do this or not equally adjust the tie rods and have it happen . I would take the car to a alignment shop and have them look under the car to make sure no mounts ae broken or metal bent thats on the support structure .


and Kid I have been working on cars probably before you where born .

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Its probably because something in the suspension or steering was bent. If you align the wheels to the bent side as being the "straight" one, then the steering wheel will end up off.