Am I getting raped
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Seattle,Wa.
Am I getting raped I've had some issues with my T/A pulling to the left going down the interstate. It's most noticable from 60 mph and up. Someone I know recommended taking it to Dynamic Diesel in Snohomish across from the airport to get a front end alignment. They informed me that my tie rod ends are bad and it will cost me $639.00 for parts and labor. the car has 32,000 miles on it.
They told me 1.5 hours labor per side.
I'm not feeling good about this, am I getting raped....again?
They told me 1.5 hours labor per side.
I'm not feeling good about this, am I getting raped....again?
I think it is a load of bullshit!!!
It is really easy to check if you have bad tirod ends, jack the front of your car up and grab the tire and try to move it side to side.
If the tirod ends are bad there will be a lot of play you can feel with your hand, you probably just need an alignment.
It is really easy to check if you have bad tirod ends, jack the front of your car up and grab the tire and try to move it side to side.
If the tirod ends are bad there will be a lot of play you can feel with your hand, you probably just need an alignment.
Holy **** - I haven't priced tierod ends, but I cannot imagine that parts/labor for a simple tierod swap and alignment would be over $600. That's crazy. My .02 would be to give Brad's a call and talk with Brad or Scott. They can do alignment, etc., for you and won't bullshit you in the process.
Hey, so for the hell of it I priced Moogs and GM replacement tierod ends at GMPD and RockAuto.com and you're looking at about $37 each for Moog outer ends and about $47 each for Moog inners. GM outers are ~$40 and the inners are ~ $60 each. If indeed they book for 1.5 hours per side (which seems kinda high to me) at about $78/hr shop rate and you factor in an alignment (let's assume $100 for 4-wheel alignment) you should still come in around $500 or less. Of course this assumes that all four of your rod ends are worn out at 32k miles, which also seems highly unlikely to me...
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: Seattle,Wa.
I'm going to go there tomorrow morning and get my car back. This business is the old Bear wheel alignment that was in Everett down by Providence hospital for many years. They're suppose to be the best at this type of work.
The funny thing is that I did take it to Brad's and they aligned the front end but it still pulled to the left, that was last September and then it sat in the garage for seven months. So I bought a set of Goodyear DS-G3s a couple of weeks ago and took it out on the highway and it still pulled left. I called Brad's but because of the length of time since they did the alignment, they were not going to look at it for nothing, so I took it to this shop to see what they thought.
Anyways, thanks for the help. I will talk with them in the morning and see what they have to say.
The funny thing is that I did take it to Brad's and they aligned the front end but it still pulled to the left, that was last September and then it sat in the garage for seven months. So I bought a set of Goodyear DS-G3s a couple of weeks ago and took it out on the highway and it still pulled left. I called Brad's but because of the length of time since they did the alignment, they were not going to look at it for nothing, so I took it to this shop to see what they thought.
Anyways, thanks for the help. I will talk with them in the morning and see what they have to say.
Last edited by Fast Eddie's 02 T/A vert.; May 12, 2006 at 05:52 PM.
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Sounds like you need to find a new shop all together. $639 is robbery and a car pulling right after it was aligned shouldnt happen.
Maybe you have something bent and does need to be replaced but it still shouldnt cost that much. I had a 4 wheel alignment last summer and it was $89.
If you have a bent tie rod or part that needs to be replaced do it yourself, it's very easy , and then take the car in to be aligned. All you do is match up the new part to the old part to get it close and then have it checked. The tie rods adjust very easily and this is a very simple procedure. You make the new one the same length as the old one and your done, except for taking it to a shop to check and set alignment.
Maybe you have something bent and does need to be replaced but it still shouldnt cost that much. I had a 4 wheel alignment last summer and it was $89.
If you have a bent tie rod or part that needs to be replaced do it yourself, it's very easy , and then take the car in to be aligned. All you do is match up the new part to the old part to get it close and then have it checked. The tie rods adjust very easily and this is a very simple procedure. You make the new one the same length as the old one and your done, except for taking it to a shop to check and set alignment.
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Originally Posted by Fast Eddie's 02 T/A vert.
The funny thing is that I did take it to Brad's and they aligned the front end but it still pulled to the left, that was last September and then it sat in the garage for seven months. So I bought a set of Goodyear DS-G3s a couple of weeks ago and took it out on the highway and it still pulled left. I called Brad's but because of the length of time since they did the alignment, they were not going to look at it for nothing, so I took it to this shop to see what they thought.
Anyways, thanks for the help. I will talk with them in the morning and see what they have to say.
One other thing, you mention that you had them do a "front end alignment". Is this 100% accurate? Do you have adjustable LCA's in the rear? If so, and they indeed only checked the front, then your rear toe may be off, which could perceivably cause the car to drift in one direction (or at least crabwalk causing you to have to steer to correct it, which may feel the same).
Alignments are cheap (much cheaper than replacing parts) so, again, if it were me, I would have Brad or another shop you trust do another 4-wheel alignment (make sure its a 4-wheel alignment so they check the rear too). Try and get the toe as close to zero as possible (unless you have a specific reason you want a non-zero toe, in which case you'll want it as even from side to side as possible). Check the resulting printout and see how your toe looks both front and rear. If the numbers look balanced, then I think you can rule out a bad alignment as the culprit at least.
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Originally Posted by Fast Eddie's 02 T/A vert.
I'm going to go there tomorrow morning and get my car back. This business is the old Baer wheel alignment that was in Everett down by Providence hospital for many years. They're suppose to be the best at this type of work.
...
...
I use, believe it or not, Les Schwab on Evergreen Way by the QFC. The kid that works in the shop area that does alignments is really VERY good. When I lowered my C5 I had a heck of a time getting the alignment right. Wasted a set of tires in the process.
Nathan was the only one that was smart enough to figure it out. The problem was that to set up the machine for toe-in check, the heads had to be dropped to the bottom. When the caster was being set we could not get it to repeat until we moved the heads back up. They just bought a new high-tech laser alignment machine that eliminates all those problems. It's really a cool setup.
Tell Nathan I said hi!
Don
Last edited by NWDragRacer; May 13, 2006 at 01:19 AM.
^^ Dude, you gotta resize the pic in your sig....
As for the sterring ball joints, I had mine swapped when the car had 32k also. Did it at Les Schwab for like $200 if I remember right. Anything over that is a rape in the park.
As for the sterring ball joints, I had mine swapped when the car had 32k also. Did it at Les Schwab for like $200 if I remember right. Anything over that is a rape in the park.
Originally Posted by WS6freak
As for the sterring ball joints, I had mine swapped when the car had 32k also. Did it at Les Schwab for like $200 if I remember right. Anything over that is a rape in the park.
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From: Seattle,Wa.
Joe, this is getting overwhelming. I didn't realize the LCAs in the rear could effect my steering. I will give Brad a call and ask him if my previous alignment was for all four tires.
Don, thanks for the tip with Nathan @ Les Schwab, I usually don't take my cars to Les Schwab, but this guy sounds good.
99blancoSS, that sounds like some good advise for saving me some money, I have a floor jack and tools maybe I'll take a look at it myself. I replaced tie rod ends on an old chevy years ago and it wasn't that difficult.
A co-worker suggested rotating my new tires and see what that does, he said sometimes a new tire could have a belt problem that is not visible to the eye, but may cause it to pull.
The T/A is back in the garage now, I'm going to re-group and take a look see myself tomorrow and rotate my tires and go from there.
Thanks again for all of your help, you guys know what your doing when it comes to cars, this site is a wealth of knowledge, I'm overwhelmed but hanging in there.
Don, thanks for the tip with Nathan @ Les Schwab, I usually don't take my cars to Les Schwab, but this guy sounds good.
99blancoSS, that sounds like some good advise for saving me some money, I have a floor jack and tools maybe I'll take a look at it myself. I replaced tie rod ends on an old chevy years ago and it wasn't that difficult.
A co-worker suggested rotating my new tires and see what that does, he said sometimes a new tire could have a belt problem that is not visible to the eye, but may cause it to pull.
The T/A is back in the garage now, I'm going to re-group and take a look see myself tomorrow and rotate my tires and go from there.
Thanks again for all of your help, you guys know what your doing when it comes to cars, this site is a wealth of knowledge, I'm overwhelmed but hanging in there.
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From: LT1 land...the "409" of the 90s!
Originally Posted by Fulton 1
Parts and labor?
Yes parts and Labor a year ago. I know there Labor went up but I am still thinking under $300
They just did old Blu' and for two tire mounts and four dis-mounts with a Royal PITA alighment it was $129
Originally Posted by TwoFast4Lv
Yes parts and Labor a year ago. I know there Labor went up but I am still thinking under $300
They just did old Blu' and for two tire mounts and four dis-mounts with a Royal PITA alighment it was $129
They just did old Blu' and for two tire mounts and four dis-mounts with a Royal PITA alighment it was $129
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From: Finland
Balljoints and tie-rod ends are easy changes to do yourself, just measure the current distance on tie-rods and get the new ones as close as possible, then get it to an alignment shop (Id imagine under $100 for a GOOD alignment). Parts should be no more than $200 (tie-rods and balljoints) or so.