Castor
03-12-2009, 09:47 PM
#1
On The Tree
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, FL
Posts: 176
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Castor Hey guys, my car has been slightly going to the right when I take my hands of the steering wheel. I took it in for an alignment and the shop told me the castor had to be adjusted. They recommended another shop. I proceeded to take it to the next shop and asked the guy if he had the tool to adjust the castor. He did not but said he could fix it anyway. $140 later and my car still is doing the same thing. IM pissed and have to go back to the clown to see if he can repair it. Any of you had this problem before? The car had never been in an accident. All tire pressures are equal, and an alignment has been performed.
THanks
THanks
03-12-2009, 10:39 PM
#2
Does taking it to three shops and having five alignments count lol.
I noticed my drivers castor off so I adjusted it, I've always done my own alignments. I couldn't get this car right, and decided to just have it done.
So I took it to a chain store, it took the guy 10 minutes. I know it was screwed up because I had been messing with it. I knew it wasn't a 10 minute job.
I drove exactly 6 miles to another store, same chain.
Told this guy I just got the car an want it checked.
He comes out with a paper and says 'man your alignment is waaaayyy outta whack'
Then it was like BAM I slapped my invoice from the other shop on the counter and said thats weird because 6 miles ago I paid your other store $85 to align it! WTF! He was pissed.
They did the job, it was better, still pulled a little.
After a while I said F this, it's not right. I have two of these cars the other one drives perfect. So I take it to a 3rd store- same chain. Argued with the guy about how it's normal due to a crown in the road, etc, etc, etc.
I got my money back and took it to a private owned shop. They did it. Same ****, still pulled.
Theres about to be a deranged lunatic in the newspaper who walked into an auto repair shop and mowed everyone down.
Instead I made the owner drive the car and asked him if this bullshit is right, he said no, they did something who knows and finally got it right.
Next, get my sisters car aligned.
I drove into the next town to the oldest shop in the area that specializes in alignments.
First clue that you're in the right type of shop is that the tech (who is older than 35) will jump in the car and drive down the road with it before and after the work.
This was a '97 thunderbird that has IRS, etc. I has caster, camber, and toe on the rear also.
Theres my two cent editorial.
I noticed my drivers castor off so I adjusted it, I've always done my own alignments. I couldn't get this car right, and decided to just have it done.
So I took it to a chain store, it took the guy 10 minutes. I know it was screwed up because I had been messing with it. I knew it wasn't a 10 minute job.
I drove exactly 6 miles to another store, same chain.
Told this guy I just got the car an want it checked.
He comes out with a paper and says 'man your alignment is waaaayyy outta whack'
Then it was like BAM I slapped my invoice from the other shop on the counter and said thats weird because 6 miles ago I paid your other store $85 to align it! WTF! He was pissed.
They did the job, it was better, still pulled a little.
After a while I said F this, it's not right. I have two of these cars the other one drives perfect. So I take it to a 3rd store- same chain. Argued with the guy about how it's normal due to a crown in the road, etc, etc, etc.
I got my money back and took it to a private owned shop. They did it. Same ****, still pulled.
Theres about to be a deranged lunatic in the newspaper who walked into an auto repair shop and mowed everyone down.
Instead I made the owner drive the car and asked him if this bullshit is right, he said no, they did something who knows and finally got it right.
Next, get my sisters car aligned.
I drove into the next town to the oldest shop in the area that specializes in alignments.
First clue that you're in the right type of shop is that the tech (who is older than 35) will jump in the car and drive down the road with it before and after the work.
This was a '97 thunderbird that has IRS, etc. I has caster, camber, and toe on the rear also.
Theres my two cent editorial.
03-12-2009, 11:41 PM
#3
On The Tree
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Dunedin, FL
Posts: 176
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Man, what a bummer. At least the first shop I took it to admitted they couldn't fix it and didn't charge me a dime. Im going to wait this time and make him go for a ride with me after he works on it. I dont know how I'll get my money back if he doesn't fix it. Thanks for the story, I feel a little better. Sorry you had such a hard time.
03-13-2009, 07:19 PM
#5
Does taking it to three shops and having five alignments count lol.
I noticed my drivers castor off so I adjusted it, I've always done my own alignments. I couldn't get this car right, and decided to just have it done.
So I took it to a chain store, it took the guy 10 minutes. I know it was screwed up because I had been messing with it. I knew it wasn't a 10 minute job.
I drove exactly 6 miles to another store, same chain.
Told this guy I just got the car an want it checked.
He comes out with a paper and says 'man your alignment is waaaayyy outta whack'
Then it was like BAM I slapped my invoice from the other shop on the counter and said thats weird because 6 miles ago I paid your other store $85 to align it! WTF! He was pissed.
They did the job, it was better, still pulled a little.
After a while I said F this, it's not right. I have two of these cars the other one drives perfect. So I take it to a 3rd store- same chain. Argued with the guy about how it's normal due to a crown in the road, etc, etc, etc.
I got my money back and took it to a private owned shop. They did it. Same ****, still pulled.
Theres about to be a deranged lunatic in the newspaper who walked into an auto repair shop and mowed everyone down.
Instead I made the owner drive the car and asked him if this bullshit is right, he said no, they did something who knows and finally got it right.
Next, get my sisters car aligned.
I drove into the next town to the oldest shop in the area that specializes in alignments.
First clue that you're in the right type of shop is that the tech (who is older than 35) will jump in the car and drive down the road with it before and after the work.
This was a '97 thunderbird that has IRS, etc. I has caster, camber, and toe on the rear also.
Theres my two cent editorial.
I noticed my drivers castor off so I adjusted it, I've always done my own alignments. I couldn't get this car right, and decided to just have it done.
So I took it to a chain store, it took the guy 10 minutes. I know it was screwed up because I had been messing with it. I knew it wasn't a 10 minute job.
I drove exactly 6 miles to another store, same chain.
Told this guy I just got the car an want it checked.
He comes out with a paper and says 'man your alignment is waaaayyy outta whack'
Then it was like BAM I slapped my invoice from the other shop on the counter and said thats weird because 6 miles ago I paid your other store $85 to align it! WTF! He was pissed.
They did the job, it was better, still pulled a little.
After a while I said F this, it's not right. I have two of these cars the other one drives perfect. So I take it to a 3rd store- same chain. Argued with the guy about how it's normal due to a crown in the road, etc, etc, etc.
I got my money back and took it to a private owned shop. They did it. Same ****, still pulled.
Theres about to be a deranged lunatic in the newspaper who walked into an auto repair shop and mowed everyone down.
Instead I made the owner drive the car and asked him if this bullshit is right, he said no, they did something who knows and finally got it right.
Next, get my sisters car aligned.
I drove into the next town to the oldest shop in the area that specializes in alignments.
First clue that you're in the right type of shop is that the tech (who is older than 35) will jump in the car and drive down the road with it before and after the work.
This was a '97 thunderbird that has IRS, etc. I has caster, camber, and toe on the rear also.
Theres my two cent editorial.
Also caster is only adjustable on the wheels that steer. Even then alot of cars are not adjustable from the factory.
Im not trying to be an ***, just curious.
03-13-2009, 10:59 PM
#6
The two cars I mentioned here have been fixed and I see no reason to talk about it further.
If you don't believe there are adjustments for the caster, camber and toe on the rear of this car, reasearch it elsewhere please. The rear wheels can be pointed in or our (toe) the imaginary line between the upper and lower balljoints can be moved in and out, forward and backward, both top and bottom.
Yes I understand the rear caster will never change when driving, it changes while adjusting camber.
03-13-2009, 11:26 PM
#7
My point is that I took a '97 thunderbird to a real shop for two reasons. One being the problem with a basic f body alignment. Two being that on the rear of that car the caster, camber, and toe is adjustable just like the front.
The two cars I mentioned here have been fixed and I see no reason to talk about it further.
If you don't believe there are adjustments for the caster, camber and toe on the rear of this car, reasearch it elsewhere please. The rear wheels can be pointed in or our (toe) the imaginary line between the upper and lower balljoints can be moved in and out, forward and backward, both top and bottom.
Yes I understand the rear caster will never change when driving, it changes while adjusting camber.
The two cars I mentioned here have been fixed and I see no reason to talk about it further.
If you don't believe there are adjustments for the caster, camber and toe on the rear of this car, reasearch it elsewhere please. The rear wheels can be pointed in or our (toe) the imaginary line between the upper and lower balljoints can be moved in and out, forward and backward, both top and bottom.
Yes I understand the rear caster will never change when driving, it changes while adjusting camber.
Trending Topics
03-19-2009, 08:02 PM
#9
Camber will cause a pull towards the side with the most positive camber, caster will pull towards the side with the most negative caster.
Caster is what makes the steering wheel return back to straight after a turn.
Also it helps it track straight at speed. The more caster you have, the car will require more steering effort to turn and the car will want to keep going straight.
Ive noticed that on alot of European imports they spec quite a bit of caster,
like 8* or more, an average car will want around 3-4*. Im guessing this is because they want them to be stable at autobahn speeds.
03-19-2009, 08:09 PM
#10
TECH Fanatic
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,516
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
caster is the main contributor to pull. You always want your right side caster to be slightly higher than the left. This will compensate for road crown. Toe wont make the car pull it will make the tires wear and the steering wheel to be crooked. Many many people say their car pulls when it is just the steering wheel that is crooked. Yes if the steering wheel is off to the left and you try to drive with it strait it will go to the right. Another thing that will cause a pull is the tires. They call it a radial tire pull and I have experienced it many times in customers cars. The car pulls to the right, rotate the tires front to rear and the pull stops.
On that Thunderbird you DO NOT have a caster adjustment in the rear. There is really no way to measure the caster in the rear being that the wheels do not turn. Yes there is theoretically a caster, but it is not measured or adjusted.
I did alignments at a shop for 4 years, and I consider myself pretty good at it. I was only 19 when I started doing them so it doesn't take someone that is 35 to know what they are doing. I dont know why anyone would even bother pulling a car onto an alignment rack without first test driving the car. 100% of the time I would test drive before and after the alignment.
On that Thunderbird you DO NOT have a caster adjustment in the rear. There is really no way to measure the caster in the rear being that the wheels do not turn. Yes there is theoretically a caster, but it is not measured or adjusted.
I did alignments at a shop for 4 years, and I consider myself pretty good at it. I was only 19 when I started doing them so it doesn't take someone that is 35 to know what they are doing. I dont know why anyone would even bother pulling a car onto an alignment rack without first test driving the car. 100% of the time I would test drive before and after the alignment.
