Front end alignment?
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 220
Likes: 0
From: Martinsburg, WV
Front end alignment? Like a decade ago I took my ‘02 T/A to a Chevy dealer and they did a four wheel alignment. Just replaced my front control arms and called a local Buick/gmc dealer and the guy said it only needs a front end alignment for about $70.
are there no adjustment points on the rear of a 4th gen?
are there no adjustment points on the rear of a 4th gen?
TECH Resident
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 967
Likes: 53
From: Winter Haven FL
A 4 wheel alignment is a misnomer on a solid rear axle car. They use the alignment of the rear to set the front so that the car tracks straight even if something is crooked in the back. It's really just for tire wear purposes. They don't actually align the rear since the stock parts aren't adjustable. On a car with independent or rear steer they adjust stuff. If you have aftermarket adjustable parts they'll either adjust it for you or say that they won't touch it for liability reasons.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 220
Likes: 0
From: Martinsburg, WV
A 4 wheel alignment is a misnomer on a solid rear axle car. They use the alignment of the rear to set the front so that the car tracks straight even if something is crooked in the back. It's really just for tire wear purposes. They don't actually align the rear since the stock parts aren't adjustable. On a car with independent or rear steer they adjust stuff. If you have aftermarket adjustable parts they'll either adjust it for you or say that they won't touch it for liability reasons.
1) labor rates and overhead, therefore charges to the customer, vary by shop. I can take my wife's Jaguar to the dealer for an alignment, and get a "colonoscopy" while I'm there, for $190, or go to the nearby "indy" shop, and get it aligned for $90, and just as good a job;
2) in the "old days", before IRS, and before alignment equipment got really sophisticated, all that was ever done, was to set up the gauges on the front wheels, and align them to each other, with the mechanic, at most, taking a look down the side of the car, to see if the front and rear wheels looked pretty much in line with each other.
Today, the method is to at least stick the sensors on the rear wheels (of a solid axle car) and set the toe of the front wheels to be parallel to the rears, so the car tracks straight. It's called the "thrust angle".
