Alignment question

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 07:18:44 -0500, "*" > wrote:

>I HAVE read a number of the posts, and I STILL contend that I could have
>MOST of the participants here - virtually anybody who can grasp the concept
>of "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey" - satisfactorily setting up a four-wheel
>computerized alignment rack in an afternoon......it's THAT easy.

Well either you have not read the posts, or you have too much faith in
idiots. I, and probably every non troll here, would PAY to see you
try to teach judy, carl, and some of the other idiots, to operate
heavy machinery. They can't even operate a car.

it should be done if not checked at least 1 a year
or when you buy new tires or if you have and front end work done. tierods
struts things like that

Sorry for the delay, got married just after the post.
At our shop (and I believe this comes from dealerships and tire
manufactures, ill check) an alignment CHECK is suggested every 5000 miles, I
generally round it up to 6000 to coincide with the oil changes. Now that is
there policies, not mine.
I think cars should have alignment checked at least once a year. I see allot
with the toe off, but just by a small bit. I am a perfectionist, I like my
alignment numbers to be as close to specs as possible.
Having a alignment shop you trust is key. I see allot of cars going to
another chain and I know most of the techs set the toe and call it good.
Sometimes our shop does things that **** me off, but I can only do so much
and still keep a job...

I try to give advise based on what the manufactures suggest, not always what
I feel.

Take care



--
Stephen W. Hansen
ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician
ASE Undercar Specialist




"C. E. White" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Steve wrote:
>>
>> Firestone has a Lifetime alignment. 159.99; currently on sale at 139.99
>> in
>> the west coast.
>>
>> 6000 miles or 6 months is a good schedule to keep the tire warranty good.
>
> Are you suggesting an alignment ever 6000 miles????
>
> I have only had one of my vehicles aligned in 13 years and
> hundreds of thousands of miles of combined driving. And the
> last one I had aligned didn't really need it. But then I go
> to an alignment shop I trust. He doesn't have the latest
> equipment, but he knows how to use it. Plus, the technician
> actually looks over the tires and drives the car before he
> puts in on the alignment machine. Two of the last three
> times I stopped by for an alignment I was told I didn't need
> one and didn't get charged for one. The other time they
> decided to put the car on the machine but after the
> alignment was done, I was told I really did not need an
> alignment (the car was within mfg specs before, but the tech
> tweaked it). They did make a slight toe-in adjustment and
> charged me for an alignment. When I went in, I had insisted
> there was a problem (a slight pull). The technician told me
> it was a broken belt in the tire that was causing the pull,
> but agreed it was probably worth checking a car with over
> 30K miles. I was happy for the piece of mind. On the other
> hand, I drove one Expedition to 147,000 miles without ever
> having the front end checked. In that time I replaced tires
> twice - the third set of tires on the car looked like new
> when I traded the vehicle. The first and second sets still
> had plenty of tread left and were "square" when they were
> replaced, but they had become hard to keep balanced. In both
> cases they were replaced after having been driven between
> 50k and 60k miles.
>
> I don't think either of my parents has had a car aligned in
> the last 15 years, and they don't have tire wear problems.
> Likewise for my sister. Her '97 Civic has never been
> aligned, and the tire wear just fine.
>
> I cannot imagine going in for an alignment every 6,000
> miles...
>
> Ed

Sheesh, put my foot in my mouth... My mind was thinking alignments, but I
was referring to tire rotation... I will get back with the paper on time
recommendations for alignment checks.

Steve


"Steve" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry for the delay, got married just after the post.
> At our shop (and I believe this comes from dealerships and tire
> manufactures, ill check) an alignment CHECK is suggested every 5000 miles,
> I generally round it up to 6000 to coincide with the oil changes. Now that
> is there policies, not mine.
> I think cars should have alignment checked at least once a year. I see
> allot with the toe off, but just by a small bit. I am a perfectionist, I
> like my alignment numbers to be as close to specs as possible.
> Having a alignment shop you trust is key. I see allot of cars going to
> another chain and I know most of the techs set the toe and call it good.
> Sometimes our shop does things that **** me off, but I can only do so much
> and still keep a job...
>
> I try to give advise based on what the manufactures suggest, not always
> what I feel.
>
> Take care
>
>
>
> --
> Stephen W. Hansen
> ASE Certified Master Automobile Technician
> ASE Undercar Specialist
>
>
>
>
> "C. E. White" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>>
>> Steve wrote:
>>>
>>> Firestone has a Lifetime alignment. 159.99; currently on sale at 139.99
>>> in
>>> the west coast.
>>>
>>> 6000 miles or 6 months is a good schedule to keep the tire warranty
>>> good.
>>
>> Are you suggesting an alignment ever 6000 miles????
>>
>> I have only had one of my vehicles aligned in 13 years and
>> hundreds of thousands of miles of combined driving. And the
>> last one I had aligned didn't really need it. But then I go
>> to an alignment shop I trust. He doesn't have the latest
>> equipment, but he knows how to use it. Plus, the technician
>> actually looks over the tires and drives the car before he
>> puts in on the alignment machine. Two of the last three
>> times I stopped by for an alignment I was told I didn't need
>> one and didn't get charged for one. The other time they
>> decided to put the car on the machine but after the
>> alignment was done, I was told I really did not need an
>> alignment (the car was within mfg specs before, but the tech
>> tweaked it). They did make a slight toe-in adjustment and
>> charged me for an alignment. When I went in, I had insisted
>> there was a problem (a slight pull). The technician told me
>> it was a broken belt in the tire that was causing the pull,
>> but agreed it was probably worth checking a car with over
>> 30K miles. I was happy for the piece of mind. On the other
>> hand, I drove one Expedition to 147,000 miles without ever
>> having the front end checked. In that time I replaced tires
>> twice - the third set of tires on the car looked like new
>> when I traded the vehicle. The first and second sets still
>> had plenty of tread left and were "square" when they were
>> replaced, but they had become hard to keep balanced. In both
>> cases they were replaced after having been driven between
>> 50k and 60k miles.
>>
>> I don't think either of my parents has had a car aligned in
>> the last 15 years, and they don't have tire wear problems.
>> Likewise for my sister. Her '97 Civic has never been
>> aligned, and the tire wear just fine.
>>
>> I cannot imagine going in for an alignment every 6,000
>> miles...
>>
>> Ed
>
>