$500 to align my lowered explorer??

[hydroxy]

Ok, I'm kinda in a boggle here. I went today to try and get my explorer aligned, but all the shops said that they would need to order parts (the adjuster kit) and to come back next week. They also said it would be $500-600 dollars to get it aligned, the cheapest shop said $350. What would be the point of getting it aligned at that price? I could get 4 new tires for that price. I was thinking to get it aligned + kit install would be like $150 tops?!

I saw expo5.0 got his blocksinstalled, TT, AND alignment for $150 at pep boys...

To lower the price, I was thinking of trying to install the camber kit myself - is that difficult? I'm only dropped about 1.5-2 " infront. For the alignment specs - I was just going to give them the EE specs...

Unfortunetly, now I have to make a 250mi trip w/ the bad alignment.

 

[greensport]

I would just go to Autozone or somewhere and buy the caster/camber kit and install them yourself. They are very easy to install, also if you were up to it i would just do the alignment yourself

 

[Alec]

Who knows what they were smokin'. Were these local shops or chain shops, or both? Did you try NTB?

 

[hydroxy]

Firestone/bridgestone shops. I havn't tried any others yet. I'll have to see what there is when I go back to blacksburg tomorrow.

Will I even need a kit if I just have 1.5-2" of drop?

 

[greensport]

yeah because the stock ones arent adjustable......

 

[Alec]

Firestone/Bridgestone and Goodyear shops suck. I'll never trust a vehicle to them again.

See about NTB, they charged $55 to do mine.

 

[nissanboy]

Firestone sucks!!

on my last truck they left the bolts loose on one a-arm and the shims fell out... needless to say it destroyed my upper ball joint, tie rods, and pitman arm bushig.

 

[hydroxy]

I forgot to mention that... I brought it to goodyear as well.. they were the 'cheap' ones at $350

 

[greensport]

damn, i would just do it yourself.. then you know its done right and you save alot of money

 

[james t]

actually, around $300 is expensive but not outrageous if they use the replacement cam kit. you have to (basically) remove the upper Aarms to do this. just go get the kit at Napa, and do it yourself. its not that hard, just a little time consuming.

 

[aldive]

I would not want to do it myself. And I would never do a homemade alignment.

I had mine aligned and the camber kit installed ( I supplied it ) for $95.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

I installed the adjusters myself, Got them for $19/side from Pep Boys, took less than an hour a side to undo 2 bolts. That's it.

Below is an excerpt from my Elite Explorer Registry:
Camber Shim Install
Before I took it in, I upgraded the stock camber cams/shims to adjustible ones. I found Pep Boys caried them for $18.99 a side.

Comparison of Stock and Aftermarket Camber Shims

The aftermarket shims are adjusted using the upper square hole - it fits a 3/8" ratchet extension as shown below.

Installation was not difficult at all, the 21mm nuts on the upper control arm mounts easily popped off with a breaker bar, and they do not need to be removed. There is a camber shim on each side of each mount, and the bolt head side is identical to the shape of the aftermarket one from the factory. If that makes any sense. I did one adjuster at a time, trying to set it like the factory one for the drive to VIP Auto.

 

[james t]

first some clarification- i meant that you should install the adjusters yourself, NOT do the frontend alignment yourself.

there are 2 different types of adjusters on the market. one type is a complete new bolt assembly. the other is just an add on cam. the add on cam is by far the easiest way to go (like in V8BoatBuilder's post).

 

[Hokie]

Why are you going to Bridgestone/Firestone places? Haven't you learned anything about modifying your Explorer. You have to support the little man and go to local shops and you will get trouble free service. The large national chains will be worried about working on a modified Explorer. They won't know that you (supposedly ) know what you're doing, and will be afraid that them working on a modified Explorer will cause them to be legally liable if your roll your rig. In charlottesville, we buy our tires and have our alignment's done by "Bob's Wheel Alignment" Never had a problem, and he actually cranked my torsion bars a little more for me when installed my bigger tires b/c they rubbed before the BL.

Moral of the story, find a local shop, introduce yourself to the mechanic, and learn his name. Don't waste your time with national chains, and feel good about yourself for keeping money within the local economy.

 

[hydroxy]

I do have a local shop I always goto, but they said they weren't equipped to do the alignment. I was then recommended to what I thought was another local shop, whose 'warehouse' was the firestone shop. Which is the only reason I went. I dont know that many local shops around here.

Also, does the rear end need to get aligned since I have different tires (can the rear end even be aligned? a guy at a local parts store said I should do that as well...)

I'll go buy those adjusters and then see about putting them in... Do you just take the nut off the bolt holding on the upper arm, then put the adjuster there? It is probably all self explantory if I go look at it (curse the sleet outside)

 

[Alec]

You probably don't need a 4 wheel alignment but you can at least ask. If you don't need it most shops won't charge you for looking.

 

[X~FACTOR]

I don't believe you could re-adjust or re-align the rear. Just for comparison I paid $200 to have mine done. That includes the camber kit, installation, and front wheel alignment. A lot of people say that price is a bit high. I got it done at some local shop.

 

[nissanboy]

not much you can align on a leaf sprung vehicle in the rear. you can shim the axle some to change pinon agnle but that is not necessary. Other than pinion angle all you acn adjust is the thrust angle and if it is off you hit something hard enough to knock the axle back on one side.

just think of a sloid axle like a staright tube with round things on each end.... you can just adjust the round things without bending something in between. so no you cant align a rear axle.