Quick alignment help!!!!!

[ld50]

Finally got my truck in the shop for alignment after the two inch spacers were put in. I didn`t do much driving with it since

The guy says to me that the lower ball joints are screwed and if he aligns it I would waste my money because as soon as I hit a bump it would pop out of align.
So what`s up. it seemed ok before, but did pull to the right a little. at 95 cdn each for the joints, I don`t want to get screwed here!

Awww, shoot he just phoned and I agreed anyway. He seemed insistent, I feel burned but whatever. darn 2" lift now includes 550$ alignment charge

aaaaarrrrgh!

Jim from BC:fire:

 

[toad]

Yup thats tough Jim, but Ive heard you should have it done after ball joints. mine are getting real close to having to be done. I hope I can do it myself if it going to cost that much.

 

[ld50]

Geez, it gets better.

So he calls and says my brakes are down to the rivets, I need new rotors and new calipers. AND he says my front end u-joints are shot, and asked if I had noticed it "clacking" while in a turn.
Well I start to get a little peeved at this point. I come back with how there is lots of meat still left on those pads, and if not, I would hear and feel it immediately, and that I will do my own brakes when I decide to! And why would I need new calipers if the rivets hit metal!(Like I would let my brakes get that low. He obviously doesn`t know me and thinks I`m some sort of executive, office dweller) Of course he said he could fix these things for me!
I said I can handle all those things myself and I was only worried about the alignment for now. At first he was like "oh you can do that?-even u-joints? Guy says he would be more worried about the brakes than the alignment. LOL I said just do the alignment and do me a favor and stop looking at anything else.

So I pick it up and immediately head for the shop at work to look at those u-joints and the thing pulls like a ******* to the right!!
f*****r!
- the cool thing was the old lady from behind the counter was leaving at the same time and was right beside me on the highway, so i honked, and got her to watch me let go of the wheel. She kind of got scared when I swerved towards her and she asked what was wrong. I said it was pulling like crazy. She said bring it back tomorrow, obviously.
So I went to my work
I crawled under and pulled on the shafts and those joints seem snug and fine. There was a little in/out movement from the diff, but very little, so???? I figured that was normal, and it certainly don`t "clack"

I roughly checked the toe in and several checks seemed to indicate a toe "out"
of at least 3/16" Isn`t it supposed to be toed in 1/8"!!!
Oh yeah I checked those pads on one side just to see if I wasn`t crazy and I`m not.
So tomorrow I will be raisin some----

 

[jimbo74]

get your problem fixed by them or refunded $ then go to a real shop..... at work (i am a mechanic) we try to sell the customer stuff so we make money..... but we only try to sell them our stuff if they actually need it.... on every car that comes in we do a courtesy inspection.... even if it is just an oil change we top off all the fluids and check the air filter... our computer also tells us when the manufacturer suggests some type of service.....

 

[ld50]

Yeah I agree on making them fix it.
I probably should have gone to a 4x4 specialty shop, but they are so far away..



if dude starts makin out like it`s the lift`s fault I`m gunna flip.
it drove better with the camber all screwed, and there has to be thousands of people with that lift.
I still think the toe in is off, so he`ll be happy to have me telling him his job, I`m sure.

I`m thinking about that "advice to 16 yr olds" column and man, does that guy know what he`s talking about!
I`m in in for approx. 2 grand cdn already and haven`t even scratched the surface. Monday is gear upgrade and locker install day. That`s gunna screw my summer budget fer sure! It`s a verrry costly obsession... I should post a thread with all my costs to let people know what they`re in for LOL. Every mod seems to bring you to the next, and it`s never enough!!

well lets hope I can post tomorrow with good news..

Jim from BC

 

[ld50]

Redemption!

Went in demanding recompense for this blasphemy and was rewarded with a courtesy car and an apology. They fixed the problem which I bet was the toe adjustment all along!. Now it feels great, and looks good.

I`ve started a thread in "explorer projects" to highlight all my mods to now and to follow with my future plans. I`m even keeping a running total on all costs. check it out!
-"so I bought this 4x4 SUV..."-

Thanks guys!

Jim from BC