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 Post subject: Alighnment Woes
PostPosted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 10:29 am 
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I replaced my rear struts, and ball joints at the same time. I then took it in for an alighnment, and it was completed. I picked the car up and nothing was said, nothing on my bill to indicate anything was wrong. I drove the car, and for the most part it followed a straight line.

The other day, I was looking at the back of my car, and kinda thought the two rear wheels were cambered slightly inwards (much like lowered hondas). I took it back to them and said I thought the alighnment shifted, please tighten everything, and they came back and said YOUR CAR IS UNALIGHNABLE. He said they knew this much the first time they did the alignment, but I never knew about it!

I just about flipped out. They said "someone must have heated your springs or customized something on the back of your car, because it is cambered out as far as it will go. I dont under stand why that happened. Nothing is changed on my rear end! I know this because I know the complete history of this car! Only thing that isnt stock on the back is my Struts, ball joints rims and tires! Is it possible that the strut is the wrong one or something? I kinda doubt it!


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PostPosted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 3:40 pm 
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Didn't you cut your spings?

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 10:00 am 
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Yes, but only on the front of the car... He told me they aligned the front just fine, which would have been the problem, if anything (I would have thought). The back end just sits as it did when I bought it... Except for my sub box that brings the back end down about 2"... I removed it for the alignment, so I dont think that should have caused problems. The back wheels sit only slightly out of camber, but it looks funny / \ like that.

I'm more mad about the shop not telling me it wasnt aligned properly the first time.



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PostPosted: Thu Nov 20, 2003 11:12 pm 
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hey 88, first what the hell is your box made out of that it drops the back end down 2 inches? my car doesn't sag at all with all that i have in my trunk. and if it does sag that much, maybe it's time for some new rear springs. second, what brand of struts did you use? it sounds crazy but some struts don't have a hole and a slot, they have 2 holes. got Monroe Reflex struts for my mom's 98 Grand Prix GT, i was amazed to see that they have 2 holes so it is pretty much unalignable. that might be your problem too. sagging springs and the lack of adjustability might have combined for an unalignable rear suspension for you.



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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2003 10:15 am 
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I bet the springs are sagging to some degree... Call me cheap, but I bought re-manufactured strut replacements for the back, so they should be a factory core, with a different cartridge. I would think that if any strut could line up proper, the factory one would.

My box is not that heavy, just made of 3/4 MDF, about 75 pounds or so. It shouldnt make the rear end sag that much, maybe? I likely need new springs then. The problem I see with that is that the car will sit up a lot higher than it does currently... I want it LOWER! So, how do you go about properly lowering a car that isnt alighnable below stock ride height?

Can I physically make the top slot on the strut larger? Would that solve my problem? Maybe?



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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2003 7:36 pm 
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88..I'll have to take a look at one of our courtesy cars at work and see how they look, as we use strictly Olds 88's and 98's, as they've proved to be the most reliable and least prone to breakdowns. Maybe I can come up with some ideas on your alignment and height issues.



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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2003 7:38 pm 
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englarging the slot is an option, but not so much that it will sacrifice strength and i hope you have a die grinder to enlarge it, filing will not be easy. i had to enlarge a slot slightly on a car that i was doing struts on but only slightly and even that was a hassle. i tried those remanufactured struts on my car once, wasn't too impressed. were only a little cheaper than new and they didn't last too long. i was looking into the lowering springs at http://domesticperformance.com . when it comes time to do my struts again i think i am gonna go for it. i have replaced the rear springs in my car with MOOG Cargo Coils (nice ride but can still handle weight), that's why my car doesn't sag (before the new springs with one person in the back seat the rear would be low).



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PostPosted: Sat Nov 22, 2003 2:34 pm 
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My ride height looks good right now, because the front of the car is still lower than the rear when parked. As soon as you pack a 4 passenger load, front and back are level, and it looks sooooo sweet... So I kinda like my weak springs, they cause me no ride issues, I will have to look and see how much larger I could make the strut slot (sounds dirty almost). Making the slot bigger will not be hard - we've got an oldschool german millwright (spelling?) who works at the shop at work, he is utterly amazing with anything metal. He's also going to help me uncurl my fender and hood from my little meeting with a dodge neon (of all the cars to hit...).



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PostPosted: Sat Nov 22, 2003 2:35 pm 
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haha 86... nice avatar!



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