Can't align?

M

mongoosebynight

A Salesman Apart
I am getting frustrated. I had a steering wheel shake only while braking through 45 to 40 mph...cool...get the suspension and alignment checked by one of our techs. It needed an upper front left ball joint as I suspected. It came with control arm from NAPA (moog). Marauder wouldn't align...nothing in the green. I've had it aligned twice before in three years with no problem. I tried it out and the shake is a little less and pulls hard to the right. I said why not do the other upper side and was told it wasn't needed. RIIIGHT!! Something's needed. Is it possible the other ball joint is bad but not loose enough to the tech's touch? A heavy car obviously puts more strain on a joint than wiggling by hand. I'm about to miss Christmas with my family 3 hours away as I don't feel that to be a safe trip. Any advice is appreciated.
 
A shake with brake application is almost always a brake rotor issue. Could even be a bad wheel hub bearing. A pull when braking is a caliper issue. A pull all the time is a low tire or bad alignment. If your tires are being eaten off rapidly, it's alignment issues. Always replace brake components in pairs.
 
A wheel shake while braking has nothing to do with alignment,, probably a warped brake rotor,, You need another tech,, that one is a fool,,
 
I agree he is a fool. I will probably quietly go to another shop since I work with the guy.
The pull is constant and the shake is better but only by half. The new ball joint helped some. I have all new pads and rotors up front - the most expensive I could get at NAPA (the owners of the dealership I work for also own the NAPA store in town).
 
BAD MERC said:
A shake with brake application is almost always a brake rotor issue. Could even be a bad wheel hub bearing. A pull when braking is a caliper issue. A pull all the time is a low tire or bad alignment. If your tires are being eaten off rapidly, it's alignment issues. Always replace brake components in pairs.
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Hadamustang1 said:
A wheel shake while braking has nothing to do with alignment,, probably a warped brake rotor,, You need another tech,, that one is a fool,,
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What they ^^^^^^^^^^^^ said!
 
In addition my front wide ovals won't wear out after three years. Kind of frustrating in and of itself. I wanted them to wear out so I can match them to the Nittos on the rear. I guess it is possible that the new rotors in front have worn abnormally, but that would be bang my head on a wall situation. I don't think I've been hornswoggled but I will go to another shop since I've never had a guy try and try to align my car for hours. Thank you for the input.
 
If your car has the usual amount of miles on it you probably need more than just one (you only replaced one?!) upper control arm. Vibration under braking is usually brakes, but loose suspension components like tie rods can do it also.
 
My wife's has 260k miles and all suspension components are original factory installed units. When I first got it we had it aligned to carfixer specs to correct inner edge tire wear. Usually if it developed a shake, turning the rotors took care of it. Sometimes tires, making sure to have them road force balanced. make sure the lugs are evenly tightened down, I always use a torque wrench at 95 ft-lb.

If the tech aligned it and it pulls now or pulls worse now, something wasn't done right. Find another shop and take the specs to them. Manufacturer specs have a wide range, carfixer specs are within the manufacturer specs, but a much tighter range. The tabs may need to come off the lower control arm nuts to give enough travel in the adjustment.
 
lifespeed said:
If your car has the usual amount of miles on it you probably need more than just one (you only replaced one?!) upper control arm. Vibration under braking is usually brakes, but loose suspension components like tie rods can do it also.
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I told my guys I don't like doing just one side. Their advice alone will force me to go elsewhere. I told the owner (my boss) I'd be going elsewhere just so he wouldn't be surprised and he agreed with me. Good guy he is.
 
FordNut said:
My wife's has 260k miles and all suspension components are original factory installed units. When I first got it we had it aligned to carfixer specs to correct inner edge tire wear. Usually if it developed a shake, turning the rotors took care of it. Sometimes tires, making sure to have them road force balanced. make sure the lugs are evenly tightened down, I always use a torque wrench at 95 ft-lb.

If the tech aligned it and it pulls now or pulls worse now, something wasn't done right. Find another shop and take the specs to them. Manufacturer specs have a wide range, carfixer specs are within the manufacturer specs, but a much tighter range. The tabs may need to come off the lower control arm nuts to give enough travel in the adjustment.
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Wow that was a good day at the factory to have nothing new up there with the miles.
I found them:
Camber: -.3 to -.5 degrees.
Toe: Zero degrees.
Caster: 5-6.5 degrees positive with .3 degree lead on the right side.
I will start with buying the other side, giving it with specs to another place and see what happens. Even if my guy knows to take the flags off, I bet any money he wouldn't have, due to not giving a lazy crap. I'd run out and check right now, but it's pouring rain here.
Thanks
 
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