Tried to set new Alignment, guy said NOGO...

MinnesotaMuscle said:
Well I'm glad to see this thread isn't dead. I brought the car up to the dealership and complained about the bad tire wear, because if you remember in my other posts the first shop tried MANY times to get it to carfixer's specs and just couldn't do it. The dealership found parts that were bent/wore out. So they said they would replace them for free being I had only bought the car a year ago. I was surprised they did this but I was getting very impatient at this point and I'm sure they could tell that.

The deal was I would pay for the new tires if they fixed the parts and did a new alignment. I told them it would still be a problem if they put it to factory specs but she said, no, no, the problem lies in the bad parts. SO, now the winter has gone by and sure enough you can see the definite beginning of the inner tire wear.....

So now what, go back and jump up and down screaming? Should they give me new tires and a new alignment? This is getting depressing AND EXPENSIVE!!!!!
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My local dealership told me they can do Carfixer's specs "no problem". So I bought new fronts tires and left the car with them.

However, when I saw the printout of the specs (which I had to request) they were off. I spoke with the tech and he said that it's the closest he can get. He just could NOT do better.

I ended up driving all the way across the State to have Carfixer himself do it. 3+ years later and the wear is still 100% perfect.
 
MinnesotaMuscle said:
Well I'm glad to see this thread isn't dead. I brought the car up to the dealership and complained about the bad tire wear, because if you remember in my other posts the first shop tried MANY times to get it to carfixer's specs and just couldn't do it. The dealership found parts that were bent/wore out. So they said they would replace them for free being I had only bought the car a year ago. I was surprised they did this but I was getting very impatient at this point and I'm sure they could tell that.

The deal was I would pay for the new tires if they fixed the parts and did a new alignment. I told them it would still be a problem if they put it to factory specs but she said, no, no, the problem lies in the bad parts. SO, now the winter has gone by and sure enough you can see the definite beginning of the inner tire wear.....

So now what, go back and jump up and down screaming? Should they give me new tires and a new alignment? This is getting depressing AND EXPENSIVE!!!!!
Click to expand...

If they don't remove the flags from the bolts they won't be able to meet carfixer specs. They have to be cut off but once that's done they can meet the specs. If they say they can't then you may want to look for another shop to do the work.
 
fastblackmerc said:
Look at post #15. See the little tabs between the bolt head and flag? These tabs need to be removed so the flag can be removed.
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I took a pic in for my "alignment specialist" to get it right. Wear looked as though it ended. Keeping an eye on the new meat to make sure. Thanks CARFIXER !!! nyuk nyuk nyuk.
 
Well as an update, I did go back to the dealer and jump up and down yelling... literally. I have now put 90K+ on the car since I bought it and I was able to talk them into replacing my new tires and doing another alignment for free. The deal was that they would replace everything and not to bring the car back to them.... That it was now my issue... So looks like the tech was able to get to the specs carfixer calls for... Now only time will tell....... I do think that its pretty bad that the dealership agrees its a problem since I bought the car from them, and even while there executive drove the car they were replacing tires every 15K, yet they still won't see the problem out to the very end, but instead tell me to not come back.... If the tire wear persists, I suppose I could take them to court to get another set of tires out of them, but I don't think it would be worth the $400 it would save me.... Boy I hope this works......
 
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I had my local mechanic do the work - he does all my work that I don't do and he specializes in front end work. He saw the problem immediately and "carefully" torched off the flags because you cannot "take them off" in a normal fashion. Now I am at the improved specs though I can't tell about wear yet - I only have about 5k miles since then.
 
Hey guys!!! I have another question!!!! I want to go with CARFIXERs alignment specs but can I still do that since i'm going with a slightly different tire size? Sorry for repost but got no answer on previous thread....
 
Oh boy, car is at dealership today and they called me to say they cant meet the specs!!1 Same problem everyone is having! I told them what was said here that they have to remove the flags, I'm not too optimistic, didn't seem to know what I was talking about...why is getting an alignment so complicated? Probably will need to bring it to an other shop....
 
Wow, now they are telling me it is possible these specs wouldn't work properly on a Canadian marauder...is there any truth to that? I mean you would think Canadian and American marauders would be aligned the same...i don't know

They said if I found out exactly what needed to be done they would do it but as of now that's as good as they can do...What is it they need to do exactly in order to meet the specs? I'm reading remove the flags but that means nothing to me or them...


Thats as close as they could get
alignment.jpg
 
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That's after. (flag removed)

Without the flag (lock) the camber bolt will have a small amount of travel. Of course, not enough in my case as well as many others.
 
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I had my Marauder aligned to these specs about a year ago. Had my master mechanic brother do it while I stood there and watched. Yes he removed the flags. Installed new KDWS tires on the front at the same time too. About 15,000 miles and one year later, as every other year, the tires are wearing uneven and the steering wheel shake is back. I also rotate the tires side to side every 3K miles. So what's the next step........... try new tires???
 
tremblay said:
Wow, now they are telling me it is possible these specs wouldn't work properly on a Canadian marauder...is there any truth to that?
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No. Find another shop. There is no difference between a Canadian Marauder and an American one other than the instrument cluster markings and DRLs.

I know this is an old thread, but in case anyone else has the same question...
 
MMinMN said:
About 15,000 miles and one year later, as every other year, the tires are wearing uneven and the steering wheel shake is back. I also rotate the tires side to side every 3K miles. So what's the next step........... try new tires???
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What are you using for tires now? I have the OEMs on Phoebe and find no abnormal wear at all. Sounds like you hit something and your alignment is off. Have it checked and then have the front wheels Road Force balanced.
 
OEM wheels and new OEM KDWS's were installed on the front when I had the alignment done. They were road forced balnced too.
 
Carfixers pic on post #15 showing flags removed is not there.
I need to get this procedure done asap. I understand the pic with the arrows if before hand. Can anyone post a pic of what it should look like afterwards. I would like to show it to the tech so they know what I mean.
Thanks.
 
If your "tech" guy cant understant what removing flags off the lower control arms mean to gain more adjustment you need to find a different shop!
 
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