Ever hear of an alignment shop that does not do Caster/Camber?

gnmaster2004 said:
Toe and go, take it to an old timer like me. I busted lots of knuckles going alignment on these cars in the 80's. They where all out of whack right from the factory.
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I started to reply to this thread a couple of times and canceled out. What gnmaster posted about "toe and go" is right on the money. It got so bad that I have have been doing my own alignments for years now.

It isn't easy, but it is well worth it.

The last alignment I paid for was on a car with a strut suspension. They used a hammer to move the upper strut mounts. Ack. Never again.

The tools to do a decent job yourself includes: a set of turntables or some greased 12" square floor tiles, an angle measurement tool, and some laser pointers (levels).

RemoveBeforeFlight
 
i do alignments with jackstands, string, framing square, angle finder, and a tape measure.. it's not hard once you figure out what you are trying to accomplish..
 
I almost lost it in the place and on the phone with customer service getting a refund.

Me: You didn't do a full alignment, only toe.
Them: You need a "camber kit", that is an aftermarket part - we don't install parts.
Me: No, I need shims, I will buy them for you.
Them: No, we don't do parts.
Me: I want my $ back as I still need the car aligned.
Them: No we did a "Factory" alignment.
Me: No you didn't - you just set the toe.
Them: Camber/Caster is factory set, not adjustable.
Me: No it is not.
Them: Those shims are from the factory.
Me: How can you tell how old shims are on a 25 year old car?
Them: Rust.
Me: Your sign says "Full Alignment Service" - you only did toe, not a full alignment I want my $ back.
Them: We did a "Factory" alignment.

This went on and on for 20+ minutes in the store - they started mentioning rear adjustments (none on my GN, all stock), mentioning struts (WTF) saying that the tires will not wear, don't worry about it - anything to shut me up.

Got the $ back for the alignment after I called customer service and had the charge disputed on my credit card. Found a local place that can do it and knew all about shims, etc. Said it will take some time and they will test drive it with me.
 
HOW DO YOU DO THRUST ANGLE WITH A LEVEL AND FRAMING SQUARE HOW DO YOU DO CASTER
WHAT A JOKE LOL
 
cdsttype said:
HOW DO YOU DO THRUST ANGLE WITH A LEVEL AND FRAMING SQUARE HOW DO YOU DO CASTER
WHAT A JOKE LOL
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The same way they did it in the30', 40's 50's and 60's Bill. They didn't have a lot of fancy machines back then so they had to know the furmula (mathmatic that is) so that a car could be aligned.;) Ever heard of a toe bar or camber guages? 4 slip plates an a pair of camber guages with the right math you can do it and with string, a good level, a tape measure, and some math it's not that hard.:D
 
I HAVE DONE ALIGNMENTS FOR 35 YEARS. I DONT THINK I WILL HANG UP MY CALCULATOR FOR A ABACUS.
I HAVE PROBABLY HAVE USED EVER TYPE OF ALIGNMENT EQUIPMENT EVER MADE AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER.
I LIKE MY 2012 MACHINE THE POST WAS ABOUT A LEVEL & CARPENTERS SQUARE NOT SLIP PLATES AND MAGNETIC
SPINDLE MOUNTED CASTER CAMBER GAUGES.
 
cdsttype said:
HOW DO YOU DO THRUST ANGLE WITH A LEVEL AND FRAMING SQUARE HOW DO YOU DO CASTER
WHAT A JOKE LOL
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it's all about finding the centerline of the car and going off that.. it's not rocket surgery- it's done every day by circle track racers in 2 car garages across the country..
 
I DONT KNOW ABOUT OPERATING ON A ROCKET I AM NO ROCKET DOCTOR LOL.WHAT I DO KNOW IS AUTOMOBILES ASE MASTER CERTIFIED FOR 25 YEARS. IF YOU THINK THEIR ALIGNMENT IS AS ACCURATE OR FAST AS MINE YOU ARE
SADLY MISTAKEN
 
cdsttype said:
I DONT KNOW ABOUT OPERATING ON A ROCKET I AM NO ROCKET DOCTOR LOL.WHAT I DO KNOW IS AUTOMOBILES ASE MASTER CERTIFIED FOR 25 YEARS. IF YOU THINK THEIR ALIGNMENT IS AS ACCURATE OR FAST AS MINE YOU ARE
SADLY MISTAKEN
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do you always yell?

when i aligned my Nova in my shed with some basic tools, i got it pretty damn close to the numbers i was shooting for.. i can't remember exactly what specs i had or what i was going for- this was in 2003, so it's been a while- but when we put it on the shiny brand new alignment machine at the repair shop my cousin worked at, everything was right on except for the Camber, which was a degree or so off. and this was the first time i had attempted anything like that and pretty much made it up as i went along..
 
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