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Alignment question



 
 
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  #21  
Old June 23rd 05, 05:26 PM
C. E. White
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Steve wrote:
>
> Firestone has a Lifetime alignment. 159.99; currently on sale at 139.99 in
> the west coast.
>
> 6000 miles or 6 months is a good schedule to keep the tire warranty good.


Are you suggesting an alignment ever 6000 miles????

I have only had one of my vehicles aligned in 13 years and
hundreds of thousands of miles of combined driving. And the
last one I had aligned didn't really need it. But then I go
to an alignment shop I trust. He doesn't have the latest
equipment, but he knows how to use it. Plus, the technician
actually looks over the tires and drives the car before he
puts in on the alignment machine. Two of the last three
times I stopped by for an alignment I was told I didn't need
one and didn't get charged for one. The other time they
decided to put the car on the machine but after the
alignment was done, I was told I really did not need an
alignment (the car was within mfg specs before, but the tech
tweaked it). They did make a slight toe-in adjustment and
charged me for an alignment. When I went in, I had insisted
there was a problem (a slight pull). The technician told me
it was a broken belt in the tire that was causing the pull,
but agreed it was probably worth checking a car with over
30K miles. I was happy for the piece of mind. On the other
hand, I drove one Expedition to 147,000 miles without ever
having the front end checked. In that time I replaced tires
twice - the third set of tires on the car looked like new
when I traded the vehicle. The first and second sets still
had plenty of tread left and were "square" when they were
replaced, but they had become hard to keep balanced. In both
cases they were replaced after having been driven between
50k and 60k miles.

I don't think either of my parents has had a car aligned in
the last 15 years, and they don't have tire wear problems.
Likewise for my sister. Her '97 Civic has never been
aligned, and the tire wear just fine.

I cannot imagine going in for an alignment every 6,000
miles...

Ed
Ads
  #22  
Old June 23rd 05, 05:39 PM
Ray O
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"C. E. White" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Ray O wrote:
>
>> A steering rack itself is not really adjustable, other than the crush
>> collar
>> that determines loading on the rack. As the name implies, a crush collar
>> does not adjust - once it is crushed, it is set.

>
> But steering racks do wear, which introduces additional
> play. And at least in the old days, some had adjustable
> pre-loads.


If the rack was worn, the loose feeling would be present at all speeds, not
just highway speeds. I forget what year the OP's Camry is but AFAIK, Camry
racks have always used crush collars to set pre-load.

>
>> Loose feeling at highway speeds might be caused by an out of alignment
>> condition, not enough positive caster, or an improperly functioning power
>> steering pump.

>
> Would loose ball joints, or tie rods ends also contribute to
> a loose feeling? And running the tires at too high a
> pressure can definitely make a car feel squirrelly.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ed White


Loose ball joints and tie rod ends would probably cause a loose feeling at
all speeds and also usually make noise.

You could probably run the tires up to at least 40 psi without making the
car handle adversely. In fact, the higher tire pressures would probably
improve handling because the sidewalls are a little stiffer. Competition
driving schools usually boost tire pressures to around 40 psi before taking
the cars on the track to improve handling, reduce tread squirm, and keep the
tires from rolling off the beads. The downside to having hard tires is a
harsher ride and the possibility of wearing the center of the tread more
quickly than the shoulders. I keep tire pressures at 36 psi in our Avalon
and LS 400 and have not experienced any excessive center tread wear and have
reduced the shoulder wear that we usually get.

Back to my original response, positive caster aids straight line stability.

The Camry has speed sensitive power steering, I don't know if it is
regulated by engine RPM or road speed. At higher speeds, the amount of
power steering assist is supposed to be reduced to improve road feel. At
lower speeds, more assist is provided to make low speed maneuvering easier.
If whatever regulates the amount of assist is not working properly, then the
car can seem to be over sensitive at highway speeds.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply



  #23  
Old June 23rd 05, 07:04 PM
Newbie
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Ray O > wrote:

: I keep tire pressures at 36 psi in our Avalon and LS 400...

Hi Ray. Is this the cold, morning pressure and you would leave it to
rise to whatever it rises to in the sun and during driving?

Or, do yo uactually strive to actually maintain 36 as much as
practical, eg, bleeding some air suring a long drive?
  #24  
Old June 23rd 05, 07:33 PM
Ray O
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"Newbie" > wrote in message
...
> Ray O > wrote:
>
> : I keep tire pressures at 36 psi in our Avalon and LS 400...
>
> Hi Ray. Is this the cold, morning pressure and you would leave it to
> rise to whatever it rises to in the sun and during driving?


Always measure tire pressures with cold tires - tires that have not moved
for at least 4 hours. That is how I measure and set tire pressures.

>
> Or, do yo uactually strive to actually maintain 36 as much as
> practical, eg, bleeding some air suring a long drive?


The higher pressures make the ride a little harsher but the Avalon and LS400
both have a pretty mushy ride to start with. The slightly stiffer ride
doesn't bother me.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply


  #25  
Old June 23rd 05, 08:32 PM
Paul.
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On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 21:03:47 GMT, Ajanta , said the following in
rec.autos.driving...

> How often car needs to be aligned? (I have Toyota Camry 98 V6 LE )


Check your owners manual. It might give some indication of whether or not
this needs to be done regularly. As a rule, I don't worry about it unless
I notice a handling problem or have had an particularly jarring encounter
with some road obsticle/defect.

> Should it be combined with oil change and tire rotation, or is needed
> less frequently?


Less.

> Does any chain (or local garage in Chicago area) have a great
> "lifetime" alignment deal?


Beware of these "lifetime," deals. They are a means of getting you into
the shop inorder to sell you something else.
  #26  
Old June 23rd 05, 10:17 PM
Newbie
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Paul. > wrote:

: Beware of these "lifetime," deals. They are a means of getting you into
: the shop inorder to sell you something else.

For a practice supposedly beneficial to dealers, such offers are
surprisingly difficult to find. Most service garages I asked don't
offer lifetime alignment.
  #27  
Old June 24th 05, 03:28 AM
DTJ
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On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 14:51:45 -0400, Alex Rodriguez >
wrote:

>>Does any chain (or local garage in Chicago area) have a great
>>"lifetime" alignment deal?

>
>Sears does.


Well I guess I would consider them, assuming I won the lottery first.

Sears, the place where a relative took his car for brakes, and was
charged $1500. True need was pads, nothing more.

Sears, the place where they pay commission to increase sales. Doesn't
matter if you need it or not.

Sears, the place that decided to buy batteries from mexico, and now
requires you to change your battery cables every time you buy a
battery.

Yep, I wouldn't mind taking my car there at all.
  #28  
Old June 24th 05, 03:30 AM
DTJ
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On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:17:23 -0500, "*" > wrote:

>Virtually anybody who posts on this board can be taught to set up a


I guess you are new to this. It isn't a board, and you obviously
haven't read many of the posts.
  #29  
Old June 24th 05, 01:18 PM
*
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DTJ > wrote in article
>...
> On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:17:23 -0500, "*" > wrote:
>
> >Virtually anybody who posts on this board can be taught to set up a

>
> I guess you are new to this. It isn't a board,...



I have been participating on this and other "newsgroups" for a number of
years.....


> ...and you obviously
> haven't read many of the posts.
>


I HAVE read a number of the posts, and I STILL contend that I could have
MOST of the participants here - virtually anybody who can grasp the concept
of "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey" - satisfactorily setting up a four-wheel
computerized alignment rack in an afternoon......it's THAT easy.

Now, if the question were to concern having them do a quality alignment, or
troubleshoot a problem beyond the specifications in the machine's database,
then all bets are off.......


  #30  
Old June 24th 05, 09:30 PM
Shep
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True, true, how can one do a comprehensive alignment with out knowing the
functions of caster, camber and toe in, sai, thrust angle and set back?
"*" > wrote in message
news:01c578b6$679dc120$30a4c3d8@race...
>
> DTJ > wrote in article
> >...
>> On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 17:17:23 -0500, "*" > wrote:
>>
>> >Virtually anybody who posts on this board can be taught to set up a

>>
>> I guess you are new to this. It isn't a board,...

>
>
> I have been participating on this and other "newsgroups" for a number of
> years.....
>
>
>> ...and you obviously
>> haven't read many of the posts.
>>

>
> I HAVE read a number of the posts, and I STILL contend that I could have
> MOST of the participants here - virtually anybody who can grasp the
> concept
> of "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey" - satisfactorily setting up a four-wheel
> computerized alignment rack in an afternoon......it's THAT easy.
>
> Now, if the question were to concern having them do a quality alignment,
> or
> troubleshoot a problem beyond the specifications in the machine's
> database,
> then all bets are off.......
>
>
>




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