So i went to midas on monday to get one of their 70 dollar alignments because my 'star would veer harshly to the right if i let go of the steering wheel. well they get all done and i pay, and the guy's like, "well it drives strait, but the steering wheel is not adjusted properly. and it's not. when driving strait, the top of the airbag points to about 10 and 4 (on a clock) vs 9 and 3 how it should.

but here's the best part:

later that day, i was driving to a restaraunt and my g/f was behind me in her honda. she calls me up and is like, do you know your car's not tracking strait?

i'm like... whaaaaaaaaat that's tight (teenage slang).

so should i take it back to midas and ask for a 4 wheel alignment, or should i go some where differen't on payday and just suffer the loss of the 70 bux?


and what should i do about my steering wheel? my mom says i should go back and make them fix it, but i tell her it's not a simple job. you have to ground the pos. cable to the neg. term to discharge the air bag system, remove air back, etc. etc.

my van has a clean title, nothing poped up on car fax, and i have 2" of receipts so....... yeah. oh and on a side note, apart from the rusted out pass. door rocker pannel my car is almost completely rust free. the under carrige looks like it was painted with some sort heavy duty under coat rustolium... so after this summer if things go right i'll get all the body work done and it will look practicaly new! lol

but yeah plz advise me, i don't know what to do.

as always, thanks a TON in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Ryan

 

demand another alignment tech at Midas. you probably got the trainee kid.

do NOT remove the steering wheel to recenter. all done with the tie rod ends.

$70 bucks is a rip off. take it to my guy at the Les Schaub 2140 NE Columbia Blvd. multi certified alignment tech. that's all they do. know how to align trucks and vans.
A thrust alignment is suitable for vehicles with non adjustable rear suspension. This type of alignment aligns the front wheels in a straight ahead position as dictated by the thrustline of the vehicle. A vehicles' thrustline is the average direction in which the rear tires are pointing.

 

DCRB! may be rear axe is not positioned correctly and van runs like a dog.... Look for a workshop with Josam Truck aligner II, it is designed for trucks.... all trucks.....

 

Tires or bearings may be causing drag resulting in a "pull" to one side or another. I'd get Midas to recheck the alignment though. It's warranted for a short period.

 

I guess it doesn't help that i dropped the car off @ like... 10:30 and came back at noon and was like i NEED the car by two cuz i had to work so... but what's your guy's name, and how much do they charge?

also i was working on installing my neon kit on my van yesterday (NOT an easy task, lots of measuring, ghetto fabing of zipties and drilling... and grrr at the gas tank location) and noticed my drivers side was kinda scraped up like a tool they used slipped off... i knew i should've gone to les schwabe....

 

I have done basic alignment myself. And sucsessfully too.
With a pice of string and a cple wrenches, a flat surface and a search on this forum. I had to after a backyard mechanic installed a new tie-end rod and my steering felt awkward, (understeer) and the steering wheel was offset and I had driven 600km for some business....

Parked on the flat surface,
Lineed up the string tightly at the middle height of the back tires and forward past the front wheels.
Turned the steering wheel dead straight.
Adjusted the new (and the old) tie-rods to an almost-straight-ahead line on the front wheels,
Took a short test drive,
Adjusted tie-rods to a 2-3mm toe-in measured between the front part of the front wheels and the string.
One hour of easy work. No grime.
The van goes straight on highway and corners without the tires screamin' to this day.

But you should make use of your warranty. There may be Caster- and Camber issues that aren't covered by string tools.

Good luck anyway.

 

agree with 96 - plus Midas? - oh man! - I think the stealership would do it for $70! - of course, the kids they hire now never seen a 'star before... I came in for something the other day, and they "warned" me that my 96 Exp is Obsolete, and I NEED to buy a new car - I told the guy that my dad's mint 55 T-bird then must REALLY be junk then with that logic... he didn't have anything to say after that...

Computer alignment is great, but as 96 pointed out, I'd opt for a place that deals in frame straighting, etc - if they do aligments all day, chances are they will get it perfect on the first try... :-)

re: string tools can't really adjust camber, and that is a big part of it, if that is out...

The sad thing, is that a place like midas will charge you for an aligment, but won't catch the real problem - most cars that need alignments have some other issue that caused it in the first place (bad TR end, Ball Joint, Wheel bearing, etc) - maybe not BAD but, failing...

and then, you get some places that will tell you that you need a whole need front end, and all you needed was a small tie rod adjustment, because you just bought new tires, etc...

 

You fixed that rear drum problem right?

Sounds to me like your rear axle is out of alignment, have you got any wear in the rear suspension arms ?

In any case, pretty sure the steering wheel should be trued up via the track rods, because right now the steering gear is not centered. They must have aligned it with the steering wheel slightly rotated from center.

Aeroman.

 

ugh for the most part the drum thing's fixed. aka it's fine as long as no one touches the e brake. but as soon as my mom moves my car, clicks the ebrake then i have to losen the tension. so technicaly no it's not fixed, i haven't replaced the spring yet, but they don't drag any more.