luvmylegacy98 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I went in to see about an alignment in my 98 lgt and the guy behind the counter said that normally they do four wheel alignments on them not just the front two. He said you can't set the front without the back being set first. Which makes zero sense to me seeing as the rear wheels have no impact on the front steering. I had a thrust alignment done last winter. Is this guy just trying to get more money out of me cause he assumes I don't know what I'm talking about? I see no reason the rear wheels would be out of alignment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 the guy is right. you dont know what you are talking about. there is more to an alignment than just which way the front wheels are pointed. do the 4 wheel alignment. maybe on your trans am they only do a front wheel alignment but that's because the car does not have an independent rear suspension with camber and toe adjustment like you legacy does. on a AWD car with a IRS, you need to do a 4 wheel alignment for both camber and toe for all 4 wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvmylegacy98 Posted March 14, 2012 Author Share Posted March 14, 2012 The reason for the alignment was the car slide Into a curb and knock it out of alignment. I replaced everything that was damaged but the steeringwheel is still off set.Nothing has happened to the rear that would make me think it's out of alignment. I didn't know about camber and toe and all that but I still see no reason that they'd be off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iSooby Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The reason for the alignment was the car slide Into a curb and knock it out of alignment. I replaced everything that was damaged but the steeringwheel is still off set.Nothing has happened to the rear that would make me think it's out of alignment. I didn't know about camber and toe and all that but I still see no reason that they'd be off Whitetiger is right. It can't be that much more expensive anyway. I would just do it. Better safe than sorry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesm113 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 You need a 4 wheel alignment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated broknindarkagain Posted March 14, 2012 I Donated Share Posted March 14, 2012 I've been doing alignments for a long time....so I'll try and explain this in a non technical way... Your front toe is set in relation the rear toe (so the rear toe does has a direct effect on the front toe). Regarless of if the vehile has rear adjustments or not. This is why during an alignment, you start from the rear of the vehicle. An example of this would be setting the front toe first. Then when you go back and adjust the rear - the front would then be out...because the relation between the front and rear wheels would be different after adjustment. Some vehicles don't have rear adjustments. Most trucks with a solid axle dont. Two poupular vehicles would include the Cavalier and Caravan. Neither of these have adjustments, however you can shim the rear hub to get some adjustments. Your car has factory adjustments from front and rear toe and front camber. All 3 of these angles should be checked and adjusted at every alignment. Start with rear toe, then front camber, then front toe. No, the guy at the shop was not trying to rip you off. He was 100% correct and trying to do the job right for you. -broknindarkagain My Current Project - Click Here COME AND TAKE IT "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnegg Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 how ever, if he was a nice guy he would ''check'' the alignment first and then tell you what is needed. this is more than half of the work, but if the rear does not need an adjustment he could let that part of the price go. besides it is only about $20 for the rear . firestone checks the alignment when they sell a set of tires. i suspect so they can sell more service but also so if you the car needs it and you turn it down, well there goes the warranty on the tires. and when they told me about it he said, ''we check it anyway''. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvmylegacy98 Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 I was just asking to make sure. I do most of my own repairs myself but alignments are out of my knowledge. Obviously. Bit I appreciate everyone setting me straight. I just didn't want to get scammed out of the 40 dollar difference. Thanks again to everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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