|
Put apiece of tape on your steering wheel with the wheels pointed so the car goes absolutely straight. The tape needs to be exactly at the 12o'clock poistion on the wheel'
You can do this while driving the car so you know it is going straight down the road.
Once you have done this. Turn the steering wheel all the way left and right.
Your piece of tape shgould show you the the steering wheel goes the exact amount of turns left and right, say 1.75 left and 1.75 right. It has to be the same in both directions.
Many alignment shops do not do this and it is critical. If the rack is not centered going down the road you will get a shimmy, especially true with rack and pinion steering. Check it yourself to be sure it is right and that's free.
Now look at the tie rod assemblies. Count the exposed adjustment threads on both tie rods. They should be very close to exactly the same number of threads.
With the wheel exactly centered and the tie rod adjustment threads the same, you are ready to go to the alignment shop.
The really good alignment shops know all of this, and they will check the wheel center and tie rod length, but checking it yourself will give you an indication of the shops professionalism.
They should also check for bent wheels, out of round tires, and any other thing that might affect the alignment and they should road test the car after the alignment up to the maximum speed limits in your area. Few shops are that meticulous.
I used to check this stuff only when there was an issue like a shimmy. Typically it happens when something is bent. I have seen cars need crossmembers replaced to cure the problem.
My guess, without looking it over personally is that the bad strut was due to some kind of impact. Replacing the strut solved the obvious problems. Now you need to find the not so obvious problem.
If the first test shows the steering wheel to be centered exactly and the tie rods adjustment threads are the same, then you can safely assume the rack is properly positioned and nothing is bent-twisted. Everything else is minor.
regards
Mech
|