I hate alignment shops

Jay, if you give me a zip code I'll ask our local rep for a good alignment shop within a few miles. You know I sell the aligners for a living right? And I feel you, most of the guys I sell to don't know squat. Or don't care to know.

:violin:

If you can I would also like to know a good alignment place in my area, I have struggled with the last three cars I owned to find a really good shop my zip is 94530 :cheers: Thank you!
 
Ugh, you all have me stressing out. I'm installing a 3" suspension lift and spacers in preparation for 35's this weekend and have no clue where to take my runner for alignment, mounting and balancing in Denver. And Co Springs is too far for a tow. Time to start calling around...

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You doing a 3" lift and then tossing a set of spacers in on top of that to fit those big ole meats?
 
Awesome.... I have been looking for a good shop in the springs for some time with my lifted explorer, and my 4runner

Brakes Plus Palmer Park Powers- FAIL!
- 4runner= Tech did not torque cam bolts to spec, print out was not available due to a "broken printer" steering wheel off center
- Lifted explorer= Tech did not torque upper control arm adjustment bolts, result bent shock, clicking noise, and bad tire wear
- Brothers Lifted Pathfinder= Again loose bolts with same results. Brakes Plus on Palmer park and powers is garbage!

Sears Chapel Hills
- Ford= Steering wheel off center, can't align because I am "modified" total BS

Pep Boys South Academy
- Ford= Can't align because I am lifted, even though I have the correct parts and components to achieve factory specs. Have not stepped foot in that so called shop since then

Les swhab north powers.
- Toyota= Decided to give them a shot, due to brand new equipment. Been a pretty good experience

I am always on the hunt for a good/better alignment shop so when I install my new rack I will give rex a call. Thanks

Man we have had same experience in the same city. This is brakes plus on powers. I hope they get me close and I will tq my own bolts.

Lca cam bolts 100ftlb? And spc ubj 185-200lbtq?
 
Lca cam bolts 100ftlb? And spc ubj 185-200lbtq?

Not sure about the cam bolts, but the SPC UBJ is 150.

Seriously call Rex. Beware that they will most likely be a few weeks out. Armorology turned me on to them. If you have any suspension work done at Armorology it goes to Rex for an alignment. They're solid.
 
Lucky's tire shop at 80th and Federal. $60 for the front end of a 4Runner. Just tell them what you're trying to accomplish and don't assume they know what you want and you should be happy.

You can always just be really adamant about what you want and tell them you are prepared to watch the tech the entire time to make sure it is done to your liking. I don't know if you suffer from this problem, but I come off as an easygoing nice guy, which techs think gives them leeway to half-ass the job. At least that's my theory. Don't be afraid to be a jerk.
 
I was out of town once and needed a alignment on the fly and doing this for kind of work for years I watch this new guy working with a Bean alignment machine and he couldn't get the Toe correct... I finally walked around there to where he was working and said hey u need me to show u how to Compensate for this to get it right on the spec... Poor guy said sure so I adjust the passenger side out a few + degree and the proceeded to adjust the driver side couple -degree with a perfect 0 overall and the poor guy about die.... Needless to say the shop gave the alignment for free... Thank god for the HUNTER Hawkeye machine best piece of engineering I've had the pleasure of using

That well marketed machine can't give you live caster, you must recheck caster after an adjustment to be accurate.

That machine can't give you vehicle dimensions, ie cross diagonal.

That machine can't give you rolling radius either.

But it is a well marketed machine. And as with any tool, only as good as the person using it.

:boxer:
 
i bought into the "lifetime" alignment as well and although i have nothing bad to say about firestone, i did have to take it back twice and its still not "perfect" but pretty close..

with that said, because you work with alignment shops, can you recommend any specific shops to mount and balance tires? this is also a pain point for quite a lot of 4runner/toyota truck owners that have problems with the tires at highway speeds. Most people recommend a "road force balance" or by using a "haweka" adapter.

zip code is 95051 (bay area)

I'll inquire for you and get back to you. For the record, Haweka is a german company that makes virtually all the tooling for wheel balancers sold by Coats, Hunter and John Bean/Snap-on/Hoffman. So a Haweka adapter doesn't say a whole lot. I believe they are referring to a pin plate adapter and collet as opposed to the cones.

"Road force" is a marketing term made up by Hunter, the actual term is Radial force variation, or RFV. The real problem is that a tire wheel combination can be balanced and still have an RFV that creates a vibration. The Hunter machine and the John Bean or Hoffman equivalent are the only machines sold in the US that can solve this type of problem. But I can't stress enough, it is the TECHNICIAN that will ultimately tell you if match mounting can help or not.
 
Not sure about the cam bolts, but the SPC UBJ is 150.

Seriously call Rex. Beware that they will most likely be a few weeks out. Armorology turned me on to them. If you have any suspension work done at Armorology it goes to Rex for an alignment. They're solid.

I can't wait that long. I drive this daily.
 
Lucky's tire shop at 80th and Federal. $60 for the front end of a 4Runner. Just tell them what you're trying to accomplish and don't assume they know what you want and you should be happy.

You can always just be really adamant about what you want and tell them you are prepared to watch the tech the entire time to make sure it is done to your liking. I don't know if you suffer from this problem, but I come off as an easygoing nice guy, which techs think gives them leeway to half-ass the job. At least that's my theory. Don't be afraid to be a jerk.

I'm sitting at brakes plus. I'm very nice at first. I hate bringing stuff back and complaining. I told them I want 5* if possible and others in spec. He says they can do it. Bet money I have to show them the uca has Camber adjustment.
 
90% SUCCESS!!

This is going to have to do for now. They said LCA cam bolts slipped, they did not TQ correctly. So they where moving all over the road on me.

New alignment. Steering is off maybe a few degrees. I can live with that for now till I can adjust at the rack. Guess tech didnt know how to fix it with Toe.

Left Right
Camber 0.0* -0.1*

Caster 4.5* 5.3*

Toe .10* .11*

Tires look perfect. Drove the best its ever have since I've owned it. Did not rub backing out, forward or when hitting bumps. Before I could rub just taking a right turn.
 
Lucky's tire shop at 80th and Federal. $60 for the front end of a 4Runner. Just tell them what you're trying to accomplish and don't assume they know what you want and you should be happy.

You can always just be really adamant about what you want and tell them you are prepared to watch the tech the entire time to make sure it is done to your liking. I don't know if you suffer from this problem, but I come off as an easygoing nice guy, which techs think gives them leeway to half-ass the job. At least that's my theory. Don't be afraid to be a jerk.
i would just ask you to leave. "if you don't trust me to work on your vehicle, take it somewhere else" simple as that.
 
90% SUCCESS!!

This is going to have to do for now. They said LCA cam bolts slipped, they did not TQ correctly. So they where moving all over the road on me.

New alignment. Steering is off maybe a few degrees. I can live with that for now till I can adjust at the rack. Guess tech didnt know how to fix it with Toe.

Left Right
Camber 0.0* -0.1*

Caster 4.5* 5.3*

Toe .10* .11*

Tires look perfect. Drove the best its ever have since I've owned it. Did not rub backing out, forward or when hitting bumps. Before I could rub just taking a right turn.

you have mentioned this a few times, what exactly are you talking about?

if the wheel isn't centered, the alignment isn't finished. they need to get it straight.

if you do any work, or adjustments, you negate everything they have done, and should not expect any free/warranty work in regards to an alignment.
you paid them for it, make sure they do it.
 
you have mentioned this a few times, what exactly are you talking about?

if the wheel isn't centered, the alignment isn't finished. they need to get it straight.

if you do any work, or adjustments, you negate everything they have done, and should not expect any free/warranty work in regards to an alignment.
you paid them for it, make sure they do it.

They centered the rack perfect. You can make adjustments for the steering wheel at the steering shaft where it connects to the steering rack without changing anything on the alignment. Mine was not centered when I installed my rack (my fault). So I could feel the clock spring barely start to bind when I fully turned right.

Now the rack is centered and I just need to adjust maybe one to two teeth over at the steering rack. Not to hard. Just have top pop my body lift steering spacer, pop off the collar at the steering rack and move it over a tooth or two.

Anyways Im going to find another shop that like maybe the Rex Tire mentioned above. I have play in my UBJ and in process of getting it replaced under warranty but Im not crossing my fingers. After I replace that I will bring it to Rex Tire and see if they can do a better job.

I can deal with the 1/4" off steering wheel as long as everything else is good. Would you bring it back to a place that has messed up like that again? NOT ME!! LOL.
 
I've been doing some digging for the Denver crowd. Most information I've found is at least 2-3 years old. So I hit Yelp and High Country Performance 4x4 has good reviews there (not so good on Google). Does anyone have experience with these folks?High Country Performance 4x4 - Off Road Truck Parts
I used to work at High Country. Great bunch of guys. They are definitely not the cheapest shop in town. I worked there before they purchased an alignment rack, and we would sub all the alignments out to B&A automotive on Broadway. They are very experienced with aligning lifted toyota's. I'd highly recommend them. I haven't been there in about 2 years, but you can talk to a guy named Kelly if you go there.
B & A Automotive
 
I used to work at High Country. Great bunch of guys. They are definitely not the cheapest shop in town. I worked there before they purchased an alignment rack, and we would sub all the alignments out to B&A automotive on Broadway. They are very experienced with aligning lifted toyota's. I'd highly recommend them. I haven't been there in about 2 years, but you can talk to a guy named Kelly if you go there.
B & A Automotive
Thank you sn0wrunner! I will call B&A today and use High Country as my fallback!

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Jay, if you give me a zip code I'll ask our local rep for a good alignment shop within a few miles. You know I sell the aligners for a living right? And I feel you, most of the guys I sell to don't know squat. Or don't care to know.

:violin:

Know a good shop near 32824?
 
90% SUCCESS!!

This is going to have to do for now. They said LCA cam bolts slipped, they did not TQ correctly. So they where moving all over the road on me.

New alignment. Steering is off maybe a few degrees. I can live with that for now till I can adjust at the rack. Guess tech didnt know how to fix it with Toe.

Left Right
Camber 0.0* -0.1*

Caster 4.5* 5.3*

Toe .10* .11*

Tires look perfect. Drove the best its ever have since I've owned it. Did not rub backing out, forward or when hitting bumps. Before I could rub just taking a right turn.

Lower cam bolts are 96ft lbs. Sounds like they made the same mistake to you as me. Sometimes I think the tech is trying to tighten the rear cam bolts by the nut because the bolt face is covered by the steering rack, and if i remember correctly you have to tighten by the bolt head... the nut is part of the cam and will not tighten, just adjust.

Was this the brakes plus on powers and palmer park? If so there seems to be a pattern. Try Les Shwab on north powers, they did pretty good on mine and even took the time to read the SPC instructions, and even ask me as well.
 

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