rx7_1

Ok this is my problem. For some reason i am getting a vibration for the front end. some told me it might be my tie rod but i'm not sure at all. I need a front end alignment but that wouldn't cause it to vibrate would it??

13B4port

alignment. you toe could be off. look below at the pic it's getto but u get the jist:

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rear of the car > | |

thats what the tire should be your case could be....

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maybe.....

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or like this .....

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either way don't go to an alighment shop. i think i posted my horror story but here is the short of it. i asked to have my car aligned. they took my keys. i see the mechanic walking out to my car. i wanted to talk to him. i don't want some *** working on my car. and i wanted to show him that i knew a lot about cars so he can't try to rip me off. things i had done to this car at this time: BnG progressive rate springs, Tockio HP Shocks, s4 engine ran buy a gsl-se ecu, msd and racingbeat exhaust. so i start talking with the mechanic. told him to let me start the car and pull it into the garage. said no he needed to take it on a drive to figure out what was wrong with it. i asked if he could just put it back to spec. he said he needed to find out where the adjustments needed to be made. argh. i told him i knew he had skid plattes and alignment sensors and to just use those and to not drive my car. well i started to walk back into the shop and complained to the manager that he wanted to drive my car. The manager questioned the mechanic and started to laugh with him. he came out and looked at my car. said with a big grin on his face that he needed to drive me car. i told him my insurence doesn't cover anyone but me. said it'll be ok they drive on a back paved road that noone drives on. after about 30 mins of protest i asked if he wanted to ride with me for a drive to see what it's doing. he said nope he had to drive it. fine. the mechanic and manager get in my car. i walked up to the passanger door and said i'm riding with. he asked why. a) it's my car and b) why does the manager need to go? i got in and told him to be carful as the throttle is very touchy because the timing is advanced as far as it can go. he didn't listen. spinns the **** out of my tires in the parking lot. i told him not ot do it again. he gets out on the road and kills it. started it back up and he romps on it all the way through 2nd. speeding 70mph in a 35pmh... WTF. i told him to stop and to figure out whats going on with my car. he said "it's driving straight, whats thr problem?" the steering wheel is 90degrees turned to the right. WTF DO YOU THINK IS WRONG!!! he took it back to the shop and drifted and spun out in the parking lot. told him to get out of my car and give me my keys. i should have turned away then but i didn't. we got it into the garage. i walked in and sat downa nd watch him work on it. he ells me i can't be in there for insurence reason. thinkin to myself "insurence reasons didn't stop you from driving my car...." i walked out and he closes the garage door all 6 of them WTH. i decide to stand there and look in the window of the door and watch him. after about 15 mins he calls me in and says he can't align it. why. here is the list of stuff wrong....
lower and uper ball joints .................................... thats nice i don't have uper ball joints.
tie rods and center link.........................................nice there brand new and just are covered int eh dirt you put on them
some bushings.......................................... ............ok they're all new poly bushings but ok.
my shocks were bad..............................................b rand new tockio shocks ok
the springs were going bad...................................going bad because the car doens't have a lot of give in it and the car sits lower than what stock hight is....
wheel bearings were all bad...................................well i didn't know about that one.
if those were bad he would have to replace the spindles. and the list went on. i asked him tp show him how he new the shocks were bad as i could easily proove they were fine. he had me feel the staft. said it's wet. no ****, realy, omg... maybe because it's supposed to be that way. he then with my car on the lift grabbed the top of the wheel and the bottom of the wheel and started to push and pull on the tire. he said "see the wheel moves, it's flexing in the shock." i said "see your a dumbass, the lug nuts are loose because you havn't tieghten them back down." i stood there and watched him tighten all 16 lugs on my car and told him toget it off the lift. he did. i demanded my keys. he refused and said i get them when i pay. PAY FOR WHAT?? i go up to the front and spoke with the manager. he told me i owed $45 for an inspection. i told him that was crap because A) he probably burnned more than $45 off my tires by driving like an *** and B) 3/4 of the stuff he said needed to be replaced was replaced about 2 days before i brought it in to get it aligned. i argued for about 45 mins. they called the cops and said i was driving off. i sat out in my car smoked my ciggerett and waited for the cop. he walked up to me and to my suprise it was my girlfirends(at the time but now ex gf) Father. he asked me what was going on. so i told him. he had worked with on my car accouple of time. he went in and got my keys and told me to go home and call BBB and then call a lawyor. hmmm i called BBB and said screw the lawyor. i started telling people this story. within 3 months of this happening the shop closed.

i ended up helping swap 1jz turbos on to a 2jz motor in his supra. so he took my car out to his college where he's studing to be a mechanic and aligned my car for free. nothing needed to be replaced.

Rx7carl

13B4port. Thats the SHORT version? Switch to decaf. J/k I know its bs how some shops rip people off. SUcks people have to be that way.


Anyway, can you describe the vibration in more detail? At all speeds? Certain speeds? Does it change in turns?

bbeachy

FYI- 13b4port, it's cheaper in the long run to pay more money for a good mechanic, than to have some jackass screw up your car. Word of mouth is usually the best way to find a good place, but not foolproof. Most car guys in any town know of at least one place they can trust their babies with.
RX7_1- make sure your wheels are balanced first, then check all the things that deteriorate, like ball joints, bushings, etc. before spending money on a shop to tell you what you need to have replaced. If everything checks out, then you should just have your car aligned. Some nat'l tire shops (like Firestone and Goodyear) offer "lifetime alignments" for about $150 or so, depending on whether you purchase it in conjunction with tires, which is probably worthwhile. I haven't looked into much further than that, but if it really means what they say, I plan to get it for all three of my cars so that I won;t have to worry about vibrations, or anything other such issues with my car. I'll just have to take it to the corresponding shop for a "free" alignment.

BlackFireRX7

un balanced tires, unevenly worn tires, wheel bearings, worn suspension/sterring....

give us more info!

when do you feel the vib? under accel? braking? coasting? what speed?

do you feel it the wheel?

always been that way? slowly developed? suddenly developed?



Don't take it to a shop!!!!

If you do get a second opinion atleast....if not a third....lol...and bring a friend that atleast looks/acts like he knows what he is talking about

I havn't found one I trust yet!

I will not take my car to a shop.

only thing I let anyone else do on my car(s) is transmissions...and I take it out and take it to him...