No not the stars

Im talking about your cars/trucks.........

I took my truck to the shop for an estimate on replacing the steering tie rods, pitman arm and idler arm. I already knew it needed to be replaced but since they have a lift and can see under the truck better then me crawling on my back, and it was a free estimate i said what the hell.

The estimate was a total of $1120 for......

4 Tie rod ends.
1 Pitman arm.
1 Idler arm.
And alignment.

Well i went and bought my own parts + for only $198
4 Tie rod ends.
1 Pitman arm.
1 Idler arm.
2 sleeves.

then i went and ordered new shocks from the shock warehouse.
4 Monroe Reflex shocks shipped $184
and a new Bell Tech set of lowering shackles for the rear $ 60  Truck sat real high in the rear......

I started my vacation yesturday after work, so i installed all the above.

Now im calling for a place to get it aligned, $65-70 bucks is the going rate is that right, what happened to the $29 alignment Its not a freakin 4x4....

Yeah, i am trying to be  cheap on this alignment deal cause if you ever drove through Bullhead you would understand why..... Alignments here dont last long, might aswell be dirt roads

I also might be pickin up a shell for my truck, when i took it in for an estimate, the guy behind the counter said that was his old truck and he has a brand new Leer shell for it... $100 Im gonna go look at it

Ok, yes i know the shops have alot of overhead, but just by me buying and installing my own parts saved me $800  I could see spending a couple hundred more for the shop to do it but not $800

Ok my rant is over

its a 97 Dodge Ram 1500.

here's what im doing.
Old parts.


new parts

Now the look, this is what it looked like when i brought her home.

Now after the shackles, ( bad pic ) yes the truck is filthy

and the look i will end up with by next year......

How much effort and attention to detail do you really expect a shop to put forth for $29? 

It takes 10 minutes to set the truck up on the alignment rack.

-Make sure the thrust angle is correct (rear axle alignment)
-Set the caster
-Set the camber
  -  Depending on the adjustment type (cam bolts, shims, etc..)this can take a while...and actually    requires a brain in most cases.
-Set the Toe
-remove the heads from the vehicle and pull the vehicle off the rack
-road test
-possibly re-rack the vehicle for any futher adjustments needed based on road test.

If you pay the shop $29 for this service, the "tech" probably sees about $10. 

I wouldn't do all that for $10....probably wouldn't do it for $29.

The cheapo alignments you see advertised generally don't pay any attention to caster or camber, just set the toe and ship it.  I'd be surprised if they actually test drove the vehicle afterwards.  You get what you pay for.  If you want a halfass alignment...start looking for coupons.  If you want a complete and well performed alignment...get your wallet out.

FYI...By lowering the back of your truck, you've changed your caster angle slightly. 

I understand all that ( you get what you pay for ) i was reffering to 5 years ago with the advertised $29 speacial

truck is in the shop now, i was told about fifty bucks. but since it is all new parts i might have to pay more.

And i could pay $200 for a alignment and its out in 20 miles with these roads. Pot holes everywhere.....

but thanks for the info though

Make sure that the shop gives you a copy of the before/after settings.

They can say anything they want, but at least the printout will help show what was done.

How a bout an alignment on my
Grand sons race car from Orange show race sat night in 8/29/09  San Berdodo that wall is hard on the front end even the boy said it hurt as bad as when you get hit on a cart 70mph
and he knows been there.

Wow! That looks like fun to reassemble, lol.

Ray

I've smacked the wall at OSS      not a lot of fun 

Have fun with the rebuild.

2 wheel alignment should be 49.95, and 4 wheel should be 79.95..... at least that's what I pay for

And thats exactly what i paid

some people don't understand that the shops here in Bullhead are not the same shop you use in Cali.  "quality" work is a joke here so why should i pay for someones rack when im getting screwed anyway?

So when you start using our shops , then you can tell me about "quality"

Dont forget that they include Powerball sales into every possible location!