I took the car to the nearby Jag Dealer on Saturday for a 4-wheel alignment. I only wanted a front end alignment but a 4-wheel is the only option they have ($$$). Anyway the front was out of alignment for caster & camber. Not a surprise since the shims on the passenger side were REALLY difficult to reinstall and that side was originally missing 2 of the bushing seats/beveled washers. The surprise is that the rear wheels are way out of alignment. Apparently there are some type of alignment shims for the rear axles that are missing on my car. Both rear axles are way out of spec. So it'll cost a major fortune just to get the car aligned ($$$$$$). They sent me home on Saturday since they couldn't obtain parts. They'll need the car a few days to align it. I'm scheduled to drop the car off next week to finally finish the upper shock mount saga for this year. If I have to go through this misery annually I really won't be a happy camper.

 

Why would a car need annual alignment ?

Only two things that I know of contribute to needing an alignment; sudden impacts, or replacement of worn suspension parts.

Z

 

I took my 83,000 mile 2005 XK8 barn find convertible to Pep Boys in Las Vegas, NV just after buying it and purchased a 5 year, 4 wheel alignment for $179 (less a $30 discount coupon at the time) when I started replacing all of the suspension and steering components. For the one-time charge, they have checked and adjusted all four wheels 7 different times over the four years that I've been replacing different front and rear components, and I haven't had to buy any extra parts from them. They did tell me one time (at 105,000 miles) that the rear was getting too far out to adjust and suggested a shim package, but I replaced both rear shocks and the worn mount bushings and they were then easily able to bring the rear end into alignment without shims. They also print me "before and after" graphs (upon request) to show the changes they've made. I believe they offer 1 time, 1 year, 3 year, and lifetime warranties; might be worth looking into...

P.S. If your car has high mileage, you'll want to check the rear wheel bearings for excessive play; this could also affect alignment readings.

 

The reason this is likely to become an annual ritual is because the front mounts fail so quickly. According to the experiences of the forum members I'll be lucky if the mounts last a year (Welsh mounts). And if I have to take the front suspension apart annually I'll need an alignment annually.

My car only has 47K on it and I wouldn't think it would need the suspension overhauled this soon. I realize that the rubber components are subject to deterioration from time more than mileage but there's very little rubber in the suspension parts (except the a-arm bushings - and these were fine on my car).

I don't know what condition the rear shock mounts are in. I haven't tried to examine them. I'm not sure I can see much without removing them. If they are bad I would expect the Jag mechanic to say "hey, the rear is so far out of spec that the shock mounts are probably bad". But the rear struts never entered the conversation. The repair plan is to separate the axles and shim them to bring the rear back into alignment. I don't imagine that the rear suspension parts are any more durable than the front. So each time I have to align the front I'll be subject to problems at the rear as well. At least that's they way it shapes up so far.

The Jag dealer doesn't offer any type of lifetime or 5 year alignment program. They'd be crazy to. I'm afraid to take my car to an independent shop for an alignment because I've had no end of headaches getting the steering wheel centered after an alignment on every other car I've owned with a steering rack. The dealers do a better job but I've had to fight with them to get it done correctly as well. Several times the steering wheel has been removed and shifted a tooth in an attempt to center the steering wheel. Even this 'trick' doesn't work. The independent shops will only realign it once and then give up. They tell me I have to live with the off center steering wheel. I find this insane and won't put up with an off center steering wheel so I end up at the dealer for an alignment. It's expensive but it's the only way I've found to get an alignment done to my satisfaction.

But the cost of this 'alignment' far exceeds common sense. What's causing the rear to need shims I don't understand. If it's the rear shock mounts that are bad then that's what should get fixed. Not adding shims. But this is beyond my understanding so I'm stuck relying on the Jag dealer's repair plan.

 

if it drives OK and the tyre wear is not excessive why are you bothered? Centering the wheel is done by moving the track rod ends as a pair in the right direction.