car was not alignable?

[Daniel50]

took my car down to les schwab to get the front end aligned. and they said they couldnt becuase i need aftermarket caster/camber plates, new front shocks, and new tires in the front. other than that the car is fine. does this sound right to you guys or are they trying to get money out of me?

 

[fiveo89]

they are telling you the truth. at one time i know ford carried a kit that would be needed for alignment.

 

[darthcual]

they want your money. There is no money to be made in just an alignment.

 

[BNAZ]

There is insuffiient camber adjustment to keep within specs.
My inside tires wore and had friend check on hunter machine. they were out by over 2 degrees. I added c/c plate and was able to set specs as I wanted.
Its really not a function of the shocks only. I would look at lower control arms bushings also. I replaced mine with FRPP M-3075-A kit. These are new control arms with bushings and newer style balljoints all assembled. I saved 2 hrs minimum. The set runs about $175.

 

[Daniel50]

any cheap camber plates you guys know of?

 

[iwashmycar]

they are telling you the truth. at one time i know ford carried a kit that would be needed for alignment.

ya...when i replaced my struts the bolts were too small for the holes, and went to ford and they said it was for adjustment. The bolts have a little nug towards the top and you can get pretty good adjustment.

I have the same problem because I just put lowering springs on, and I adjusted the plates at the top and the little bolt things and it is still a little bit off and I am really wearing the inside of my tires.

Can you just drill the slots longer on top of the strut towers, is my question here.

 

[DTT92LX]

Can you just drill the slots longer on top of the strut towers, is my question here.

I've heard that you can. There was a guy on here last year said he was a ford dealer mechanic and said he did it all the time. Personally, I wouldn't. When I called my local dealer to find out if that guy was telling the truth, they said they wouldn't do it. They could but they wouldn't. Said that they had cc plates to fix the problem. Their plates sounded cheesy and too expensive (although were probably just fine) so I went and got MM cc plates. Heck, they look better anyway...

 

[iwashmycar]

thanks...ill still probably drill em sometime when im not up at school, since its not too much

 

[HISSIN50]

Nick is the Ford tech who said he drilled the towers............

 

[Daniel50]

what about bbk and mac camber plates?

 

[jrichker]

Avoid any C/C plates made from aluminum, they may crack. Stick with steel C/C plates, they are much less likey to break.

Also avoid any C/C plates with a rubber bushing at the top - too much slack to maintain consistant alignment through the complete range of travel of the suspension.

 

[BNAZ]

JRICHKER is right. Buy quality. Dont use the BBK or MAC plates

I used Steeda c/c plates. Another source is
http://www.mustangracing.com
They have J & M C/C plates for $155.

 

[Daniel50]

thanks good to know

 

[Mustang5L5]

The C/C plates they are right about.

Struts and tires are just them trying to soak money out of you. They can align it if they wanted

 

[90mustangGT]

No, they were being honest with you more than anything. If they were dishonest, they would have done a "toe and go" and then said the couldn't adjust anythign else and taken your money.

If you have bad struts or the car sits uneven due to binding parts or sagging springs or even tires, it might be brought to spec but it still won't be right. The stock strut mounts do have a little adjustment to them, but I do mean a little. I don't like metal drilled out of my strut towers anyways.

So if you have worn out / bad tires, struts, ect... what exactly do you expect to achieve with an alignment?

 

[mustang-a-holic]

That was very honest of Les Schwaub. I would trust them. Did you get the free beef?

 

[Daniel50]

yeah they did not charge me

 

[90mustangGT]

I see that you have Eibach springs, but what struts are you running? Stock? Brand X worn out? I would suggest putting at least some KYB's in there while doing C/C plates. Not only would your handling improve but so would your ride quality. Every day I see so many cars, and so many ride bad and all they need is struts or shocks. They make a world of difference. OEM shocks/struts really suck because they are usually too soft to make the car ride better to sell it while the bushings are breaking in.

 

[Daniel50]

stock shock going with adjustables soon

 

[94 Cobra 5.0]

correct me if im wrong but if your running eibach sportlines thats a 2in drop in the front end. if you dont have camber caster plates then the shop was right in saying that they could not align the car. drilling the strut tower? why take metal away from a critical load point for the whole front end. save yourself the trouble and get a good pair of c / c and you shouldnt have a problem with alignments again.