alignment issues

[yodaddyguido]

for some strange reason or another, i cant seem to keep my car aligned for more than 2500 miles. i dont race, i dont rally, i dont do anything but drive my 00 gts to and from work (11 whopping miles one way).

quick history:

carfax said it was in an accident from the previous owner. the last time i went to get it aligned i went all out and had the frame checked to make sure i wasnt adjusting something that would never stay in spec to keep the car rolling straight. found out the frame is as straight as can be. the right rear was dog-tracking, so i replaced the knuckled that holds the control arms and everythign else together at that point. that brought the alignment back to straight, corrected the toe, but i still had slight camber issues, which i feel are due to the tein s-tech springs i discovered were on it. the problem still remains though for some reason, the car REFUSES to stay aligned! each toe and camber bolt is securely tightened and havent budged from the last alignment, but the tire wear is ridiculous. there's feathering and all sorts of crap, and its pulling to the left again. i checked my brake calipers to make sure they werent what was causing the pull, and theyre fine. what the hell is my car doing? im very close to just selling it. i keep pouring time into getting this thing to roll straight and man im gettin annoyed at the results.

i recently bought two new rear hub bearing assemblies too that i have yet to install... wondering if prolonged dog tracking wallowed out the bearings, so i bought em. any pointers, or experiences that could help me would be great. or locals who wanna take a look at her, shoot me a message or something.

[TRD01GT]

you SAI and included angle could be off, how sure are you that you don't have bent struts or spindles? have you checked those?

[yodaddyguido]

im not, which is why i posted this lol. i just dont know what to look for and check. in regards to the included angle, where do i measure that? also, where is the best place to indicate a spindle? ive got the tools to be able to tell, i just dont know where to use em. and i may be due for shocks, im not sure of it though.

[TRD01GT]

feathering and tire cupping is a classic bad strut problem to explain SAI and IA better look at these http://www.barsomtire.com/alignment/Images/Align_SAI.gif
http://www.meisners.net/fiero/A%20short%20course%20on%20wheel%20alignment_files/included.gif

[yodaddyguido]

if anything my camber is going in the opposite direction of the lower image. since im unfamiliar with angle inclinations, what causes them to be out consistently? or an alignment to go awry repeatedly? are we simply talking bad struts/shocks or something far more sinister?

and that quote in your sig is awesome haha

edit: to add to this, if i had to go with shocks/struts... are they difficult to install by yourself? kyb gr2 or tokico hp? im trying not to pour money into this car so adjustables arent necessary.

[TRD01GT]

well sai and included angle can not be adjusted unlike caster, camber, or toe. SAI changes with the vehicle being dropped, changing the camber and including angle along with it.
Included angle has to be the same from side to side even if the camber is different. If there is a difference, then something is bent. I would need to see an alignment report to tell anything for sure...
as for alignment changing all the time, you should check for a loose cross member or cradle, basically all suspension components, check for bent or loose tie rod ends, inner and outer (jack up front corner, when wheel is off the ground, grab it at 3 and 9oc and pivot from side to side, see if there is any free play)
don't forget that a feathered tire, or tire in poor condition will cause a pull also, if your alignment angles are dead on, try rotating tires, front to back, or back to front and cross rotate the rears

[yodaddyguido]

ok, the front reads as follows:

front left:
SAI
specified = 12.5
range 14.0

IA
specified = 11.2
range = 14.2

front right:
SAI
specified = 12.5
range = 14.0

IA
specified = 11.2
range = 14.0


and it seems im running about a -1.2 degree camber on both the right and left rear. i know for a fact im going to break down and buy rear camber links to adjust that completely out, but when i bought the car, the toe was out .41 degrees! not sure how long the dude drove like that, but im pretty sure thats why that bearing back there ticks every now and again. (already have those parts ready to replace, brand new oem shiny and greased up)

and just fyi, not that i think it makes much of a difference, but im back on oem 16" gts rims with 205/50's. my sig shows the 17s i had on there, which were warped... argh. they looked great though lol

[TRD01GT]

oh man hell ye, I was going to ask you what size those were, I'm surprised they're 17... I thought 18 - 19... you will definitely have better chance at getting your angles straight with oem wheel size
what kind of rim were those?

[yodaddyguido]

not sure what kind of rim. had they not been all warped up, i wouldve Definitely kept them on. they look terrific. anyways, in light of your views on how big those look, do you think a bad shock/strut would cause the car to sit lower than it should? making the rim look like its filling the well that much more? as i said before, i have tein stechs, installed by the previous owner.

and of the two that i mentioned above, which one would you think would be best for my situation of daily driving durability and comfy ride? (anything will be better than dead shocks) and do i need to order those boots for the shocks separate to keep them free of road crap?

thanks for all your help so far.

[TRD01GT]

gr2 with s-tech is a safe bet, a lot of people have that setup where its a comfortable ride, I can't not recommend other combination, because I just don't have any experience with them. And the rubber boot (top spring seat) needs to be bought separately and replaced if your current one is ripped.

shocks aren't difficult to install, but you will need a spring compressor to remove the springs, I use a heavy duty one that my shop has, but something like that might not be available to you... if you have never done them, its best if someone helps you or have a shop do it for you...

also I really don't want to be pointing you in the wrong direction, looking for the problem you have, so treat my posts not as a prescription, but as possible solutions

[yodaddyguido]

ok so the list necessary:

kyb gr2 set
boots for the front (since mine dont exist, could that be another clue as to worn shocks? lol)
camber links for the rear
alignment
new tires... sigh

[yodaddyguido]

ive found some gr2s for about 300 bucks to my door. i can get my hands on a spring compressor i think... if theres a guide on this site for shock/strut removal/replacement on here, point me that way. ill most likely try this one myself.

im pretty adventurous and mechanically inclined. :D

[verbal272]

I agree that a damaged strut could be causing your car to sit lower on one side affecting your SAI/Camber and possibly Caster.

Is your car lowered at all? Damaged parts on a lowered car could compound the issue which may be causing your alignment to go out as often as it has been.

[Bitter]

while you're in there, check the bushings, ball joints, tierods, steering rack, and even the steering u-joints for play and slop. you can set it all 100% dead on but as soon as you move something worn out moves and its all out of whack again.

[yodaddyguido]

im familiar with chains of failures... unless something can be caught immediately with some luck, theres normally more than one item that needs replaced.

since im not really familiar with the alignment numbers, what does each represent? i guess what SHOULD the numbers be based on what i typed up before? should they match the range number? is the front out considerably or is it just the back? granted, i can see the camber issues from 10 feet away from my car, so i know the back is out. but the fronts look pretty square to the ground... not sure if thats because of all the extra engine weight up front or what, but they look fine, and they seem to wear ok. i think lol.

this is such a pain to fix, because it seems like theres a whole slew of things im gonna have to replace before i can get the car pointed forward again :(