Getting your wheels aligned

I recently took my truck to NTB to get my wheels rotated and aligned before I on a 500 mile drive to freshmen orientation. When I got the initial report it was way off so I had them align them. Then I got the final report and the degrees didn't change much but everything was within the ranges so I thanked them and left. After driving the whole way to orientation I knew there was something wrong with the alignment. When I got home I checked the reports, thankfully I saved them, to find out that the initial report was for a 2WD Tacoma, which mine is, but the final report was for a 4WD Tacoma. All of the ranges were completely different, in fact they made my alignment worse. I took it back and they fixed their mistake (at least I hope it was just a mistake). When I got the final report my initial readings matched the inital readings of the first report almost exactly, which got me thinking about how honest the reports actually are. Also I don't want this to turn into a 'which store is better' I have had plenty of good experiences with NTB, overall this is the first issue I have had. Now for my questions:

I have no idea how wheel alignment works, but is it something I can do for myself?
When a technician at NTB (or anywhere) preforms an allignment is it done completely by a machine? Or do they have to do it manually?
Finally when the report is made can the technician change any of the degree values or is that something that is done by and computer and cannot be messed with?

Thanks for responding and sorry for the length, just wanted to give the whole story!

 

I have my alignment done at a independent shop that has good reviews from other people i know, you need it done buy a shop or dealer and they manually adjust the components by hand and they set them with in specs. of that truck or car type.

 

Another member has done this before at home, lengthy process but great writeup:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/252256-how-do-alignment-home.html

 

The guy that does mine is local and a friend so I trust what he is doing. Places like NTB, Sears or Wal Mart scare me!!! Just Sayin!

 

I use a local Firestone, and they've done a good job both times I've had mine aligned,,, but I specify the settings that I want (0,0,2.5) as opposed to the stock "ranges". That way they seem to spend just a bit more time getting it where I want it instead of just within spec.

 

x2, I give the tech the specific numbers I want so the tech doesn't just 'get it in spec'. In spec doesn't always mean they did a good job.

 

is it wrong that i have 91K miles on my truck and have never had mine checked? tires wear even and it doesn't pull

 

If your tires wear even and it drive fine, I see no need to pay for alignment. Personally, I don't go in unless I have a reason to think it's off and needs an adjustment.

 

Where did you get the specs for the numbers you give the techs? Do you just pick the number in the middle of the range?

 

^^^ yup, my first alignment was after I had 5100s installed, second time was after larger tires, new wheels and some spacers.

BTW, I find the 0,0,2.5 specs to make the truck drive with a bit more steering feel and less "looseness".

 

I tell them to get camber and toe to 0 since they cause uneven tire wear if they aren't 0, then tell them to max out the caster and that should be over 2 degrees. The higher caster number makes the truck drive better on the highway. A lot of places will just set the toe and call it a day otherwise, giving them specs forces them to actually do a full alignment.

 

I picked them up from the Suspension Forum on here. Read through a bunch of threads on alignment and saved a couple. Then when the time came for an alignment, pulled them up and used them.

BTW, Firestone questioned me both times on why I specified, I just told them that it drives much better on those specs and that's what I want.

 

Went to the dealer for my 20K maintenance and to get them to order the rear brake TSB parts, and they did an alignment check that showed a couple of parameters out of spec. So, I paid them to align it when I went back for the TSB install. Report I got back showed before and after numbers -- and the before numbers were all in spec.

I think they owe me a free alignment now.

 

Never heard of anyone doing an 'alignment check'. Usually, unless they have a reason to put a vehicle on the alignment rack (such as the customer requesting an alignment), they won't tie up the machine. There's no other way to check a vehicle's alignment unless it is visually out (in which case you have bigger issues).

 

The dealer has a machine in the service entry bay that I believe just checks alignment -- it is not a full alignment rack. I think that is where the "check" comes from. I think it also checks headlight alignment. With results like I got, it probably pays for itself pretty quickly. I will not fall for that trick again, and I WILL get my free alignment.

 

My local dealership just got a "checker" as well. It looks like red flashing lights at the entrance to the service bay. Then tried telling me I needed an alignment on my 5000 mile truck so I asked to see the print out and it was .02* off on camber

 

What is a good alignment spec number?
I took my 600 miles truck to my dealership to fix the pulling to the left and off center steering wheel.

Now it is pulling to the right and still off center steering wheel....

I'm bringing the truck back to the dealer now

 

Off center steering wheel (AFAIK) just means they didn't center it prior to alignment, or during the alignment process, it was allowed to move.

I believe they have specific tools to hold the wheel at true center during alignment, or at least, there are companies that produce them. Whether the alignment tech uses them is a different question.

 

That 'checker' just screams SCAM! I can see the BBB having a field day with that bullshit.

 

They gave me a printout -- the printout from the "checker" actually looked fancier than the one from the actual alignment machine. I will post photos of both later.

Bottom line, before trusting the "checker" measurements and asking for an alignment, always ask for them to double-check it on the alignment machine and leave it alone if within spec.

I actually don't think the dealer was trying to scam me. I think whoever took the measurement did something wrong to throw the measurements off, not necessarily on purpose. They attach some discs to the wheels, maybe one was skewed by wheel weights or something.