Is an alignment necessary for an OEM shock absorber replacement?

In the car manufacturing world Dealerships are known as Stealerships!

 

I have owned in excess of 50 vehicles plus I "flipped" around 30+ vehicles, plus my kids have had 12 vehicles, in my over 40 years of driving. In my early years I had 3.5 years of automotive training including Hunter suspension and alignment training. I have had approximately 5 alignments in my life. I monitor tire wear religiously. I expected I would need an alignment after installing adjustable Bilstein 5100's to my 16 Tacoma. Did not bother checking it on a machine. After several months of driving with the level and KO2 tires I have zero uneven wear and the steering is excellent. I have seen other people begin to see tire wear AFTER alignments. I am not an alignment expert and only work on personal and family cars as needed. If you maintain correct tire pressures, avoid curbs and potholes, and pay attention to tire wear and the way your vehicle steers then you will know when you need an alignment. I am a big fan of "if it ain't broke don't fix it". There are some great shops and alignment mechanics, however, there are a lot of unskilled poorly trained people working as alignment mechanics. Pay attention to your tires and steering wheel. Replacing shocks, when done in pairs as they should be, does not require an alignment. Also note that a toe in or toe out, as well as a misaligned steering wheel, can be corrected by outer tie rod adjustments and, in most cases, do not require any caster or camber adjustments. If you install a lift with big tires make sure your mechanic adjusts your caster to "center" the front tires in the wheel well. Lifting the front 2" or more will pull your tires closer to the front doors and the caster must be moved forward. You will see the more you lift the more you rub your mud flaps. Something you should know before getting service. If you see uneven tire wear then use the internet and get an idea what is causing the wear. Educate yourself before blindly trusting the alignment expert at Kmart. You will be surprised at how many alignments are sold to people that do not maintain proper tire pressures. If you do see front uneven tire wear, and have zero rear tire uneven wear, then do not let someone sell you a 4 wheel alignment. You only need a front wheel alignment. Once you start getting 4 wheel alignments you will most likely continue needing them because someone hosed up your perfectly aligned rear wheels.

 

Changing the rear shocks on your truck will not alter the alignment. The service writer was trying to upsell "gravy", which pays well for little work .