Alignent shop wants $600 frozen hardware

[LeakySeals]

The Camry in my signature takes a beating in the city, usually requires a couple of tires and an alignment every year. I had been going to Tire Warehouse. They would provide a printout of the alignment so I could see proof they did something. they never mentioned anything being wrong, was always able to align within specs according to the printout.

This year I decided to order tires online, and go to a different tire mounting/alignment shop. They were under the car with torches, wrenches for almost an hour. Finally the car is dropped, and the manager tells me he could not perform the alignment because of frozen hardware. Because this car has no adjustment sleeves (what they told me) both inner tie rod ends needed to be replaced for a whopping total of $600! They didnt charge me, just sent me on my way with the quote. Clearly I'm not going to pay that, will buy the parts and have a mechanic put them on for half that price.

Does this seem suspicious that the hardware on both sides would freeze in just a year when I had been getting alignments every year at a different shop with no problems?

 

[JHZR2]

I always find that suspicious, but if they spent a lot of time, with multiple folks ($$$$ in wages), and sent you on your way, I'd be less concerned with them being ripoff artists.

Especially since you are on the MA/NH border, where either youre in the coastline or cold country where salt is surely used on the roads.

Stuff can be resilient to salt, but once it corrodes, its fast.

Other shops may also have just ignored certain parts or left them alone and adjusted others in a more aggressive way.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I was burned back in college by a crummy shop that "did" an alignment and then I got back home and got new tires where the alignment was included.....where I was told they had to use torches to break free the adjustment nuts as they were frozen solid. It happens.

 

[Dakota1820]

iirc camrys have some major issues with alignment. my friends paretns have a 06??? toyota camry and they had to have extensive work done to fix the alignment. they have a trusted mechanic too.

 

[Quest]

I've been through 2 camrys and not aware/heard of this so-called "major alignment issues".

Citing our 1st CAmry (92, V6,Gen 3?) and then our current Camry (04, Gen 5)...all alignments are good and easy to deal with.

So long as these vehicles aren't structurally compromised before (collisions, etc.), the alignment should easily fall within factory specs easily.

(*and I have 2 trusted professional alignment shops to deal with mine/my clientele's cars*)


Q.

 

[Kestas]

There are some shops that flat out refuse to do suspension work on older cars because of the collateral damage that occurs when they start wrenching on rusty parts.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: Quest
So long as these vehicles aren't structurally compromised before (collisions, etc.), the alignment should easily fall within factory specs easily.


Thats what I can't understand. The new shop didnt say there was anything wrong with the parts, just frozen alignment hardware. Was out some, not too bad based on their printout. Both sides frozen at the inner tie rod end adjustment. Last year it aligned (at Tire Warehouse) just fine.

 

[Dakota1820]

i just found out yes there camry had a recall for it and i have a friend who has a corolla and its the same basic issue. so apparently it is a problem. the freezing up is well possible go somewhere else don't say anything to them and see if they have the same issue. my saturn is 14 yrs old and nothing is frozen in the slightest

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
i just found out yes there camry had a recall for it and i have a friend who has a corolla and its the same basic issue. so apparently it is a problem. the freezing up is well possible go somewhere else don't say anything to them and see if they have the same issue. my saturn is 14 yrs old and nothing is frozen in the slightest


No, the 06' Camry did not have a recall for that....That is not a common problem.

 

[fdcg27]

According to a Honda indie I know, the more recent Japanese brand cars have nothing like the hardware quality they once did.
He said it was common to find suspension hardware with enough corosion that it cannot be removed or adjusted without damage.
Maybe the guys who checked the car's alignment before didn't have to adjust anything?

 

[brelandt]

here is may take on this as I am the alignment guy in my shop. The shop you used prior to this may have done the ol' bump on the target to make the car look as if it had been aligned trick. Seen guys do it. Then this new shop actually does the alignment and the tierod has never been turned thus frozen over. I have tried using a torch to a few cars and most will turn but not all.
I believe this new place is better than the old.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: brelandt
here is may take on this as I am the alignment guy in my shop. The shop you used prior to this may have done the ol' bump on the target to make the car look as if it had been aligned trick. Seen guys do it. Then this new shop actually does the alignment and the tierod has never been turned thus frozen over. I have tried using a torch to a few cars and most will turn but not all.
I believe this new place is better than the old.


I would agree with this after having done alignments for a living myself. Too many shops, or dishonest co-workers did the bump the sensor trick and let the next guy have to break it to the customer. Of course who looks like the bad guy in this situation.

 

[The_Jeff]

I agree with the others who say someone bumped the sensor. $600 is a little much for new parts IMO. I have one frozen jamb nut on my saturn and I stuck a washer between it and the outer TRE, but that's hackery and that washer should come out if it ever needs adjusting the other way so there's enough thread holding things together.

When I worked at a tire shop I saw first hand a camry with camber problems that were "not adjustable" get returned to the customer as it was when it came in. And it was a warranty job so the guy was mad it was pulling. "Not adjustable" means we didn't feel like grinding out a strut hole or getting a cam bolt kit. One can point at a factory service manual and say, "see, not adjustable" if that's their attitude...

But your toe is definitely adjustable. If you want you can raise cain with the previous shop but you won't get anywhere.

 

[Quest]

In the world of automobiles, wheel alignments and wear are the least understood and can be extremely intimidating to avg motoring joes.

That's where most dishonest alignment shops can easily pull off with a quick lie or excuse, sometimes not to do certain works (due to liability concerns), or a king's ransom for small jobs, etc.

good/honest alignment shops can do an amazing job in correcting alignment-related issues that otherwise almost impossible (like wrecked alignments and chassis, collision-related distortions, etc.)

Q.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: Quest
In the world of automobiles, wheel alignments and wear are the least understood and can be extremely intimidating to avg motoring joes.

which is why I've driven "full frame" vehicles most of my life and avoid the front drivers... In the last almost 30 years dating back to a Chevy Malibu, I've yet to have one that wore the tires or needed a alignment...

I do have a '40s Bear toe-in adjuster that I've checked them on a few times but never adjusted anything, my experience with unibody and front drive vehicles has not been as good...

I just repl the tires on my '07 Grand Marquis, of course they tried to sell me an alignment, I said "nope it drives fine, wore the tires evenly and doesn't have any handling issues"...

 

[HerrStig]

I just bought a lower control arm assembly for a Gen 4 Camry, with balljoint, for 40 odd bucks. Tierod ends at Rockauto are very inexpensive. Prior to the control arm, all the parts on the car were original at almost 300K. Spare me the "cheap metal" comments.

 

[Donald]

If you are in the rust-belt, you can expect things to seize up due to rust. My Jeep had to stay overnight at an indie shop so the PB Blaster or whatever could work before they could do an alignment.

Maybe PB Blaster every day for a week.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: Donald
If you are in the rust-belt, you can expect things to seize up due to rust. My Jeep had to stay overnight at an indie shop so the PB Blaster or whatever could work before they could do an alignment.

Maybe PB Blaster every day for a week.


Yes, lots of salt, getting rusty under there. Just strange how Tire Warehouse was able to align it last year, give me a printout, then a year later, different shop both sides are stuck.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I just bought a lower control arm assembly for a Gen 4 Camry, with balljoint, for 40 odd bucks. Tierod ends at Rockauto are very inexpensive. Prior to the control arm, all the parts on the car were original at almost 300K. Spare me the "cheap metal" comments.


I think I have to replace them, rattle at the floorboards. But I'm shying away from the job because the engine needs to be raised a few inches to get to the bolts on one side.

 

[LeakySeals]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: brelandt
here is may take on this as I am the alignment guy in my shop. The shop you used prior to this may have done the ol' bump on the target to make the car look as if it had been aligned trick. Seen guys do it. Then this new shop actually does the alignment and the tierod has never been turned thus frozen over. I have tried using a torch to a few cars and most will turn but not all.
I believe this new place is better than the old.


I would agree with this after having done alignments for a living myself. Too many shops, or dishonest co-workers did the bump the sensor trick and let the next guy have to break it to the customer. Of course who looks like the bad guy in this situation.


A bump is faking the printout?