Curiosity: Does anyone know...are vehicles suspensions aligned at the factory...

[CharBaby]

...in the same fashion as we the consumer have it done at the dealership or our favorite service center?
I mean, does every vehicle coming off of the assembly line, head toward an alignment machine, as we know it?

Or is just that suspension aligned after its assembly process by the worker who is assembling the whole suspension, part by part, prior to being installed in a vehicle?
Meaning, after each individual suspension part is assembled as a whole, does the worker put that completed "whole suspension" into some type of alignment system and align/tweak as needed prior to sending off to the next step?

Just curious if anyone knows,

CB

 

[zzyzzx]

Not necessarily. Yes based on personal experience.

 

[KGMtech]

Yes. There is no time on the assembly line for major adjustments, but the final dial in is done. If a car made it to final tweaking stage and needed too much to bring into tolerance, the car is put off side for inspection - if a suspension piece is not right, the supplier pays for all downtime costs.

This is when the finger pointing starts.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I have a friend who works for one of those mega dealers than sells every brand under the sun, all brand new. Some brands do better than others. Every GM vehicle has to get on the alignment rack because they're so far out right from the factory. The other brands aren't bad.

 

[skyactiv]

I bet cars made in Germany are.

 

[RamFan]

This is a good question, I’ve never thought of this.

Out of the three new vehicles I’ve owned, one of them was out of alignment right off the lot. Dealership threw it on the rack right away and fixed her up.

 

[Blinker]

Your typical everyday Honda, Chevy, Ford, Toyota, etc? No. All the parts are manufactured within a certain tolerance from the parts suppliers. Some new vehicles may require an alignment but it’s not the rule.

In the world of exotic cars those are all dialed in before they leave the factory.

 

[c502cid]

All five trucks I ever bought new had to be aligned after delivery, 3 GM, 1 Ford, 1 Ram. Dealers always did it under warranty and all three makes blamed it from how it was tied down on the rail car.

 

[tshephard]

I think they do, but that's not the problem.
They then go on a hauler, who does as he's told and ties down the wheels.
Now the suspension is operating in reverse, and seeing forces it is not designed for.

 

[Jetronic]

Don't think that's it, tshepard. As a former hyundai tech I had to replace a bunch of steering racks on Tucson, followed by an alignment. Every one of them had the same rear wheel alignment out.

 

[tshephard]

As did my wife's Hyundai.
What do ya' think?
They don't do it at the factory, or it changes?

 

[GMBoy]

Every vehicle (atleast in GM plants) is aligned at the end of the assembly line but it is just a toe in. The rest of the alignment is dialed in on the assembly line at point of component installation and corrections are made to shims etc throughout the day to make adjustments to frames etc.

 

[diyjake]

Every vehicle (atleast in GM plants) is aligned at the end of the assembly line but it is just a toe in. The rest of the alignment is dialed in on the assembly line at point of component installation and corrections are made to shims etc throughout the day to make adjustments to frames etc.

I sure hope no vehicles that came off the assembly lines have shims installed. If it needs shims from the factory than to me that is a defect.

 

[RAR]

Watch some automotive assembly line videos on YouTube. At the end, they usually drive the new vehicles onto an alignment station and dial in the final settings.

 

[GMBoy]

I sure hope no vehicles that came off the assembly lines have shims installed. If it needs shims from the factory than to me that is a defect.

No it is NOT a defect. They are necessary to compensate for standard deviations of parts. With several parts all having a spec range they will not all meet in the middle all the time. Been like this forever -every car will have shims to adjust....go look at your car now and you'll see.

 

[dishdude]

Every new vehicle I have ever bought has had perfect alignment. Steering wheel straight, no pulling. It's another reason to buy new. Funny thing, I put a deposit on the Jeep in my signature before it arrived at the dealer and didn't drive it until I signed all the paperwork. Leaving the dealer on a side road to the highway, it pulled me hard to the right and I thought I had an alignment problem! I then realized it was the LKA pulling me back into the center of the lane.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Watch some automotive assembly line videos on YouTube. At the end, they usually drive the new vehicles onto an alignment station and dial in the final settings.

Yep, some factory workers are better than others and that's why some come out of the factory within alignment specs and some don't.

 

[Skippy722]

No it is NOT a defect. They are necessary to compensate for standard deviations of parts. With several parts all having a spec range they will not all meet in the middle all the time. Been like this forever -every car will have shims to adjust....go look at your car now and you'll see.

Exactly. Tolerance stack up can really add up. It’s simply not feasible to mass produce everything to +/-0.001”, heck my lathe will drift half that simply sitting 30 minutes over lunch… that being said I get excited when I see +/-0.003” on my prints!

 

[Cujet]

The dealer performed an alignment on my brand new F150 prior to delivery! I test drove the truck and did not notice anything wrong in the way it drove, or the look of the angle of the wheels/tires. Apparently, they had a reason to perform it. I had to wait a day or two for the alignment kit to come in, which was installed. It has performed perfectly for years! Although, 160,000 miles later, I'm noticing a slight bit of wear on the inside edge of the front tires.

Looking back, I'd guess the dealership knew that Ford did not get it perfectly right.

 

[Jetronic]

Every new vehicle I have ever bought has had perfect alignment. Steering wheel straight, no pulling. It's another reason to buy new. Funny thing, I put a deposit on the Jeep in my signature before it arrived at the dealer and didn't drive it until I signed all the paperwork. Leaving the dealer on a side road to the highway, it pulled me hard to the right and I thought I had an alignment problem! I then realized it was the LKA pulling me back into the center of the lane.

steering wheel straigtht and no pulling does not make perfect alignment. The car could be crabbing yet keep it's line and the steering wheel centered.