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alignment help (long) Posted by TML [Email]  (#2212)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from TML) on Sun, 12 Sep 2010 04:53:51
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Background: I bought my '97 9k Aero in 2004. It was in an accident a few years before, and was issued a rebuilt title in Florida and re-registered. It was later sold to another guy in Vermont, where it was registered again. I bought the car and imported it to Alberta, where I registered it without problem. Now, 6 years later I've moved to Ontario, and there's huge problems. I've discovered this province is all about bureaucracy. The car has passed the emissions test, and the road safety test. When I went to register it, I discovered I can't because it has a rebuilt title. It's not good enough for them that it was inspected in order to get that title in the first place, and they require it have a structural safety inspection. When I finally tracked down a place that could perform said inspection, they told me I needed the pictures of the accident, the accident report, and a certificate of a four wheel alignment showing that it meets all specs. After talking to two different shops, and multiple different people I finally managed to convince someone that I didn't need the accident report and pictures because the accident occurred in another country, two owners ago and has been legally registered three times since then. Here's the latest problem; it doesn't pass the alignment performed at the Saab dealership. The master tech there says it's close enough that it's fine to drive and that 8 of 10 cars with solid rear axles they test won't actually pass, however according to the piece of paper, it fails and the shop that has to do the structural check won't even perform it unless the piece of paper says pass. This is extremely frustrating, knowing that so many cars on the road won't pass this check, but only my car has to because of a single word on the car registration. I also question whether it's even possible to accurately measure angles within tenths and hundredths of degrees on a car suspension in an auto repair shop. I am in the business of calibration, and when I questioned them on their understanding of measurement uncertainty, I was not impressed with their responses. First of all they didn't seem to even be aware of the existence of measurement uncertainty, let alone the uncertainty of their instrument and method. I'm pretty sure it's never been calibrated since it left the factory. They also confused the principles of sensitivity and accuracy. They thought it was a good thing that the readings on their machine changed when a draft blew through the shop, and indicated their measurements were accurate when in fact, the exact opposite is true.
Anyway, to the point... here are the readings (limits in brackets):
Front Camber
L 0.1 R -0.5
(-0.2 to -1.2)
Front Caster
L 1.7 R 1.8
(1.2 to 2.2)
Front Toe
L 0.09 R 0.13
(0.04-0.17)
Front Total Toe
0.22
(0.07-0.34)
Steer Ahead
-0.02
(-0.05 to 0.05)
Rear Camber
L -0.3 R -1.0
(-0.3 to -0.8)
Rear Toe
L 0.31 R 0.05
(0.07 to 0.28)
Rear Total Toe
0.35
(0.14 to 0.56)
Thrust Angle
0.12
(no spec shown)
What are the chances that the rear will come into spec if I replace the rear axle (with used)?
The front failure on camber is annoying, because I know a camber adjustment kit was installed the last time I had the alignment done a few years ago. The tech seems to think there isn't one on there, because "there's no evidence anything's been ground and the bolt replaced". From what I found on the internet about the kit, it doesn't require grinding, and after 4 years the bolt is going to look the same as any other bolt on the car.
Any advice would be appreciated.
posted by 99.248.17...
, Sun, 12 Sep 2010 04:53:51 <-- Viewing This Message, Thu, 16 Sep 2010 05:14:57
, Thu, 16 Sep 2010 09:41:40, Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:31:08, Thu, 16 Sep 2010 05:16:50
, Thu, 16 Sep 2010 08:33:25, Thu, 16 Sep 2010 11:28:02, Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:14:24, Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:57:50, Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:48:29, Mon, 13 Sep 2010 19:23:06, Sun, 12 Sep 2010 16:17:40, Sun, 12 Sep 2010 16:23:54
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