How bad is my alignment?

[custom]

I have been having a shaking in the VX at around 50+ mph on the highway. The tires are all brand new and inflated to the proper level. I also do not believe that the wheels are bent (virtually positive). I decided to go to my local NTB for an alignment and here is the spec sheet of before and after the alignment (the bolded numbers are the ones that are out of their specified ranges):

Front Left Front Right
Before After Before After
Camber -.5 -.4 .4 .4
Caster 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1
Toe .30 .01 -.15 0.00
SAI 12.7 12.6 11.7 11.7
Included Angle 12.2 12.2 12.1 12.1

Front
Before After
Cross Camber -.8 -.8
Cross Caster -.1 -.1
Total Toe .15 .01

Now I went ahead and did the alignment for $75... but he mentioned that the Cross Camber was what was really to blame, and to fix that he would need shims and about 3hrs (ie pricey). After the alignment the truck runs a bit better on the highway, but I still have a shake above 60mph.

Is my alignment that out of whack?

EDIT - I have enclosed a scan of the print out to make things easier
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2006-4/1174092/VXScan1.jpg

[Chopper]

Has this been hit??

[orion]

Check the ball joints. I've seen this a lot, a little play in one or more can cause it to shake. and too many shops do a poor job of checking for this.

[custom]

Has this been hit??

There is no Carfax accident report on it, and it doesn't look hit.

How far off is the alignment?

[custom]

Check the ball joints. I've seen this a lot, a little play in one or more can cause it to shake. and too many shops do a poor job of checking for this.

What exactly should I be looking for in the ball joints?

[orion]

Put a jack under the lower control arm and lift to about 3 or 4" off the ground( one side at a time). have some one hold the tire at the 12 and 6 oclock position and push/pull back and forth a bunch of times. watch the ball joints and see if they move. their should be no movement at all. if you can't really tell, then have the alignment shop take a closer look just to make sure.

[psychos2]

first thing you should do is make sure the tires are not out of balance. shawn

[deermagnet]

This is a document I got with my VX. So these are my alignment specs, apparently done in the US right before being shipped east to the dealer.

http://www.wtv-zone.com/markg/mag/imag/align.jpg

Is the shake you still have from the steering wheel or from the frame, like underneath you?

Mark Griffin

[custom]

This is a document I got with my VX. So these are my alignment specs, apparently done in the US right before being shipped east to the dealer.

http://www.wtv-zone.com/markg/mag/imag/align.jpg

Is the shake you still have from the steering wheel or from the frame, like underneath you?

Mark Griffin

The shake is coming from the frame, not the steering. I figured it was a simply alignment because the steering wheel was just a bit off center. Now the steering wheel is on center, but it still shakes from the frame.

[VehiGAZ]

Whoa doggies - let's start with the simplest and most likely culprit - tire balance.

A vibration that occurs only at certain speed ranges is generally one of two things - tire balance or a bad CV joint (not an alignment problem). If you feel the vibe in the wheel, it's one of the front tires; if you feel it in the frame (i.e., through your butt), it is probably one of the back tires.

Since you said the tires are new, I suspect them the most. Have them rebalanced by whoever put them on and if that doesn't help, have the CV joints checked out next.

Granted, your alignment may be messed up, but that's probably not the cause the vibration. It may have caused a CV joint to fail, though, or so I have heard.

Good luck!

[psychos2]

Whoa doggies - let's start with the simplest and most likely culprit - tire balance.

A vibration that occurs only at certain speed ranges is generally one of two things - tire balance or a bad CV joint (not an alignment problem). If you feel the vibe in the wheel, it's one of the front tires; if you feel it in the frame (i.e., through your butt), it is probably one of the back tires.

Since you said the tires are new, I suspect them the most. Have them rebalanced by whoever put them on and if that doesn't help, have the CV joints checked out next.

Granted, your alignment may be messed up, but that's probably not the cause the vibration. It may have caused a CV joint to fail, though, or so I have heard.
Good luck!

What he said!!! And what I said earlier!!! shawn

[custom]

Good call! Before I did anything major I took the VX to ANOTHER tire place and had them balance all 4 wheels. Turns out, just as stated, that it was one of the two back wheels. After your post I remembered that when I got the tire put on one of the rear wheels the guy was in a big hurry (they were about to close and had kept me waiting for a long time). I drove the VX around for a test and then drove it home from work - no more vibration! Thanks guys :p


Whoa doggies - let's start with the simplest and most likely culprit - tire balance.

A vibration that occurs only at certain speed ranges is generally one of two things - tire balance or a bad CV joint (not an alignment problem). If you feel the vibe in the wheel, it's one of the front tires; if you feel it in the frame (i.e., through your butt), it is probably one of the back tires.

Since you said the tires are new, I suspect them the most. Have them rebalanced by whoever put them on and if that doesn't help, have the CV joints checked out next.

Granted, your alignment may be messed up, but that's probably not the cause the vibration. It may have caused a CV joint to fail, though, or so I have heard.

Good luck!

[tom4bren]

I guess the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle is hard for VX owners to learn. Or did the BS (Brilliantly Simple) principle apply here?

At least it didn't cost anything more than a few grey hairs.

[Mr.Badguy]

I know what you are talking about with the shaking. above 50mph some things shake in the car. In mine, the passenger seat shakes (if no one is in it). I have had all the wheels rebalanced and it still shakes. The steering wheel is fine at those speeds, doesn't shake, so its something else. I also had my U and CV joints checked and greased when i had my alignment done in June.

sorry i'm not much of a help for the problem.

[VehiGAZ]

No problem - glad you got it sorted out.

There are few symptoms in a vehicle that are almost always one or two possible problems, but a vibration in certain speed ranges is one of them.

Badguy... do you by any chance have Tone's seat rail extenders installed? I put them in mine, and they didn't fit so well, and they eventually stressed the seat frame rails until a weld cracked. The passenger seat had a nasty shake to it at that point, but I had the frame rails replaced (under my extended warranty -suckers!).

[Mr.Badguy]

No problem - glad you got it sorted out.

There are few symptoms in a vehicle that are almost always one or two possible problems, but a vibration in certain speed ranges is one of them.

Badguy... do you by any chance have Tone's seat rail extenders installed? I put them in mine, and they didn't fit so well, and they eventually stressed the seat frame rails until a weld cracked. The passenger seat had a nasty shake to it at that point, but I had the frame rails replaced (under my extended warranty -suckers!).

Hey VehiGAZ,

I do not have the frame rail extenders for the passenger seat. but perhaps there is something wrong with the seat rails anyway. I'll see what i can do with the seat tomorrow, now that there is something i can look for.

thanks!

[tom4bren]

I put the seat rail extenders on mine and haven't noticed any problems. They were a tight fit (so tight that I stripped a bolt trying to get them installed). Once I tapped the hole though and finished the installation, no problem. During the install did you insert all the mounting bolts loosly and then tighten them all after everything was in place? That should have kept you from getting any stress fractures.

[VehiGAZ]

It didn't. It was just a very difficult fit - I think it was the backs of the rails that needed to be pushed laterally to get the bolts in, and that was after shaving some metal. After I put them in, no one ever got back there, and my wife hated the new seating positition - too far forward and too high.