Ford - Taurus :: 2000 - Wheel Alignment / Changing Struts
Sep 24, 2015
My 2000 ford Taurus which has 120,543 miles needs an outer tie rod end. I went to sts for an oil change and asked them about an alignment after I did the tie rod and they told me I need to change my struts. If I only change the front struts could I get an alignment or am I going to need to change the rear also? Also, i know I have to get new tires in the front because they are getting bad from the alignment being off so I would have to get tires also.
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2004 Ford Taurus - transmission was going out last Aug - had it rebuilt (new seals and torque converter) got it back steering wheel was slightly off (1/2 inch) of being the center when driving straight. Took a while to get it back to the shop - life happens - took back today - said they did everything they could and really needs an alignment which they do not do - drove it home after hanging out at the shop for 5 hours. The steering wheel is now off 2 inches from center and the car is pulling noticeably to the right. Going back tomorrow - but they are saying that it was not them and that I need to pay for an alignment.
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As the weather has been getting warmer lately, I'm about to change over to my summer wheels and tires. First, I'm just wondering when most people who use winter tires on this forum make the change.
On my previous cars, I've just changed over in the fall and spring by myself unless I needed a wheel balance or alignment. With the harsh winter and roads we've had this year, I'm thinking maybe I've hit too many potholes, since I'm noticing a vibration at 140kph (87mph). I got the current OEM rims and winter tires new last October and had them balanced before installing them on the car and I hadn't noticed anything until about 2 weeks ago. The issue did not suddenly show up after hitting a pot hole, but just started happening and becoming a bit more noticeable recently. The weird part is that it seems to be happening only at that specific speed when accelerating, which makes me wonder if its the wheels out of balance or engine/turbo vibrating under load. As you can imagine, if you let off the acceleration at high speeds, the car slows down slowly and the vibration goes away. So it's hard for me to say what the problem is.
When I switch over to the summer wheels and tires, I'm thinking of just changing them myself to see if the same vibration still occurs at the same speed and then deciding on whether to get them balanced or not.
A related issue, which I think some others have posted about on this site has been the wheel alignment. In the last 3 or 4 months, I've noticed that the car has a slight pull to the left under no steering input, so I may have to do an alignment soon.
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I would like to upgrade my rims, from originally 18 inch Champion to the Omanyt, but I once heard that it is necessary to change the wheel alignment (german: spur and sturz) if you want to use the 19 inch VW Omanyt (ET40 255/40 R19) rims on Phaetons that were shipped with 18 inch wheels. Is this correct?
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My car is a 2000 Corolla CE.
If I replace the rear sway bar end links, do I need to get an alignment? (I just got an alignment 2 days ago). Here is a DIY on replacing the rear sway bar end links: [URL]
The top attaches to the strut.....what is the bar the other end attaches to?
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I have a 2000 Corolla CE with 48k miles. When braking hard, the pedal vibrates and the brake performance was not that good. So I had the mechanic replace the front calipers (L&R), both brake pads on front, and rear drums.
After that, when braking, the pedal vibrates...but not that much. So I had the mechanic replace the front rotors (L&R). Now, when braking, the performance is good and it does not vibrate.
However, if I brake really hard...there is a little bit of pedal vibration AND shaking steering wheel. My car also needs an alignment since it pulls to the left (will get one on Friday).
Do you think the shaking steering wheel and the slight pedal vibration is due to the alignment or maybe the rear rotors need to be replaced? When traveling at 70mpg, sometimes the steering wheel slightly (very slightly) shakes....my guess this the tires need to be balance/alignment.
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I have a new Corolla and live in a city with really bad roads. My other vehicles I've had before this one have all taken a real sh#@ kicking and abuse as a result of the roads. I'm wondering if changing out the shocks and struts before they get too worn is good preventative maintenance to protect the overall integrity of the car? If this is something I should do, how many kilometres on the shocks / struts should I have before change out?
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What additional parts should I be replacing when I do this? Spring seats, bump stops, etc?
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How often do I need to get new shocks and struts - I've been told mine are weak Car is 10 yrs old with 165,000 mi.
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Changed the struts on my 2004 passat and the back end still fishtails when hitting bumps! And when the roads are wet the back end slides! So if the struts were changed what could be causing this?
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I've had two control arm bolts broken in the last year (resulting in the arms being replaced) during my '3 year alignment' program.
The bolts have been broken and then I get a call and a bill for the new control arm and labor.
Is it that common to break the control arm bolts when aligning the wheels? I do live in Michigan where salt is used on the roads.
There are some other things that seem have not inspired my trust (billing mistakes and not torquing the rear wheel after replacing the arm and letting me drive home) ...But, I want to be fair and if this/these are regular occurrences I'll go back and work with the shop.
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I have a 1998 Lexus GS300 with 178,000 miles. I feel a shimmy in the steering wheel at about 60-65 MPH. I don't feel it at slower or faster speeds than the 60-65 MPH range. It also seems it's worse at the beginning of a drive and improves with time, but never really goes away. It has been going on for a few years.
I thought a when I bought new tires few months ago and had them balanced and aligned that the shimmy would go away. It did improve, but it didn't go away completely. My mechanic said to put 500 miles on the car to break in the tires then bring it back in to re-balance them. That didn't work.
He said that it could be the struts, but that they aren't leaking. I plan to keep this car for another 60,000 miles. Have the struts gone bad? Does it need to be replaced? Is it safe to drive if I don't replace them? Any consequences if I don't replace them? Is it worth it?
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I have an 02 Jetta with the 2.0 that I have been trying to resurrect. We've owned it from new and it's been a great commuting car but it was in desperate need for some TLC. The car has been very reliable for 250k-km and I want to make it last at least another 3 years. So, rather than sell the car for nothing - I've decided to invest some time in swapping parts in from a scrapped GLI w/24v VR6 (with ~130k km) that I picked up for $500. I figure that I'll never feel the pain of depreciation by just never selling the car!
I've already used the GLI to do some cosmetic upgrades (goodbye foggy head lights), replaced a rusted fender and a rock battered hood, a broken side view mirror - as well as do a full leather interior swap. The engine is destined for my Eurovan -- which has left me wondering what other parts I could use off the car before sending it to the wrecker.
So basically -- my 2.0 needs a wheel bearing and the stock suspension has been creaking and noisy for a long time. I see that the brakes and wheel bearing housings are different between 2.0 and VR6 -- but I'm thinking of swapping it all over at once and want to know if this is plausible. The brakes are definitely bigger (FN3 style) with nice factory painted calipers and just in better condition overall -- so I know I need the wheel bearing housing. So- is it possible to swap the entire strut out with the wheel bearing housing and all still attached? Seems this might be less work and faster than actually swapping out the just the wheel bearings.
Will the axles from the 2.0 still work?
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Lexus: GX 470 2003
I went to go get a wheel alignment (when driving my car starts drifting to the left hard/ also when my hands aren't on wheel) and they discovered that my front left tie rod is wobbly (also said lower ball joint is suspect). I was told they couldn't perform a complete wheel alignment until fixing the front left tie rod first.
Overall to fix/part/wheel alignment, the quote is
Labor: 223.97
Parts: 71.13 (I seen online for about 50 dollars cheaper??)
ENVIRO/DISPO: 23.61
Sales Tax: 5.68
Total: 324.39 (After 40.00 coupon)
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2nd time for alignment in two weeks. My numbers were WAY different than when I left. Rear toe is out, it was out when I left the first time, but it's out in the opposite direction now. Are those four bolts stretch bolts? Maybe my bushings are shot which are causing the varied numbers??
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When I took my 4WD Highlander Hybrid in for an alignment, they said there was a problem that kept them from aligning one wheel. Assuming they did the other 3, can the one remaining wheel be aligned when the wheel is fixed? Or do they all have to be redone?
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I started noticing a problem with my steering on my 2000 Excursion, a couple of days ago. when I make left or right turn, the wheels seem to want to continue in the direction of the turn even as I am straightening up the steering wheel. I have to over compensate on the steering wheel to straighten the wheels it seems. It does it when I make a left or right turn, but seems to be worse when turning left. Also I noticed that if I'm driving on pavement that has ruts from heavy traffic, the front end seems to pull to one side then the other.
I've had the truck for 7 years and this is the first time this has happened to it. Is it an alignment problem or is there something else that I need to consider? I jacked it up today to check the tie rods and drag link, everything seemed ok
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Met with my dealer today to discuss my alignment problems and take a test drive. My car drifts seriously to the right when I take my hand off the wheel. I basically have to countersteer the car down the road.
I took a test drive with their alignment tech, a really nice guy who seems to know his stuff, and he concluded it's a 'drift' not a 'pull' and that the car is within spec now. The only thing they can do is move it slightly more left or do a 'custom alignment', which means they would align it left outside of spec to offset the drift. However, if they do this, they don't warrant tire wear, etc. While I'm never in favor of a band aid fix like this, I'm inclined to try it before I give up and sell the truck. I think it's something more than just the alignment.
Needed to do this, i.e., align the car out of spec slightly left to get it to track straight? Based on his markings, I can see where I am in spec, but I also know what the car's doing and it's pulling right. I'm not imagining it and I've never had this problem with another vehicle. I showed him over and over how it drifts hard right and said this is not normal, but they go back to the spec sheet. As an aside, they told me they have done 50 Treg alignments so far. 50! On a two year old model. That's ridiculous.
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After installing drive gear springs i had a wheel alignment done. Since then the steering wheel is not level even thought the car goes straight it is slightly off. i brought it back 3 times and every time they did the alignment the steering wheel is off either the left of the right. i made an appointment to have it done at the dealer but cant figure out why they cant get it right.
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And I have coil overs, I'm not super low but pretty low and every time I get my alignment done they say they can't so anything about the rear having so much negative camber. And it is really eating up the inside sidewalls of my tires like crazy.
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I took my Passat to a VW dealer this weekend for an alignment. I could tell the car was pulling slightly to the right. Later that day, I received a call from the dealer that sub-frame needed to be replaced because they could not align the car. I asked if the sub-frame or any other component was bent because I don't recall hitting anything hitting anything could cause this kind of damage.
The dealer said that there was nothing bent but he could not align the car and I need to replace the sub-frame. I told him I just wanted to pick up the car and take it to another shop. I then received a call half hour later that the front right wheel was pushed back further than the left one and they will try to adjust it. I am not sure what is normally involved in VW alignment but I believe that I am getting poor advice from this dealer. Likewise, I am not sure if some inexperience weekend mechanic who did not know a lot of alignments and just wanted to throw parts at the car?
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