wheel alignment balancing etc...

[Mr Angry]

hi there!

yet again i have to say that after so many frustrating times.... "ive never met a decent mechanic or garage and the more reputable garages!" as the saying goes..."at least dick turpin wore a mask!" anyhoos ill get to the point. 2 weeks ago i got my front wheels balanced after i got a puncture on the front drivers side. having noticed that the passenger left was worn at one side i swaped that after i got the spare fixed! i was told that i would need to get a wheel alignment done as it had worn one side down pretty badly! (passenger left only)so i took it to my local reputable garage in scotland called mcconechy's. having done the wheel alignment at a cost of £20 i thought that was reasonable only to find out later when driving my steering wheel was off center and my steering shuddering in a small left to right motion and not to forget pulling at one side! can u advise me on how this can happen after getting all the right things supposidly fixed? i dont want to be fobbed off by some story from these garages, cos ive had it up to here with them.
very much appreciated (hence the name MR ANGRY GRRRRRRR!).

[Tallyman]

Most ordinary garages/tyre fitters don't have the right equipment to work on 4x4s as the system they use is set up for the wheels on standard cars. Also, Surf's are notorious for having the adjusting rods rust solid. I'd either take it back and complain, especially since it's worse than when it went in, or find a local truck or 4x4 tyre place as they are more likely to get it right. They could also have used the wrong settings. If yours is a 2nd Gen Surf, tell them to use the setting for the UK spec 4Runner which is the same.

[iggypop]

Sticky for Good / Bad Garages?

Anyone else think it might be a good idea to have a "sticky" where everyone can post names of good / bad garages in their area? Name and shame / praise mechanics/garages.
Everyone could put their county in the title to assist searches.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Ahem!......

http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/forums/fo...c&daysprune=-1

[TonyN]

Ahem!......

Chuckle.

[Gizmo]

hi there!

yet again i have to say that after so many frustrating times.... "ive never met a decent mechanic or garage and the more reputable garages!" as the saying goes..."at least dick turpin wore a mask!" anyhoos ill get to the point. 2 weeks ago i got my front wheels balanced after i got a puncture on the front drivers side. having noticed that the passenger left was worn at one side i swaped that after i got the spare fixed! i was told that i would need to get a wheel alignment done as it had worn one side down pretty badly! (passenger left only)so i took it to my local reputable garage in scotland called mcconechy's. having done the wheel alignment at a cost of £20 i thought that was reasonable only to find out later when driving my steering wheel was off center and my steering shuddering in a small left to right motion and not to forget pulling at one side! can u advise me on how this can happen after getting all the right things supposidly fixed? i dont want to be fobbed off by some story from these garages, cos ive had it up to here with them.
very much appreciated (hence the name MR ANGRY GRRRRRRR!).

Could be your steering components....I was getting a slight wobble and pull to left on braking after MOT failed found that the Ideler/Pitman arms and Tie Rods Inner and Outer needed replacing [due to ball joint wear and tear].

Had car rebalanced and its back to like I first bought it! Even better the Toyota Emblem on the Steering wheel is now running horizontal


Also, were the wheels balanced on the vehicle or off the vehicle...if on the vehicle and you swap tyres round this could create issues as the tyre has been balanced etc to that one area.

[Mr Angry]

wheel alignment

hi there

after reading ur replys on this thread...i did go back to the garage and they set up the laser alignment and showed me that it was bang on! however, they did say i mite have a buckle in the wheel, which i dont!, thought they were just tryin to fob me off with another story...they did mention a big metal rod thing where the steering column was but didnt go into detail or say if anything was wrong with it. all i no that i didnt have this problem when i went in and now im left with an off center steering wheel and left to right wobble when driving. i will say that this shuddering from left to right thing only happens in bursts and is not a constant shudder. happens every 15 - 20 secs.
kind regards and many thanks mr angry grrrrrrrrrr

[TonyN]

I'd take it somewhere else for a second opinion. Sound like there is something wrong with their gear.

or.....

you may find that setting it correctly has put different stresses on the steering components, and now that its running true, looseness in one of the balljoints or bushes is showing up.

Are you sure you have 2 good tyres on the front now, alot of the time stuff like this is the tyres wearing out.

[Gamedawn]

The first time I had a laser alignment done the steering wheel pointed off (and pulled) to one side. The guys at the tracking station had told me it wouldn't all come together until I had some good tyres on the front so I swapped front to back and hey-presto everything came straight