# Getting Alignment Checked



## GM Kid (Mar 21, 2005)

I've got my Goat at the dealer today for a number of little things, but I'm asking them to do an alignment check while the car's there. All this talk of strut rub and tire wear has me nervous.

When I last had my oil changed, I also had the tires rotated. I mentioned in another thread that the tire that's now on the right rear (formerly on the right front) shows some wear on the inner rib. It may be nothing more than what you'd expect from an independent suspension, but it's the only tire of the four that looks that way.

My service writer and I have a decent working relationship, so I've e-mailed him links to GTO Forum discussions about strut rub and alignment issues people have had. He forwarded them on to the service manager.

One thing bugged me: He told me that having a tech render an _opinion_ is free, but an actual alignment ($99) is only free up to 7,500 miles. I'm just over 10,000. Naturally, I argued that the wear on my tire didn't occur only over the last 3,000 miles--it's a condition that likely came with the car. So we'll see how that goes.

Anyhow, I'll post later when I hear how things are going at the dealer.


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## Kilboy (Mar 17, 2006)

Yeah I got a little freaked myself about this strut rub on our cars. I checked both my fronts last night and so far I am good. Granted I only have 870 miles on my car. 

Does anyone know if this can be corrected or prevented... Or is it something I should just periodically check at every oil change? 

Justin


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## hishep (Aug 10, 2005)

Kilboy said:


> Yeah I got a little freaked myself about this strut rub on our cars. I checked both my fronts last night and so far I am good. Granted I only have 870 miles on my car.
> 
> Does anyone know if this can be corrected or prevented... Or is it something I should just periodically check at every oil change?
> Justin


If you have 17" wheels I would keep checking it. This is not a problem with the 18" wheels.


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## GM Kid (Mar 21, 2005)

Well, looks like it'll be tomorrow at the soonest before I learn anything. In a twist of irony, the dealer happens to be getting a new alignment rack today and it's not installed yet! They got some of the piddly things done that I'd asked about, but no news on the alignment.


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## Roccosrt4 (Mar 26, 2006)

Kilboy said:


> Yeah I got a little freaked myself about this strut rub on our cars. I checked both my fronts last night and so far I am good. Granted I only have 870 miles on my car.
> 
> Does anyone know if this can be corrected or prevented... Or is it something I should just periodically check at every oil change?
> 
> Justin



shoulda got the 18s beeyatch...or you shoulda bought a neon :lol: :rofl: :cool


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## GM Kid (Mar 21, 2005)

I've had a subsequent call from my service writer. Evidently they put my car on a lift, removed the right front wheel and confirmed that I do, indeed, have a little bit of strut rub going on. My guy says there's a TSB (I asked him to get me the number) on this issue. The recommended fix is to "change the camber from a negative five or six to negative one," which ought to take the top of the tire away from the strut. There's no recommended change in toe-in, so that won't change. I asked if the strut was significantly damaged, but it wasn't.

More later.


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## Cottonfarmer (Jul 11, 2005)

My goat has the 17" wheels with 11,000+ miles, no sign of strut rub and tire wear front and rear is normal all across the tread width. 

Got a friend in a neighboring town with an '04 and he had all four tires blow out (yes front and REAR he said- personally I have not seen his goat) over a two week period from uneven tire wear. He has 15,000 miles on his goat and it is driven mostly by his wife. My friend also said that the tread on both front tires were worn to the cord on the inside and the outside tread edge was fine. No specific info on how the wear was on the back tires. Wonder why the back tires wore unevenly like the front tires? That doesn't make sense to me. 

I am suspecting these cars are easily knocked out of alignment from potholes, curbs, etc. and that a religous check on unusual tire wear needs to be made at regular intervals.


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## GM Kid (Mar 21, 2005)

Cottonfarmer said:


> Wonder why the back tires wore unevenly like the front tires? That doesn't make sense to me. I am suspecting these cars are easily knocked out of alignment from potholes, curbs, etc. and that a religous check on unusual tire wear needs to be made at regular intervals.


I'm throwing a few things into the blender in figuring out what's going on. First, the Monaro was never meant to have this much tire. If I remember right, they were originally designed to have 215s. The 17-inch rims are shod with 245s, which pretty much max out the wheel wells. Up front, that fat tire--even when aligned properly--is darned close to the strut, even when the car's sitting still. No telling what happens under compression or in cornering.

Second, these cars are heavy. 3,700 pounds will do a nice job of compressing an independent suspension. If you look down the side of your GTO, you'll see noticeable negative camber (tip-in at the top) on both front and back wheels. Negative camber equals more wear on the inner tread rib. That _could_ be why your friend's rear tires also exhibited such wear, but assuming he's had his tires rotated at least once, I'd bet that a good portion of that wear came when the rear tires were up front.

Third, hard acceleration and cornering (which of course we _never _do in our GTOs) take their toll.

As for the alignment being easily knocked out of whack, I don't know. That certainly could be part of it.


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## MeanGoat (Jan 4, 2006)

Cottonfarmer said:


> ...
> I am suspecting these cars are easily knocked out of alignment from potholes, curbs, etc. and that a religous check on unusual tire wear needs to be made at regular intervals.


I would have to emphatically agree. Each time I drive from Miami to Tampa and back I have to go in for an alignment. Not from hitting potholes or anything, just from the rain slope on the interstate and the wheel being held left to compensate too long. Mentioned it numerous times, I know.


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## GM Kid (Mar 21, 2005)

I picked up my car last night. Walking around it in the dealer's driveway, I noticed right away that the front wheels were more upright--nearly straight up-and-down now. If my eyes don't deceive me, the tops of the wheels may tip in _just_ a bit, but not much. It's obvious that the front wheels now have less negative camber than the rears. Before, the fronts and rears sat nearly the same; now, they're no longer parallel.

On my 18-mile drive to work today, I tried to determine if the change made any difference in handling. Seemed to me that turn-in was a bit less eager, but it wasn't a problem. The car certainly tracked straighter than before.

My service writer told me that my strut rub was very minor--probably intermittent. The part of the strut the tire was contacting was the flange up top--not the tube of the strut itself. That's why my tire wear was on the face of the tread, not the sidewall. Turns out the tires themselves (the one riding up front now and the one in back that used to be up front before a recent rotation) are fine to keep driving on.

My guy also told me that they'd made the same camber adjustment on several other GTOs, some of which had problems worse than mine. Bottom line, anybody with 17-inch rims should have this checked out ASAP. It's an easy enough fix for the dealer to make, seeing as how Pontiac's TSB tells them exactly what to do.


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## QSGTO (Nov 21, 2005)

I am an alignment tech and I totally agree with raising the camber to 0 degrees to prevent strut rub. The pull is actually caused by the cross caster, which is not adjustable without new adjustable strut rod bushings. Cross caster should be adjusted depending on the amount of slope on the roads you normally drive. If your roads have almost no slope, you need -0.10 to -0.30 degrees of cross caster. If they slope a lot, then it should be between -0.50 and -0.70 degrees. However, a pull from improper cross caster adjustment is annoying, but will not cause wear. If the left and right caster is too high, the wheels will lean in/out too far on turns and cause tire wear on the edges. We have relatively high caster already, which allows the vehicle to have a smooth ride and corner extremely well. Mercedes-Benz is a perfect example of this. If you have any further questions, please email me to let me know that you have posted a response.


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## LS2 - Light SpeedX2 (Nov 10, 2005)

I am feeling the same nervousness. I have to take mine in for an oil change next week. I have 27,000 miles on my tires and I have never checked about strut rub. I will check it tonight if I put in my ripshifter. I am getting some new tires here in a couple of weeks or so. Hopefully since they have made it this far they will carry me for a little bit longer.


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## GM Kid (Mar 21, 2005)

LS2 - Light SpeedX2 said:


> I will check it tonight if I put in my ripshifter.


Do it. I'd recommend to anyone with the 17-inch rims that if you're going to have your car up on a lift for any reason--an oil change, tire rotation or whatever--that you check both the front struts and tires for any indication of contact. Better safe than sorry.


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