grunner58

2004 LS430
I replaced upper/lower control arms, tie rod ends, Lower control arm bushings, and ball joints, This obviously threw the car widely out of alignment resulting in a trip to my local Goodyear Dealer who has 1 year old Hunter equipment and a $49.00 coupon.

Here is the alignment (Before column)when I first showed up (way out of spec) and the "After" column once Goodyear corrected (After) it:


So the Right rear Camber was out of spec and the Goodyear Tech told me to replace this arm:
RR Lateral Arm - Right 446.5 mm: 4874050040 which I did at a cost of $160 and I installed it myself.

Promptly returned to Goodyear and they redid the test:



You will note the "Actual" of the 1st photo does not match the "Before" of the 2nd photo meaning that their equipment was giving fairly wide variations from day to day. I doubt replacing the one rear arm would affect the frontend that much. In addition the "new arm" did nothing for the out of spec camber.

So the steering wheel now sat about 11:00 vs Top dead center and the car pulled to the right. So back to Goodyear for a 3rd attempt: The Tech did not provide a copy of the alignment and simply handed me the keys. Well, very little had changed, so over to the Lexus Dealer who reported this in their "BEFORE section" which is the last (3rd) attempt by Goodyear:



The left rear "toe" was way off and the steering wheel was still off center. In addition, I wasted $160 on the rear lateral arm as Lexus could not bring it into spec either. However, the play in the joint on that arm was much looser than on the new one but it didn't need to be replaced.

Here is the FINAL LEXUS alignment report:



Took that back to Goodyear which promptly refunded my money when they saw the results from Lexus.

Goodyear $49 for their alignment which they never were able to set correctly.
Lexus Dealer was $79 and included the car wash/vacuum, lounge area and a perfectly centered vehicle.
The Lesson? Stick with the dealer on your alignment!

lexman52

The first thing they should is lineup the steering wheel before they even start the alignment. If they can't do that i see why they don't know how to do it wright

BradTank

I would avoid those chain type places for alignments like Sears, Firestone, Midas, Goodyear, etc. I normally avoid dealerships but it's only like $30 more to get an alignment at a Lexus dealership. My time not coming back with it makes it worthwhile.

I just know I have fought with places like that too many times when it comes to alignment, they get the absolute bottom of the barrel people working there that will hand your car back worse than when you brought it in. A dealership is overpriced but usually they at least have better quality control and have top of the line equipment and training.

Sometimes you can find someone that has some pride in their work, but most of those places are shady.

grunner58

Indeed! What a mess at Goodyear! But they told me they had 1 year old Hunter equipment and their Tech was 50+ years of age so I figured they could do it and save me a few bucks. I think that Tech needs to be fired as he had THREE chances to get it right and couldn't. Cost me $160 on that right-rear-lateral arm that simply made no difference. But I will say there were a couple of guys on this forum that warned me about this whole episode beforehand but I didn't take their advice. I paid for it!

Tom57

You were warned in your other thread before you did all of this. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ml#post9300717

Some people only learn by doing.

grunner58

Yes, Tom, you are correct, as you had warned me. "Live and learn" and suck it up.

takimanpgt

I think the right side needs a bit more negative camber.

Did you happen to speak to the Lexus tech about suspension wear? How old is your suspension on the car - and I mean shocks/struts/mounts/etc.

tradosauru

Ummmm...I believe grunner already admitted to this fact in his first post. It must be nice that you never make mistakes.

warminwisc

My LS had pulling like 15K after I got it with 62k on it. My Yota dealer told me alignment was good it was prolly a bad MXV4 but no I went to a good frame shop who concurred the alignment was spot on. Live and learn so don't feel bad. New Michelins cured the problem. The dealer does alot of complicated work like frame replacements, front end removal t chain replacements and usually a couple pretty talented guys work there. State of art equipment helps.

Side note alignments on this car lasta a long time, tire wear is always even keeled

warminwisc

Learn by doing, learn the hard way is better than learning to late or not learning. Like when yur t chain goes from poor oil history on a Sienna and the whole front end comes off,

or you get sick like so many men who never go to doctors. Don't let that become one of us thats the true neglect you can't just pay yur way out of.

Tom57

For the record, his post hit the CL server 11 minutes before mine and did not appear (refresh) on my screen (iPhone) at the time I posted.

However, he did not "admit to this fact in his first post." Read first post (# 1) above. Instead, he abandoned his first thread where he initially sought advice, got it, then didn't follow it, and then started this new thread. His initial thread should be merged by the Mods with this, his 2nd thread regarding the exact same issue.

You're quick to cite an age-old phrase which doesn't really apply here. We all make mistakes, but when I seek and get advice, I don't simply ignore it. It's a waste of CL members' time trying to help a fellow CL member when they choose to ignore competent advice.

grunner58

Rear suspension is OEM on a 2004 with 135k miles. Never been touched before I replaced the RR lateral arm. The Tech at Lexus said not to worry about the slight out-of-spec alignment issue. Bugs me, but I already put $160 into the lateral arm and it changed it but 2/10ths so I'm a little leery of doing much more.

The KYB struts LOOK fine but I haven't pulled them to check. From what I read, they seem to be good for more than 135k. The lateral arm that I replaced was certainly "looser" at the ball joint than the new one but I guess all of these joints would be. The front was almost 100% rebuilt and it certainly feels so much tighter than before. Probably, pretty close to what it was new.

grunner58

Ouch! You're a grouchy old fella! The reason I started this post was the issue of dealer vs Indy on a 4-wheel alignment. Replacing the RR lateral arm will be of little interest to most, but the alignment issue will appeal to many and the reason I started it.

1A1

That's what happens when you take your car to a discount place like Goodyear and pay $49.00 for an alignment. Think about that. Either they pay the guy doing the alignment $10/hour or they are losing money on the alignment. I would take it to a reputable place like a shop that specializes in setting up race cars for an alignment or the dealership. Sure, it will end up costing you more in the long run, but at least you'll know it is done properly. Your car will also handle much better too and you'll save time vs having to take it to Goodyear multiple times. THese places pretty much don't have a clue.

Steve K.

grunner58

Indeed! They had 1 year old Hunter laser equipment so I figured they could get it done. Nope! They were pushing a power steering flush on just about every young female who came in. I was disappointed that sort of practice goes on.