I am hoping to replace all four struts in the near future, thanks to Lexmex's very helpful DIY thread. On some vehicles, the alignment is not affected when the shocks/struts are replaced. On other vehicles, everything changes. What's the case with the RX300?

Haynes and Chilton recommend marking where the pieces go together to aid in preserving alignment specs on reassembly. Is this adequate, or should a 4-wheel alignment be done as a precaution?

Thanks!

 

If you are replacing with the same (same as the one that are being removed and not same all around) and the vehicle had good alignment when new were put in, then you can skip alignment.

If you have expensive tires and dont want to risk it, then go ahead and get an alignment checked. You have already used the key word 'precaution'.

Salim

 

I would get the alignment checked as a "precaution". I know I did the struts all around on my friends car, (my first time before i do mine), and we did as chilton and hayes state. And we got the alignment checked at Sears Auto, and the alignment was perfect they stated and we weren't charged anything.

 

I appreciate the info, both of you.

Salim, do you mean if I switch to 4 KYB's it may change the alignment specs?

John, I like the idea of practicing on a friend's car first!!

 

If the old were KYB and the alignment was good and the new ones are KYB then most likely the alignment would remain good. Further clarification ,,,, it in not just the make, the part number of old and new need to be the same.

If the new ones, alter the height/stance then you should have the alignment checked/verified.

Salim

 

I used to do alignments in the course of my work. The RX300 has no caster or camber adjustment in the front, only toe adjustment. I don't know about the rear, but if there's none in front, I'm betting there is none in the rear either. There are a lot of cars in the last 20 years or so that have no caster or camber adj. If your tires don't show any toe wear, you're simply throwing your money away, as there is no way to adjust, if it did show that it was off a little. I have found that baring collision damage, those cars that have no adjustment, generally don't need any IF YOU WERE ABLE TO. Just as the one poster said, when he had it checked at Sears, it was perfect, so they didn't even charge him for it. The only difference, I have found, is that most shops will charge you for an alignment (even 4 wheel), and not tell you that the only thing they can adjust is toe. You paid for an alignment that they couldn't even do if they found something not quite right. A total Rip-Off. I hate to even admit this, but I had NOTHING to do with it. I worked in a dealership MANY years ago that had good writers that sold a lot of people on alignments. The front end alignment guy was an alcoholic (functioning) who would give the cars what he called "the sunshine treatment". When he was given a car for alignment, he would look at the tires and make sure there was no unusual wear, take it for a ride down the side street by the dealership and take his hands off the wheel and if it drove straight, He "flagged it" (since he was on commission, at that time 50%) and parked the car as finished, without ever putting it on the alignment rack. He made a lot of money, but he stole most of it. The people that charge you today for a 4 wheel alignment, knowing there is virtually nothing adjustable even if it were out a little, are not much better. But at least you got it on the rack for your money, whatever that counts for!

 

Yes, definitely need alignment.
I changed all corners with the oem structs and it drove fine but I was not comfortable with it so we checked the alignment and learned that it was pushing on all sides.

 

Shims (addition and removal) can adjust the camber. That is how you make any change to the rear.

A while back we had a long discussion on caster being adjustable or not and one member found eccentric bolts for this. To me the caster adjustment should only be needed if there is a frame damage.

Salim

 

My AWD alignment changed not one bit after going to KYB and aftermarket upper mounts. My only issue was a tie rod that got moved, for a crooked steering wheel.

 

Are you sure it's not "camber" eccentric bolts for camber adjustment, Salim? At that time I checked to see if they had aftermarket bolt kits for them and I found camber bolts but it would be very difficult to adjust caster on the RX, since it would involve removing fittings mounted in rubber. (I would love to know how they ever get those fittings in that rubber in the manufacturing process.)

 

Clevercat- when I took my DIL's RX back to have a tire balanced that was not right, The manager of the tire shop said something quietly to the service tech. I had had the tires installed about 6k mi. before that. OE Bridgestone Duelers, I believe. While the manager and I talked, unbeknowst to me, the tech was checking the alignment. When he was done balancing the 1 tire I asked them to balance, he came in with the printout of the 4 wheel alignment check. They showed me how the car would dog-track and how the tires NEEDED the alignment. I said my son would have to deal with it. I installed the tires at 97k mi. and the RX now has 133k mi. I have driven that vehicle many, many times (I'm the 1 that does all the work on it) and for 36k mi. that car has gone dead straight down the road and the tires have worn completely evenly on all 4 wheels. The tires get cross switched about every 7k mi. or so. I have aligned literally hundreds of vehicles of all makes, and it's your money, spend it as you wish, I have no argument with that, but a lot of people spend the money for an alignment because it makes them feel better, when nothing was changed because it didn't need to be. If you think that alignment people put the alignment in the center of the specks, think again. As long as it is WITHIN the specks, if even at the very edge of specks, I can guarantee you it's not likely to get changed, EVEN if it can be changed, which often it can't because there's no adjustment. I didn't do my alignments that way, but we started doing them inhouse because of the terrible results from several REPUTABLE alignment shops. Refer to my earlier post.

 

same here^^^ I never even heard of not checking the alignment after strut removal/replacement.

 

I can understand because the cost of many alignments (at least in the U.S.) is high, $50+, usually approaching $100 with a Hunter machine (one that can do AWD vehicles for rear alignment). Right now, most of us have to keep $$$ under control. Still, keep in mind that one can test the vehicle after they have driven it out of the shop and BEFORE any alignment is done to see if anything feels off.

I'd still, given that shock/strut replacements are usually a once in the life of a vehicle thing, get an alignment at that point in time.

BTW, many of you remember that in Mexico I could get an AWD alignment on a Hunter machine for under $20 USD, because alignments were a common thing that were done given the road conditions.

 

because alignments were a common thing that were done given the road conditions.

Yeah I can understand that.I must live in Pennsa-Mexico here then.....

 

Lexus- Strut R&R in fact changes nothing. There are NO adjustments to be lost any more than there are adjustments to the water pump being lost when you change the water pump. I am aware that people want to feel good about their cars. Refer to my post about the FEA guy in the dealership I worked in many years ago. I will almost guarantee you that some of those people who got the "sunshine treatment" and payed for an alignment would SWEAR that their car drove better than it did before they brought it in. Did it? The story is as real as a heart attack. The difference is, then, most of the cars had plenty of alignment adjustments available. Today, you don't have even a fraction of the adjustments even available that you did then. Read the response that I am about to post to Salim.