Just looked through the Ford Scheduled Maintanence Guide and, unless I'm missing something, it doesn't mention when to check or perform wheel alignment. So how often should this be done assuming normal driving conditions?

 

Good question, I rotate and balance every 6000 miles but never looked for the alignment info.

 

From what the dealer told me on my last Mustang (95) just do alignments when somethings not right. Pulling to a side, tire wear etc. On the 05+ they don't have acamber adjustment just caster anyway.

 

This is a good question. I took mine in for a rotation and asked that very question and the tech said that under normal driving conditions every 30,000 miles. Also, if you have any suspension work you'll want to have an alignment. I just put some lowering springs on and had an alignment. A word of caution, they charged me 30.00 extra for this alignment i guess because of the springs. Hope this helps.

 

Seems like most places will check your alignment for free when you have your tires rotated, but everyone knows how that can go sometimes. I think it is fairly noticeable when the front end needs alignment. If you don't notice the pulling, you will definitely notice it sooner or later on the tire wear pattern.

 

When you take delivery, lol.
Mine was off from the factory a tad. Toe and go!

Some good replys here.

 

Hope I can help. I am a service advisor for Toyota, but I have worked for several manufactures, including ford. Their is no set time to do an alignment. It should be done if you feel the car starting to pull left or right or uneven tire wear is occuring. If you live where their are a lot of pot holes, norther climates,cities etc. You may want to have it checked more frequently, every season is a good idea. Also, you can have an aligment done today, and on the way home, hit a big pot hole and knock it back out again.
Hope this helps.
Thurman.

 

I think the whole "wait 'till you notice tire wear, etc" thing is strange. If scheduled maintanence is in place prevent problems, why is it that for wheel alignment I should wait until there is a problem until I fix it?

 

richmod, it is kind of like brakes. You have no set time to replace them, but eventually you will need them. Also, if you take your car to a dealer or shop for scheduled service, they will always look at your tire wear and let you know.

 

But brakes AREchecked at regular intervals to prevent secondary problems (brake failure, rotor damage, etc.) Checking the wheel alignment at regular intervals could PREVENT uneven tire wear. Uneven tire wear can cause increased road noise, vibration, etc, and tires aint cheap. Why should I wait until they're messed up? I think wheel alignment should be checked as part of regular mainrenance, jusr as brakes are.