At best, at least the alignment shop can give you the numbers you need to know, THEN go find an old school shop that can fix the numbers properly.

 

Assuming they know well enough to check for wear etc before giving you the numbers. If they don't know what an eccentric is or how to adjust one then if you were having a slipping eccentric they'd never know. They'd just give you alignment numbers which could be bogus.

You'd be amazed. Mose new cars are "not alignable" in that the alignment is built/designed into the suspension. It's either correct or it's not. If it's not, that's an indication of broken/worn parts. You usually have to get aftermarket parts or modify existing components to align them.

As a result most modern alignment techs have never seen nor worked on something that has actual components that can be aligned. They've never messed with strut rods, eccentrics etc. And since the new cars are idiot proof, there's no need to teach them what alignment characteristics do to a car.

 

Well I finally got a chance to work on my car this weekend and figure out what was going on with the alignment issue. If you look at the picture below you'll see that i some how managed to crack the frame right underneath the radiator support. This finally explains why the wheels looked like they were tucked into the body and most inportantly, where that loud "Pop" sound came from when I was driving it. I'm not even sure if the car is salvageable at this point and I'm not sure what I can do...this really sucks!!!

 

 

[IMG][/IMG]

 

it can be fixed...by yourself a mig welder and fix it yourself

 

Holy chit man!!

You would think that the shop would have noticed that and told you, no?

 

oxfordbp, I didn't get a chance to take it the alignment shop. I was trying to temporary get the toe angles aligned good enough so I could drive it there but, the car kept pulling to the right, and I know now why.

 

I gotcha.

Well at least you know now. Whats your plan of attack?

 

Wow. I'm trying to imagine why that would break right there. It's hard to say from the picture, but the break looks dirty or corroded, which indicates its been there awhile.

Please let us know what kind of response you get from a frame shop or other good mechanic. This appears to be an unusual event, to say the least.