Goodguys Preparation - Strut Rods & Alignment

In 2009 after rebuilding the front suspension, I took my car in for an alignment at Pilger's tire.  The undercarriage looked immaculate and I told the shop to be especially careful as everything was new.  Everything seemed great until I crawled under the car when I made it home.  I then noticed the round aluminum sleeves on my strut rods were adjusted using a set of vice grips.  The vice grips were clamped on tight digging into the aluminum and then ripped up the surface as the turned them.  To say I was upset was an understatement.

In the years since, I planned to replace the sleeves with a better design so they could be adjusted without being damaged.  Since I've not had an alignment since performing the Shelby drop, I decided now was a good time.  I purchased AllStar 5/8" suspension hex tube (#AAF-ALL56609) from Summit which is 9" long.  The original sleeve was 10" but I decided to go with 9" as there was only about 3/16" of adjustment possible at either end of the old sleeve.  However, as I assembled them, I realized the 9" only allowed for 1/2" of thread engagement (assuming the same overall length from the last alignment).

I decided to order a 10" piece of the hex as I would rather be a little limited in the flexibility than not have enough thread engagement and worry about it not holding up to hard use.  I ordered the 10" length (# #AAF-ALL56610) and they arrived last night.  I found they were about 1/8" shorter than the original sleeve and I was able to remove a 1/8" washer which gave me some extra adjustment room.  I finished installing them about 8 o'clock last night.  

This morning I went to Rodriguez Alignment to have an alignment performed.  The shop adjusted the car, drove it, adjusted, drove it, and finished it up in about 30 minutes.  I did not get a printed sheet of the alignment specs.  However, I was told I have exactly -.25 camber on each side and 1/8" toe in.  I gave them a sheet of specs asking for 2.5 to 3.5 caster.  I asked and he said it was adjusted to that range with a little more on the right to account for the angle of the roads.  

I think the owner of the location was the one who drove my car.  He offered me a breakfast taco while I waited and told me the suspension on the car looked great.  He then charged me $50 instead of the $70 they have as the listed price.  I was much happier with my experience there over Pilgers and will go there from now on.

The ride home did not feel much different but I'm glad to know the alignment is done properly.  I would not want to wonder if it could corner better with an alignment or damage my new tires.  Even better, I checked under the car when I got home and there was absolutely no damage.  

I now only have two tasks left of the maintenance items I had in mind before Goodguys:

- Fix Oil Leak

- Fix Coolant Leak