4 Wheel alignment done and......

s3dave

s3dave

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Not happy at all.....
can any body understand the print out if i post it??

The steering wheel is 2" to the right when driving straight!
the esp light as come on!
It pulls like a mofo to the left, i mean let go for a second and you would be eating the kerb...
This is the second time in a week i have been there to get it sorted, i was there 4 hours on saturday, for them to say "You will have to book it in, the trailing arm bolts are seized"
So booked it for 12 pm today, and left it with them as i had a business meeting.
They rang me at 2 to say it was all done,... got in the car, and its straight on the motorway, was thinking of other things when i looked at the steering wheel and the esp light on....if i wasnt on the motorway, it would have been the quickest u turn in history i was well peed off. Going to get it sorted tomorrow with them, hopefully :mad:
 
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thats a bit poor that they let you take it knowing it wasnt fine.

Make sure that you remind them about the sliding lower ball joints on the front and this make a big difference.

Get a copy up, Il comapre it too mine, the guy who did mine was really good and explained every figure to me.
 
Christ :S Feel a bit guilty Dave :S They've always been superb with me :(
 
Thats it, saturday i was with an oldish guy who new is stuff, today there was like 5 apprentices f**king about with no supervisor present...
anyway here is the printout sorry for the poor quality...

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
I had new ball joints fitted that knocked the steering out a little, new coilovers...so hence the needed alignment
Thanks....
 
JD09 said:
Christ :S Feel a bit guilty Dave :S They've always been superb with me :(
Click to expand...
Dont feel guilty, it may well have been an off day like we all get.....or a trainee who did not get it checked....
Well im not into the naming and shaming thing ......and i am definatley giving them a chance to get it sorted....so fingers crossed, Im annoyed that it must have been obvious when they backed it up off the ramps, that the steering wheel was out....
 
erm you have probably noticed but the readout isnt great. Front camber is miles out and so is rear toe is worse than when they started.

Il fire up the scanner in a bit
 
sportstractor said:
erm you have probably noticed but the readout isnt great. Front camber is miles out and so is rear toe is worse than when they started.

Il fire up the scanner in a bit
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, to be honest this is something i know little about, the front right castor is even out of the specified limits!!
Why would they let the vehicle go like this?
 
s3dave said:
Thanks for that, to be honest this is something i know little about, the front right castor is even out of the specified limits!!
Why would they let the vehicle go like this?
Click to expand...

yeah its not rocket science.

Heres how mine came out, Althought they didnt realise the front balljoint could slide so front camber wasnt adjusted.

Scan10001.jpg


There was another page which includes lateral offset on left and right which should be identical apparently.
 
Just got off the phone from the garage after i faxed them my results and he says it is because the rear toe is non adjustable....is this correct?
So i said well i thought they were like bmws, and the arm moves in the socket....he said no fixed plate...
 
which arm did you think moves in the socket? I will also need a 4 wheel realignment done sometime after next week
 
Your esp lights on because your alignment is out. When I had a new front spring fitted for an mot the ESP light was on after as the guys had just fitted and new spring to pass the MOT, I had to get the realignment done after myself, once done the light went out. Give TTS a call to check about rear toe they do 4 wheel alignment, I know camber is not adjustable at the rear hence why you have to buy adjustable tie bars when you lower S3's not sure about toe, but then its your front setup that will be the cause of most of your problems.
 
My understanding is that rear toe is adjustable - although not by 'standard' methods - it is set by adjusting the chassis end of the arms. I have a picture somewhere of it being done, but it is not to hand and what I am saying is from memory so I may be getting this wrong. I assume that this is what you were thinking anyway (Edit: from your latest answer it looks like it is). Audi should (you'd hope) be able to tell you for certain though.

You can also buy bush kits that allows toe adjustment at the wheel.
 
mk1chopper said:
Your esp lights on because your alignment is out. When I had a new front spring fitted for an mot the ESP light was on after as the guys had just fitted and new spring to pass the MOT, I had to get the realignment done after myself, once done the light went out. Give TTS a call to check about rear toe they do 4 wheel alignment, I know camber is not adjustable at the rear hence why you have to buy adjustable tie bars when you lower S3's not sure about toe, but then its your front setup that will be the cause of most of your problems.
Click to expand...
The rear has to be set up bang on before adjusting the front, so they are saying they cannot set the rear toe, thats why the front is miles out, this cannot be right... it has not been in an accident, so if it cannot be adjusted why has the factory settings moved??
Does any body know for a fact if the rear toe is adjustable or not?:unsure:
 
tompearson said:
My understanding is that rear toe is adjustable - although not by 'standard' methods - it is set by adjusting the chassis end of the arms. I have a picture somewhere of it being done, but it is not to hand and what I am saying is from memory so I may be getting this wrong. I assume that this is what you were thinking anyway (Edit: from your latest answer it looks like it is). Audi should (you'd hope) be able to tell you for certain though.

You can also buy bush kits that allows toe adjustment at the wheel.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, BMWs use the same,ish trailing arm and is fully adjustable in the socket.
How come if it is not adjustable i spent 4 hours on saturday, while they tried to undo the trailing arm......
 
just spoke to the mechanic i use and he says he thinks that it can be adjusted
 
s3dave said:
Overall toe setting of rear axle is not adjustable.
By moving the rear axle, it is possible to center
the individual toe settings
Click to expand...

I was told that its no individually adjustable by the guy who did mine. He also added that the quattros are usually far out because of the power going through the back wheels, although I wouldnt take this as fact.
 
Well ive just got my car on the ramps, and it is indeed adjustable , but guess what..... i have a bolt in the trailing arm that looks like JAWS has had it in his mouth a few days....totally ******.....so thats why the toe is not adjustable on MY CAR because they have totally screwed it up........ it is the one that is the hardest to get to....
Barstewards.....

ps . where did you get that quote from sportstractor...Overhall toe setting.......??
 
did they screw the bolt up then? or was it just ****** in the first place?
 
Cookstein said:
did they screw the bolt up then? or was it just ****** in the first place?
Click to expand...
They screwed it up by not dropping the wheels on the ramp for better access and tried to undo it with little access, ive just rang them and they have no explanation....and offered me my money back, so i said what about the ****** bolt.....and they said the lad concerned as had a bollocking .... They dont want my car back as they think the otherside will be siezed and the matter is going to escalate...
So i will be sending them a bill of my hourly rate of £75 an hour.... estimated time 2-3 hours to remove and re-tap the offending bolt/hole, they have excepted this.......with an apology....
 
Was this a chain company or local lot? Like they thought you wouldn't notice.

Reminds me if the time me and prawn took our car to kwik fit before a ring trip. Prawns went first, and when I saw their working practices and complete mental retardation I decided mine was fine how it was.

At least their paying for it.
 
Its a chain... there is non near you :sm4:..... yorkshire and scotland
They are paying for there damage, its just hassle that you dont need, they are not going to compensate me for the chipped alloys....as there is no proof that they did it...:ohmy:
One bad, bad, experience, im so busy at work too, so i wont be able to sort this for a month or so....
 
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id pop down to JBS if I were you, I had mine done at a local company that had good reviews spent 2 hrs waiting for it to be told that was the best they could do with a print out of some rubish readings. I asked why the camber and rear toe was out and they blamed my rear adjustable arms said they needed to be on the bottom not the top position. I swapped them over and satill they struggled. Ended up under the car with the guy showing him how to adjust stuff *** they even tried to charge me again
 
i was exactly the same the first time round ....showing the front ball joint adjust rear camber arms adjust ....ive learnt more about it in 2 days then half the monkeys who do it....
wheres jbs?
 
Thanks for that.
So this morning i got the ****** bolt out and took me a massive...................5 mins!
I used one of them sockets that get the alloy wheel locking bolts out when you have lost the key.....very good.
Anyway a pic showing that it is adjustable for all to see.......

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I am getting a proffesional mobile geometery guy to set it up now, he rents the ramps off national tyres, and speciaslises in s3,s and the 4 wheel drive vag chassis...woop woop...
 
What camber\toe settings are you going for ideally?

Presume you have the car lowered by the amount of camber you have? How far lowered are you?
 
I've had similar issues with alignment Dave glad your on the way of getting it sorted now.

Would you be able to post the guys details up, who's coming out to you to set it up.
 
ALL SORTED!!
Great guy who did a full geometry check, even moved the front chassis as it was 1mm out,
He has never seen a steering wheel that far out, apparently by warming the tie rods and not letting them cool back down before adjusting.
The car is a different animal now and just oozes confidence.....
He has got every adjustment exactly the same left and right.
Well happy...
 
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