TSB SI-0007 WHEEL ALIGNMENT SPECS

[SamirD]

And when they're doing the alignment, make sure they understand the particular 'do nots' of the car. When adjusting the front steering if they twist the tie rods the wrong way, they can damage the steering rack boots.

[smsmart]

And when they're doing the alignment, make sure they understand the particular 'do nots' of the car. When adjusting the front steering if they twist the tie rods the wrong way, they can damage the steering rack boots.

How could I tell if they damaged the steering rack boots?

I posted about this months ago, but I had an alignment done at the dealer in January 2013 and I don't know what their mechanic did, but my Kiz has not handled the same way since. The difference in steering was immediately noticeable and pretty much ruined. It no longer has the crisp handling it had--it seems to exhibit bump steer, a "looseness" when steering, poorer on-center feel, and just a general feeling of not being tight anymore. I've been tearing my hear out trying to figure out what the problem is.

Of course when I went back to the dealer to tell them about the problem, they said everything looked fine and that it handles the way it should. Which is absurd because I know full well how the car is supposed to handle. They even had the nerve to tell me that it's supposed to be loose because they centered the wheels during the alignment (not true, they toe'd them out) and they're "freer" now...

I had another alignment done afterwards at an independent shop, which seemed to help for a bit, but soon went back to steering poorly. Oh what I would do to get this fixed...

[SamirD]

If you lived close to HSV, I'd tell you exactly who to take it to fix it.

Did they provide you with a printout of the alignment specs and steering specs?

From what I read in the service manual, when they unscrew the tierod ends to adjust their length, they have to be mindful of twisting the boot or it may tear. Even if it doesn't tear, having it in a twisted condition will surely tear it down the road.

[Woodie]

That's true of all cars.

[murcod]

That also shouldn't have an immediate effect on the handling. It will allow dust/ grit/ water/ salt into the ball joint- if the boot is torn.

[SamirD]

That's true of all cars.

It is. But when a service highlights it, I'm sure there is a reason for that.

That also shouldn't have an immediate effect on the handling. It will allow dust/ grit/ water/ salt into the ball joint- if the boot is torn.

Yeah, it shouldn't.

Re-reading the post, I think bump-steer has to do with caster. I've run into this issue on my Corvette. It would be interesting to see what the alignment documentation provided by the dealership looks like.

[smsmart]

FWIW, I'm attaching the specs from the three alignments I've had done on the car--the car still drove fine after the first alignment, it wasn't until the second alignment that the handling changed.

Like I mentioned in the thread from months ago, if you look at the specs, it doesn't seems like there were any drastic changes made, so I have no idea why the handling would have changed when the second alignment was done. The third alignment seemed to help for a short while, but then soon after went back to feeling "loose".

I should also mention that the main reason for the first two alignments was to center the steering wheel, because it was a little off-center when driving straight (for me it was visually irritating )

Anyway, I don't mean to hijack the thread, I just really wish I could figure out what is going on. I've gone through so many possibilities in my head as to what the problem is...it's driving me nuts. And the two Suzuki dealers I've been to have not been helpful whatsoever.

Aside from an alignment/steering geometry/suspension issue, my only other guess as to the cause is the electric power steering--but I don't know how to check if it works properly or not. My only leads on that guess is that a) the steering isn't consistently loose (at times it takes more force to turn the wheel at low speeds than at others), and b) the steering wheel has developed a "click" recently when turning it at a certain position, but I have no idea what it is or if it's related.

[SamirD]

I didn't see anything too far off except that in the last alignment (if that's the after), the caster is much more than it has been in previous alignments, and with an almost zero toe, that will cause the bump steer.

My father used to be a mechanical engineer at Ford specializing in steering systems. Let me ask him what he thinks later today.

[Ronzuki]

Despite being 'within spec' I'd get the front toe dialed in better. My last alignment, 3rd one a few thousand miles ago, I had all specs dialed in to dead center of range and thus far it has been the best feeling, and, I am finally seeing no adverse tire wear on the front. My front toe specs looked similar to yours from the alignment by the zuk dealer after I put new tires on. Several thousand miles later I was starting to see feathering on my brand new tires. Back to a different shop that had a brand new rack. Before hand I told the mechanic I wanted everything adjusted to the exact middle of the range. He showed me all was 'in-spec' before he started adjustments however, he did as I had requested. It took him a while, but he got it.

[~tc~]

Gotta find a REAL alignment shop with real alignment techs, not a tire shop with "alignment machine operators."