here's a good one

[Deanxm]

Why do you think Citroen could not do the tracking on this car?

CIMG2287 by Deanxm, on Flickr

well i thought they were going to say there was something wrong with the rack i built or that the front of the car was hanging off or any number of things but i was told on the phone its because of my wheels , it took them from 8am untill 2pm to come up with this excuse, the real reason they could not do it, i found out later was because the bem muller allignment tools have to touch the wheels (not surprised? no me neither ) and because they touch the wheels it could scratch the stainless steel rims, and then i would be within my rights to claim a new wheel as an Impreza driver did this year which cost them £800!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
I pointed out that not being a grade A idiot that maybe if this were to happen i could just maybe polish the stainless back up again, if i even cared at all! but no, they refuse to do it whether i cared or not and apologised .
Whats the world coming to when a garage is petrified of actualy using a tool on a car .

Obviously im not leaving it with quack fit or the likes so on central Citroen's recomendation i phoned Mazda to get it done, they will do it but they want to inspect the wheels with me first and have me sign a disclaimer before they start work

D

[spider]

The pins (for want of a better word) do have to touch the rims (usually centre at the very top and left / right near the lower edge)

Having said that, my set had caps on (just rubber caps) to prevent any risk of scratches...

My set would only fit 16" max though, had to turn away people with 17 or where it was so low (wing to wheel clearance) it would not fit as part of the unit needs to sit on the tyre too at the top.

[Deanxm]

My Rims are 17's but overall wheel diameter is the same as standard, When i went to collect the keys they confssed the above, real shame businesses have to operate like this, i thought it was bad in my line of work but the garages must be getting hit, mind you if your only charging £40 for a wheel alignment and then you get taken for £800 for scratching someones wheel thats a bloody lot of allignments need to be done to get your money back! and lets face it the scratching (if it happens at all) isnt going to be noticable, you would have to be pretty anal to make them buy a new rim tbh, especialy when its just a case of polishing it back up in my case anyway.

D

[robert_e_smart]

only charging £40 for a wheel alignment

!!!!!!!!!!!!

My local tyre man did the tracking on my XM for a fiver. They were trying to get me to go for their super duper new fancy tracking machine option, but it was 4 times the price of the el-cheapo option.

[Deanxm]

ah yes your right, its about £15 for the tracking, the trouble is you have to let some idiot from kwick fit or the like loose on your car for that which i vowed i would never do after a jacking incident.
most of the dealers only do the full 4 wheel alignment with toe, camber and caster readings for all wheels, not much point as the xm deosnt have the ability to change anything but toe and on the front wheels only but thats all you get.


D

[Deanxm]

anyway, a bloody fiver!!!! you need to loosen the purse strings a little Robert, do you keep your local tyre man in a cage under the stairs, surely he cant afford to live anywhere else on what you pay him 5 bloody quid, pah

D

[evilally]

I've been having real trouble getting anywhere that can do alignment properly. Last couple of times I've come out the steering wheel is off centre, which drives me nuts. It's just sloppy work and lack of attention to detail, which sums up most garages really

[CitroJim]

It's just sloppy work and lack of attention to detail, which sums up most garages really

Sums up an awful lot of work carried out by so-called professionals these days And no pun intended on awful either. A lot of what I have seen is.

I wonder if it would not be a good idea to invest in your own kit, something like a Gunson Trackrite perhaps?

[Deanxm]

yes not having the steering wheel straight is the most annoying thing, i have ligned it up so the steering gear is centerd and the wheel is central but she is toeing out by a fair bit.
That gunsons one looks like the business, would be real handy to have about.....


D

[dnsey]

I agree with Jim - do it yourself.
I use an adjustable tent pole, but a clothes prop or anything similar which can be adjusted in length and locked will do.
There's a lot of mystique put on tracking adjustment, but in the end it's simply a case of comparing the distance between the front of the rims with that at the rear.
As the C5's specified toe is 0-3mm, I simply ensure that there's just discernable 'rattle' on my pole between front inner rims, when it's a tight fit at the back.

[red_dwarfers]

We do the tracking ourselves with a tool we made up, accurate to about 1mm. Certainly an incentive to check it more often

[spider]

...if your only charging £40 for a wheel alignment...

How much ??

I used to check them for free and charge £15 to £20 to adjust if needed, and that was a main dealer.

[Deanxm]

you need to open a garage over here then!!!!!
All done and it now drives a million times better, its been a very long time since its been riding correctly and had the steering gear in a1 condition too.
even with low profile tyres she is steady as a rock on any surface, brilliant, i forgot how nice this car was!.

D

[spider]

Good to hear all sorted for you now

[robert_e_smart]

do you keep your local tyre man in a cage under the stairs, surely he cant afford to live anywhere else on what you pay him Laughing Laughing 5 bloody quid, pah

The tyre man doesn't even get to sell me new tyres. I buy them off e-bay for a fraction of what he wants them for. I bought some brand new Michelin energy savers 205 65 15 for £45 each, delivered! The tyre man can't compete with that!

Jim's Gunson thing looks handy, but the tyre man can track alot of cars for £75!!