Alignment question

How often car needs to be aligned? (I have Toyota Camry 98 V6 LE )

Should it be combined with oil change and tire rotation, or is needed
less frequently?

Does any chain (or local garage in Chicago area) have a great
"lifetime" alignment deal?

It's needed less frequently.
When you get it done, you need a four wheel computerized alignment
only.
It's the one thing I have done by the dealer.
Apart from component wear, the only items that are really adjustable on
the Camry are the tie rods in front and those adjustable links in the
rear.
There's really no reason they should move once set correctly.
The struts are an integral part of the suspension geometry, so unless
they wear, or the ball joints wear, alignment should stay good.
Last time I noticed a very slight amount of drift something like 30,000
miles or more after an alignment, I paid something like $80 basically
for nothing.
The before and after printouts were essentially the same.
In my experience slight variations in the tire sidewalls are more
likely to cause a slight drift than alignment.
The Camry is not like the old swing arm A frame with adjustment shims.
As I've said there really are no adjustments available for caster and
camber, only toe in and that should be stable.

In alt.autos.toyota Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:[color=blue]
> How often car needs to be aligned? (I have Toyota Camry 98 V6 LE )[/color]

When:
- you notice abnormal tire wear
- the car pulls to one side when you take your hands off the wheel
- steering feels loose at high speeds, but normal at low speeds
- you get in an collision that bends the frame
- you disassemble suspension or steering components
- you've hit a bunch of curbs, potholes, or frost heaves
- you've driven over 25k in the northeast US (see item above)

<someone@somewhere.org> wrote in message
news:ZT%te.23731$R21.15866@lakeread06...[color=blue]
> In alt.autos.toyota Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:[color=green]
> > How often car needs to be aligned? (I have Toyota Camry 98 V6 LE )[/color]
>
> When:
> - you notice abnormal tire wear
> - the car pulls to one side when you take your hands off the wheel
> - steering feels loose at high speeds, but normal at low speeds
> - you get in an collision that bends the frame
> - you disassemble suspension or steering components
> - you've hit a bunch of curbs, potholes, or frost heaves
> - you've driven over 25k in the northeast US (see item above)
>[/color]

Good post, but I would revise it a bit:

When:
- you notice abnormal tire wear
- the car pulls to one side when you take your hands off the wheel
- steering feels loose at high speeds, but normal at low speeds
- you get in an collision that bends the frame
- you disassemble suspension or steering components
- you've hit one curb, pothole, or frost heave
- you've driven over 5 miles in the northeast US (see item above)

In theory, you could go through life never having an alignment. The problem
is, theories quite often do not pan out. Your need for an alignment will
have much to do with how often and how hard you like to hit curbs and pot
holes. Of course, if you have major suspension work done, you could need an
alignment to make sure that everything all went in the right places.





"Ajanta" <ajanta@null.void> wrote in message
news:210620051603474893%ajanta@null.void...[color=blue]
> How often car needs to be aligned? (I have Toyota Camry 98 V6 LE )
>
> Should it be combined with oil change and tire rotation, or is needed
> less frequently?
>
> Does any chain (or local garage in Chicago area) have a great
> "lifetime" alignment deal?[/color]

"Dave C." wrote:[color=blue]
>
> <someone@somewhere.org> wrote in message
> news:ZT%te.23731$R21.15866@lakeread06...[color=green]
> > In alt.autos.toyota Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:[color=darkred]
> > > How often car needs to be aligned? (I have Toyota Camry 98 V6 LE )[/color]
> >
> > When:
> > - you notice abnormal tire wear
> > - the car pulls to one side when you take your hands off the wheel
> > - steering feels loose at high speeds, but normal at low speeds
> > - you get in an collision that bends the frame
> > - you disassemble suspension or steering components
> > - you've hit a bunch of curbs, potholes, or frost heaves
> > - you've driven over 25k in the northeast US (see item above)
> >[/color]
>
> Good post, but I would revise it a bit:
>
> When:
> - you notice abnormal tire wear
> - the car pulls to one side when you take your hands off the wheel
> - steering feels loose at high speeds, but normal at low speeds
> - you get in an collision that bends the frame
> - you disassemble suspension or steering components
> - you've hit one curb, pothole, or frost heave
> - you've driven over 5 miles in the northeast US (see item above)[/color]

Having lived in the Northeast US I can confirm that one pothole can affect front end alignment enough to be immediately noticeable. Florida roads and weather are much easier on your car.

--
Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 21:45:29 +0000, someone wrote:
[color=blue]
> In alt.autos.toyota Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:[color=green]
>> How often car needs to be aligned? (I have Toyota Camry 98 V6 LE )[/color]
>
> When:
> - you notice abnormal tire wear
> - the car pulls to one side when you take your hands off the wheel
> - steering feels loose at high speeds, but normal at low speeds
> - you get in an collision that bends the frame
> - you disassemble suspension or steering components
> - you've hit a bunch of curbs, potholes, or frost heaves
> - you've driven over 25k in the northeast US (see item above)[/color]

And most of THAT in Massachusetts!

"Dave C." <noway@nohow.not> wrote in message
news:42b88d0c$0$75191$892e7fe2@authen.white.readfreenews.net...[color=blue]
>
> <someone@somewhere.org> wrote in message
> news:ZT%te.23731$R21.15866@lakeread06...[color=green]
>> In alt.autos.toyota Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:[color=darkred]
>> > How often car needs to be aligned? (I have Toyota Camry 98 V6 LE )[/color]
>>
>> When:
>> - you notice abnormal tire wear
>> - the car pulls to one side when you take your hands off the wheel
>> - steering feels loose at high speeds, but normal at low speeds
>> - you get in an collision that bends the frame
>> - you disassemble suspension or steering components
>> - you've hit a bunch of curbs, potholes, or frost heaves
>> - you've driven over 25k in the northeast US (see item above)
>>[/color]
>
> Good post, but I would revise it a bit:
>
> When:
> - you notice abnormal tire wear
> - the car pulls to one side when you take your hands off the wheel
> - steering feels loose at high speeds, but normal at low speeds
> - you get in an collision that bends the frame
> - you disassemble suspension or steering components
> - you've hit one curb, pothole, or frost heave
> - you've driven over 5 miles in the northeast US (see item above)
>[/color]

The OP mentioned that he/she is in the Chicago area, my guess is the
northwest suburbs or northwest side of Chicago. The condition of roads in
the Chicago area are a close second to those in Massachusetts. Until our
street was resurfaced last year, we had to drive over a bump almost as high
as the rest of the curb to get into the driveway, and driving down alleys in
Chicago is like driving on an unpaved road. We usually end up needing
alignments about halfway through the life of a set of tires, about 25,000
miles.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

Ray O <rokigawa@tristarassociatesDOT.com> wrote:

: [Chicago area]...The condition of roads in
: the Chicago area are a close second to those in Massachusetts. Until our
: street was resurfaced last year, we had to drive over a bump almost as high
: as the rest of the curb to get into the driveway, and driving down alleys in
: Chicago is like driving on an unpaved road. We usually end up needing
: alignments about halfway through the life of a set of tires, about 25,000
: miles.

We drive all over Chicago area and road quality is highly variable.
mostly bad. Even 'premium' showcase roads like Lake Shore Drive are in
such bad shape. The city spends a lot of $'s on trees and flowers but
roads don't seem to be any priority.

BTW I was able to contact the previous owner of the car and know a
little more: The front end was aligned about 40,000 miles ago when he
got the Regata 2 the car has now. Maybe I would do the same, get
alignment when I change the tires.

Jeff Strickland <spamcatcher@yahoo.net> wrote:

: In theory, you could go through life never having an alignment. The problem
: is, theories quite often do not pan out...

In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are
different. :-)

<<steering feels loose at high speeds, but normal at low speeds >>

My '99 Camry does this. At highway speeds the steering feels loose but
It doesn't pull to any side. There is no uneven tire wear either. Does
this mean there is something wrong with steering or suspension?

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 21:03:47 GMT, Ajanta <ajanta@null.void> wrote:
[color=blue]
>How often car needs to be aligned? (I have Toyota Camry 98 V6 LE )[/color]

depends on how often you hit curbs, potholes, etc.

Mike Walsh wrote:
[color=blue]
>
> Having lived in the Northeast US I can confirm that one pothole can affect front end alignment enough to be immediately noticeable. Florida roads and weather are much easier on your car.
>[/color]



If that's true, you need to buy a better-built vehicle!

I agree that a lot of rough-road driving WILL affect alignment
eventually, but a single pothole?!? It would have to be severe enough to
knock the tire off the rim and bend the rim to knock any of the vehicles
I own out of alignment. In fact, I *have* bent a rim and then had the
alignment checked and found it to still be spot-on.

In general, I like to have the alignment checked about every 50,000
miles, but it usually doesn't need adjusting unless a component (ball
joint, bushing, etc) is really starting to deteriorate. I've found this
to be true for both my 60's vintage torsion-bar / unequal-length A-arm
front suspension cars and for my 90s vintage FWD McPherson strut vehicle.

"Ajanta" <ajanta@null.void> wrote in message
news:220620050744409531%ajanta@null.void...[color=blue]
> Jeff Strickland <spamcatcher@yahoo.net> wrote:
>
> : In theory, you could go through life never having an alignment. The[/color]
problem[color=blue]
> : is, theories quite often do not pan out...
>
> In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are
> different. :-)[/color]

Exactly, sorta.

Someone mentioned Sears got a lifetime alignment package with them
tires. Anyone know if it's worth it?