I just had new tires put on the armada and the tire shop attempted a 4-wheel alignment. When they showed me the print out, they had the front wheels within spec, but said the rear is "way out, but it's not adjustable". I informed him that in fact it is adjustable to which he quickly responded "o, you need shims and that will be an additiona $67"

they were just closing so he took the $89 alingment fee off the bill and scheduled me to come back for my $156 alignment on friday, after they order in the shims.

I've read some of the posts about how difficult it is to alignt the rear and also found the factory service manual pages on how to adjust the rear.

please confirm that shims are not required and i should avoid this group, as i'm pretty sure they don't know what they are doing except trying to get more money

They are ripping you off. Shims are NOT required and that is way too expensive. Keep your money and Go somewhere else!!!

Alot of those places, well actually most of them, do not know how to align the rear on these and they won't admit it for some reason so they fudge their way around it. In the end, your rear alignment will still be out of whack and they'll have some excuse why they couldn't provide a printout for the rear (printer went bad, ran out of paper, or something) so they can keep your money. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else.

I had 2 tire shops tell me that was all there was when I only had the front end on the print out, I had to point out the specs to show them I know what it says, ended up with a refund. I had one tell me the printer broke, so I offered to fix it since that's part of my profession, but that's when I got a refund instead. I had one shop tell me they ran completely out of paper, I told them there's Office Depot right up the street, I'll wait, suddenly I got another refund.

Check with your local dealerships too, some of them have alignment equipment and won't give you any hassle.

thanks pops.

i read most of that in some of your previous posts. I was pretty sure they were full of it, i just needed confirmation the shims weren't a possibility before i told them they were wrong. Actually, i just got off the phone with the assistant manager, he told me that his service manager says my armada has a solid rear axel and no adjustment is possible. I laughed and said i will not be back. I'm not that stupid.

next battle will be if they try to charge my credit card for the half a$$ attempt at the alignement. Seriously, are there any quality shops left? or at least honest ones?

That's classic. A solid axle?? Really?? I think I would've played dumb to play that out just for a good laugh.

Good question about the quality and honesty, I often find myself asking the same question. I know if I'm seeing it here, it's much worse elsewhere. As you might've also read, I went to a LOT of shops before finding the one that I'm using now. It's ran by a bunch of 25-ish yr old kids and they do awesome work. There's not one employee in there over 30 yrs old and these kids are taking a whole lot of pride in their work, they put the other shops to dire shame, IMO. They said they compete in state contests and usually win most all of the alignment competitions. A few other shops have also told me that they are ranked top in the state for their alignment work.

So keep looking, be sure not to settle for incompetence, and you'll get it done right sooner or later.

Where are you located? I'm sure someone can steer you to a reliable shop. I know a few in the Balto/Washington area.

I'm in st. louis missouri. Any suggestions would be great!

I did an Alignment recently last week,although the printer was not working the guy let me sit next to machine so I can see him bring it to spec..I watched as everything went from red to green..and then let him know to put a little more tightness to bolts, as I believe these roads in NY be throwing alignment out of wack...

I had a similar problem, got new tires and the shop could not get the rear passenger tire to hold the alignment. They did not mention shims, but said they would need to order a new bolt for suspension.

Does this make any sense?

... as I believe these roads in NY be throwing alignment out of wack...

I get the same thing here. I had him use an Impact Wrench to tighten them with. Also, just to say how tough it is to get these tight, they bought a new set of longer necked wrenches since my last visit in there and while he pulled one out, he said "all for you". - lol :D

last time i had what i thought was a sucessful alignment by the local dealership (horrible situation) they had to replace both lower control arms because they shredded the bushings or something around the cam bolts. They billed me $700 for the alingment and control arms. I ended up getting $600 back after lots of fighting.

good grief! im now going to let nissan do the alignment from hence forth. these stories have me thinking.. i wonder if my own vehicle is out of alignment after having the wheel shop i purchased my wheels from do the alignment.... that have done 2 alignments.. each time i get my wheels rotated i ask them to check align.. both times they said the alignment was needed...

can you guys post some signs of alignment? my car does not move to one side or another when i brake and it seems to drive well but that does not mean anything if i am looking for the wrong signs...

Marc, there are quite a few possible signs. When mine's been out, I've had the rear hop around a little sideways as it over reacts to the slightest bumps. It literally felt like all my shocks were blown out and as silly as this sounds, the bumpsteer was horrible. I suspect the bumpsteer was from a combination of my front shocks needing replacement and the rear shifting from side to side as it bounced.

If your ride is good, that's a good sign. You can often stand back a ways behind or in front of the truck and eyeball the wheel alignment by looking down the side of the truck and comparing the rear to front tires. Just be sure to look while parked on different surfaces to make sure it's not a hill angle.

If it feels good and looks good then you can just keep an eye on your tire tread wear to watch for any signs of misalignment.

I did the same thing Pops did, I shopped around, and in the end I found a shop a few miles from my house who had a bunch of young 25-30 year old mechanics. This shop was recommended to me by 4wheel parts in Compton. I think I only paid $65 total for the alignment.

I must have gone to at least 8 other shops who all gave me BS estimates, or said they couldn't do it, or that it was impossible to align to spec.

If anyone here lives near the south bay Torrance, I recommend this shop.

Performance Plus
22707 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90505-3613
- www.performanceplus.cc

(is this considered advertising? if so i can remove it)

good information pops thank you sir.... i know i have seen cars on the road and it seems like the car is traveling sideways as it goes down the street..as if the front end is going straight but the rear wants to go sideways.... i think that was a sign of front and rear out of align?

Definitely!!! That is when the rear TOE is majorly out of whack. Most people don't know that the rear needs alignment, especially on Solid Axle rear ends like pickup trucks. And we're obviously discovering how well they're getting informed at the alignment shops. :rolleyes:

Solid rears need to be aligned and straightened. Straightened to to ensure left and right are square (frequently not, they bend under load). And aligned so the are both straight and behind the front wheels.

to the OP - i believe that some of the armadas came without the cams in the lower control arms that allow them to be adjusted. the "shims" they were quoting may have been for the cams that would make adjustment easier. i would still find a different shop, but just thought i'd throw that suggestion out there.

The alignment will now have to wait. my passenger rear air shock has a tear in the "bladder" and won't hold air. Now i have to replace the air shocks or see regular shocks will work......

......that'll be another post.

well im at nissan now getting (hopefully no issues and the techs are smart enuff) the voice recognition update and navigation update.. the navi update NOT to be confused with the map data update...

and im using their free wifi.. :D

so they cant do the alignment on my car as the size limit to put the alignment tools on the wheels goes to 22 inch and i have 24s.. so off to the tire shop after i leave here.. hopefully...

The only thing I had to buy for an alignment was the camber kit. I've heard this makes aligning much easier.