I just sat up at the firestone place for 2 1/2 hours waiting for them to get my truck in for alignment since i just leveled with cognitos. Well after they finally got it in, they said they were going to have to charge me an additional $180 because they have to turn the cam bolts since they supposedly cant get to them because of the shocks! I haven't heard this form all the people on here that have had this done. Is it indeed something that has to be done? I've called the dealership to see how much they charge for alignment, but I wanted to know if it is required to do all this crap from just leveling and adding new shocks.[:@]


Thanks in advance!

 

my buddy worked for firestone...no experiance and just got out of jail...they hired him and he was doing tires,brakes and oil changes solo on his third day. He didn't even know why a car needed oil....enough said about firestone.

 

I have found from experience that the dealers and places like Goodyear and Firestone are NOT who you want tinkering with your front end. I've learned (I'm old) that a good Bear Wheel Alignment shop or an independent shop without high volume is the best route to go. My buddy used to run his hand over the tire tread and tell you within a few degrees whether it's out of camber or toe and what had to be done. Sometimes when you raise it too much the camber can't be reconciled and a camber kit has to be installed. A camber kit is nothing more than a graduated shim that slides in behind the yoke to reset the camber beyond factory specs. Soooooo, if some Troll at firestone who doesn't know diddly about front ends hooks you up and his computer can't read "factory" specs you're out of luck. Look for an old guy in an old alignment shop and you'll never have problems again.

 

Don't quote me on this, but if they were trying to make it match the factory
numbers, it isn't going to happen. To get the front end truly aligned, with the
level, I don't think you can match the factory specs.

If you go to the Truxxxx site and download their instruction sheet, there are
alignment specs for a H3 that has been lifted to the 24.25 {hub center to
fender lip} measurement. Those are the numbers they should be shooting for.
Shouldn't matter if your lift was accomplished via a t-bar crank or new keys,
those numbers should work.

Maybe someone with a Truxxxx lift can chime in and verify this....

Do you have any paperwork from the Flintsones to compare?

As for the shock issue....Are the boots on the bottom or top of the shocks?

Seems like I heard someone say they made a change...Wonder if that was it?

 

I paid $85 for an offroad shop to have it done after they installed my Cognitos and the alignment was flawless. When I knocked the alignment off a few weeks later I took it to another, more convenient offroad shop and paid $100. Of course, they just drove it three shops down to an alignment shop. I probably could've done that and saved $15.

Basically, take it to a reputable shop that knows what they are doing.

 

alrock..do you happen to have the #'s from that alignment? My shop for the STI always gives me a printout, that might help out here???

 

I'm going to look for mine, they were done at the dealer when I first leveled it then again when I got new tires. Hang on, I'll go look for them.

 

The problem wasn't getting the numbers right, it was getting the alignment done at all. The said they were going to have to charge me an additional $130 to " flip the cam bolts so that they could get to them". They said because of the aftermarket shocks, the cam bolts could not be reached. The dust boot is on top, and it slides down. They said the shock is thicker than factory and thats why they cant get the wrench in. I looked at my factory shocks, and they are actually thicker at the top than the cognitos. I'm wondering if his is true. Has everyone with cognitos had to do this, or have you just taken it in for an alignment and they do it?

 

Here you go, from the dealer after the TB level:

CAMBER: Left -1.3 Right -0.8
CASTER: 2.8 2.4
TOE: 0.640.59

CROSS CAMBER: -0.5
CROSS CASTER: 0.3
CROSS SAI 0.7
TOTAL TOE: 1.23

I will get the numbers off of the one from the new tires in the AM if you can wait, they are in my office.

 

Goodyear AND Firestone tried to tell me that they couldn't do an alignment for because they don't have the specs to even do an alignment on the H3, that's why I went to dealer the first time.