Just had new tires put on at a Big O tires in Southern Indiana. I'm overall happy with the tires and cost.
They told me all the tie rod ends need to be replaced...yet the supposedly did an alignment job? If the tie rods are bad, wouldn't that prevent a good alignment job?

Anyway, I'm attaching their quote to get opinions on the price. TIA

 

These trucks the wheel alignment adjustment is very minimal. If you want your truck to be fully adjustable go buy camber kit with maximum degree adjustment in advance, even if you are running stock wheel stock height and tire size.

 

sorry, i'm not a mechanic nor will be doing anything more unusual than towing a medium sized travel trailer or a bed full of gravel or topsoil. Can you explain why I would need more than oem adjustment range. Thanks for your response.

 

Good alignment starts with check of tire air pressure, then checks for any loose or worn steering/suspension parts which as you suspect alignment should have been postponed until worn parts were replaced.
I noticed the bill stated free alignment CHECK not free alignment after they replaced parts.

I would find another shop to do the work.

 

I agree. I asked for a follow up quote adding new shocks all the way around and they wanted to charge me 290+ per shock.

The thing is, I wasn't experiencing any issues with drift while driving, nor any issues with abnormal tire wear. I was just getting some AT tires put on instead of the pure highway tires ahead of this storm. After getting the new tires, the vehicle basically drove the same, a bit stiffer but I sort of expected that from new AT tires vs. Highway treads.

Thanks for the reply!

 

It would help a lot if we knew your vehicle year, model, engine, present mileage.

There are a few different situations that make it difficult to offer suggestions that might be helpful,

When pulling a travel trailer, different situations come into play and different consideration should not be overlooked.
Sounds like a lot of nothing, I know, but advance planning can save a lot of inconvenience away from home, as you already know.

 

sorry, i thought i'd filled out my signature with that information...just did it again but it doesn't seem to be adding it. I'll check setting again.

2012 F250 XLT 6.2 gas single cab long bed
Our travel trailer is a Grand Design 2150RB. 21.5' box/27' overall. 6900 GVWR and 5300 dry weight.

 

You get camber kit before the alignment just in case your camber can't be adjusted back to OE spec. Camber kit is very inexpensive, much cheaper than an alignment itself. It also doesn't harm anything to add it. What makes the difference is your wallet. If the shop tells you your camber is out of OE spec and is not adjustable, then they would recommend you to get a camber kit, then you will need to redo the wheel alignment a second time. If you are not the sole owner you never know if the previous owner(s) ever lifted the truck, the alignment could be out of OE spec already when you bought it. Also depends on how you use it, some people want -2 camber, other might want -1, or even 0 camber, to be able to adjust the non-adjustable camber you just have to get the camber kit, at least to bring the left and right to have the same degree.

 

Your bone stock F-250 (I assume), doesn't matter if it's a 4WD or RWD, when you take it to an alignment shop, they can only adjust the "toe" from the tie rod ends. After your truck is placed on the alignment lift, it can take the tech as quick as 30 seconds to get you the print out, yet you'll still be charged a fortune.
What they can't do:
1) nothing can/will be done on the rear axle unless something is significantly out of specs then you can ask them why, and always get a 2nd opinion elsewhere.
2) no front caster
3) no front camber

Say after a u-turn, your steering wheel returns to center with next to no effort, less effort or turn by hand mostly. You need more positive caster to have less effort on steering wheel return. Say your OE spec on the range is 2 to 5 degree and you are currently at 2.5 you can inform the tech, hey I want my caster to be at 4.0, then your steering return will be faster, your steering will feel stiffer when making turns and more stable especially on a straight line. The only down side is very little faster even (not uneven) tire wear.

On a RWD European sport car you get -1.5 to -2.0 rear camber range from the factory. You can still install camber kit and adjust it to 0 camber (out of spec) because you don't want uneven tire wear, you don't mind to sacrifice the cornering and handling because it's your daily and you don't track it. Never forget many European cars come staggered on the wheels and tires are directional, so no rotation can be made. When you want more camber (more negative), always the rear only and not the front, and keep the front camber as 0 as possible, unless you take your car to the track. Same can be said on yours, ideally you want your front camber to be at absolute zero as possible. I said ideally but it often is not the case. You might have -0.5 camber on the left an +1.5 on the right. Without a camber kit, no adjustment can be made on your bone stock truck.

Camber kit is just a common term in alignment industry. It can refers to adjustable bolt, bushing, sleeve or shim, totally depends on which exact car make and model. If you need to search the web for your truck you search for "camber/caster bushing", the price range from $1 to $100 of course don't buy any cheaper than $20. All you need is to buy 2 for the front and that will take care both your camber and your caster adjustment on the front. You have no plan to lift your truck or changing to bigger or wider tires, there is no need to buy Moog K80154, for example.

Why you need to buy the camber/caster bushing upfront because unlike oil filters at Jiffy Lube, most tire/alignment shops simply won't stock ANY camber kit in their shop.
What I suggest you to do is to call the shop first. Ask them in advance and see if they can install aftermarket camber/caster bushing only if both camber and caster are out of spec or not to your liking, and of course how much on labor. If you don't need the bushings just initiate a return. They should be able to install the bushing on the alignment lift without removing your wheels, something that takes less than 10 minutes to complete on both sides. Or you can watch youtube and find out how to DIY replacing your factory non-adjustable bushings to aftermarket adjustable ones. If you rather have the shop to do it, you should do a little prep and look up all the required torque specs, screenshot those and show/inform the tech simply because they probably don't know the torque specs on something they don't do often.