Alignment question

[bredstein]

I have recently replaced ball joints, control arms bushings and tie rods on both sides of my '98 2wd Tahoe. After some calling and comparing prices, I decided to buy a lifetime alignment at Firestone. Today I brought them my Tahoe, and when the job was done, I looked at the print out, and saw that some numebrs are out of the spec range. Here is what I got:

Front left
***********
Camber: Before -1.3, Actual -1.2, Specified range 0.2-1.2
Caster: Before 2.1, Actual 2.2, Specified range 2.0-4.0
Toe: Before -1.3, Actual 0.14, Specified range 0.02-0.22

Front right
***********
Camber: Before -2.5, Actual -1.2, Specified range 0.2-1.2
Caster: Before 1.4, Actual 3.5, Specified range 2.0-4.0
Toe: Before -1.26, Actual 0.02, Specified range 0.02-0.22

Cross camber
************
Before 1.2, Actual 0.0, Specified Range -0.5-0.5

Cross caster
************
Before 0.7, Actual -1.4.0, Specified Range -0.5-0.5

Cross toe
************
Before -2.56, Actual 0.16, Specified Range -0.04-0.44

I see that overall they did a good job: 8 out of 9 were out of specs, and now it is only 3 out of 9. I asked the mechanic why the could not adjust my left camber, right camber and cross caster to specs, and he said that it is an old car, the frame is worn out, and it is not adjustable.

My question is: is it true that some numbers are not adjustable on the older cars? If yes, I'll live with that - after all, the truck doesn't pull on the side and the steering wheel is straight. But if it is the low competence of Firestone, I'll keep looking and trying, and eventually align my wheels to the specs. What do you say?

 

[gdub454]

Alignment Issues

Andrey..dude...I would not take my ride to get aligned @ Firestone...Big-O..or any of those kind of places that do comp. printouts...they are a scam and Ive heard on more than one occasion..that they are fraudulent and should be avoided...now as far as your camber and toe issues go..the guy @ Firestone told you your car is old and frame is worn out....well..that guy is an idiot and is a complete knothead....you can most def adjust your toe and your camber on your vehicle no problem..."too old...frame worn out"...that made me lol big time...