Re: alignment question

[David Bongo <dbongo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Allan W." wrote:

> > The guy I talked to
> >was unsure.  Anyways, I've got to take it back tomorrow when the
> other
> >mechanic is working.  Do you guys think I'm on the right track here?
> >And I apologize for any lack of clarity in the way I said
> this. David,  Are there any other alignment shops in town?  Sounds
> like these guysjust know what the machine tells them.  They should be
> able to tell youexactly what the problem is.  Try one with the old
> fashionednon-computer machine if you can find one.  Look for an old
> garagewith a nasty greasy building and an old codger running it. If
> not, hopefully the other guy knows more about alignments! Allan W.

The only other place (that I know of) that does alignments has been
unimpressive when I've dealt with them as a mailman.  (The idiots made
me wait about 10 minutes before signing for a certified letter, and they
took that long because they couldn't explain to the customer what they
had done.)

As for going to an "old garage with a nasty greasy building" well, I
tried that when I got the tie rod fixed.  It (probably) took longer than
if I had done it myself and I specifically asked them to double check
the nuts on the drag link.  (The nut on the tie rod that fell off didn't
have a cotter pin installed.)  They said it was all good.  They
obviously didn't check since NEITHER END OF THE DRAG LINK HAD BEEN
PINNED.  Not exactly confidence inspiring, you know?

I'm almost 28 years old, but I had back surgery when I was 16.
(Herniated disk, L4-5 for all you who know the medical lingo.)  While I
can lay under my Scout for a good clip if necessary, it can be tiresome,
especially after delivering mail on a hat, nasty, sweltering summer
day.  Add in our near clockwork-like 2PM rain showers and it's not a fun
experience.  For me to do the alignment at this time of the year would
require taking a day off from work (withOUT pay) or work under miserable
conditions.  I'm too old for the latter, and too cheap for the former.

My father used to own a garbage hauling business.  He ran a Mack truck
shop, and he was telling me that the front end on my Scout was pretty
much the same thing he had on his trucks.  Which is different from what
you'll normally see on a standard car/jeep/whatever.  I'm hoping that
this is the problem and the other mechanic isn't crossed up by this.
(In all fairness to the guy I spoke with today, IH may have been out of
the light-line business before he was even born.  I'd almost bet money
he was younger than me, and by a few years.)

Dave