Alignment shop says they can't do it.

[2quick]

So I took the Satellite to the alignment shop this morning and after making the appointment with the car present last week, today the tech guy tells me they can't get the gauge on the rear wheels So they cant do the alignment.

So I left and called a bunch of other places around including some race car shops and was told the same thing. My issue is the rear tire is tucked under the quarter to much and there is no way to get the clamp on the rim and spin it for calibration.

Not sure what to do now...The car is pretty fresh and pulls hard to the right if I let go of the wheel.

Anyone have any ideas maybe a different type of alignment rack maybe older.

 

[Cncguy1]

Put some air shocks on there, just temporarily.

 

[Bb70charger500]

Lift the rear (air shocks ) let them align it the go back to what you had ! This won't hurt anything

 

[2quick]

How about a block of wood between the frame and rear?

 

[69hemibeep]

lifting changes the front end angle

 

[gdrill]

Lift it only high enough to clear no matter which way you go. That way it will not be affecting the alignment much when you let it back down.

Nice car!

 

[theman440]

Find an old-school shop that does it the old way.

 

[69a100]

Not sure what to do now...The car is pretty fresh and pulls hard to the right if I let go of the wheel.

Temporary fix? Pump up the right tire to 60 psi, lower the left pressure to about 15 psi, then report back on how it handles. Good Luck

 

[the mississippi madman]

Get those cheap adjustable leaf spring hangers, Jack it up get alignment, take em off

 

[Gold Rush]

I'm not familiar with the process. Is putting a narrower set of wheel/tires on the rear just long enough to do the alignment a possibility, allowing the equipment to function?

 

[bm02tj]

They should be able too do it with just two wheels but can not do the four wheel which gives the thrust angles
Or mount the rear heads and not rotate as you can not adjust rear wheels anyway

 

[wagonman]

Had the same problem on my Chevelle. The new Hunter machines do grip the tire to mount the heads. Then they spin the heads for runout and compensation. Had to use a smaller rear wheel/tire combo. The older heads gripped the rim, better in my opinion.

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

Their machine is set up for a 4 wheel alignment as bm02tj suggested. You don't need that and they should be able to do only a "front wheel" alignment. Hell, I can do them in my garage without their fancy machine and it works just fine. The 4 wheel alignment is "nice" as it shows you the thrust angle of the rear axle, but it isn't necessary and wasn't done at all back in the day.

Shops and mechanics nowadays don't know how to do anything if it isn't spelled out for them in the instructions.

 

[33 IMP]

I would try a much smaller offset wheel, so the head can be tucked under the quarter panels.
It looks like you have caltracs and monoleafs, correct?
And just trying to see if the rear end is square? Lowering blocks you can take out?
Caltracs can be preloaded to adjust left or right pull.
Fabo race site has a caltrac tuning thread.

 

[moparedtn]

As others have stated, you need to find a shop that can do what used to be referred to as "two wheel alignments".
It's better than nothing and will get you in the ballpark.
Call around using that phrase until someone knows what you're talking about.

 

[69a100]

Find a shop that has this sign out front. Good Luck

 

[the mississippi madman]

What about the ole DIY string and plumbob method

 

[65wgn440]

Their machine is set up for a 4 wheel alignment as bm02tj suggested. You don't need that and they should be able to do only a "front wheel" alignment. Hell, I can do them in my garage without their fancy machine and it works just fine. The 4 wheel alignment is "nice" as it shows you the thrust angle of the rear axle, but it isn't necessary and wasn't done at all back in the day.

Shops and mechanics nowadays don't know how to do anything if it isn't spelled out for them in the instructions.

First off, today's alignment machines will not be able to do a " two wheel" alignment without being able to reference off the rear tires. No way possible. Secondly, your blanket statement about mechanics and shops is ridiculous, to be nice. I would love to invite you into my shop for a week, and see you handle some of these late- model cars. All you have to do is hook up a scanner and they tell you everything that is wrong, and how to fix it all, RIGHT ??

 

[65wgn440]

I also just ran into a similar situation, and had to put four plain steel wheels on my kids car to get it aligned. The bolts on Cragar Super Trick wheels interfered with indicators mounting properly. Looking around for an older independent shop that may still use older Hunter rack, is a good suggestion for your problem, maybe. Also Hu*nter may have some sort of adapters that may work on your car. We talked with our local Hunter guy for my problem, but the adapters he had were too big for our 14" rims. Good luck.

 

[WileE]

We're talking about a classic car here, not late-model cars, so that's totally irrelevant. You can use bubble gauges to get the alignment.