Got a wheel alingment after my lift,... WTF???

[grantb7machz]

So I put on my suspension lift (Calmini UCAs) and installed new camber bolts (from Nissan). I took my truck to the local garage and got a wheel alingment.
When I got home from work I went to get my truck and the BILL...$231...WTF. They charged me $231 for breaking one of my brand new Cam bolts and 2 1/2 hrs labour and still did not get my truck alinged perfectly. The mechanic ended up putting in a NORMAL Nut/bolt/washer and said this would be fine and he does it all the time. What do you guys think of this? He said my camber/caster is still not perfect.

What do you guys read into all of this?

Is it possible that I have my truck lifted too high and the mechanic can't get a proper alingment? Is there something wrong with my UCAs? Is the Mechanic a F*@king idiot? Needless to say I am not happy? And any suggestions/input would be greatly appreciated.

[XE_KING]

They broke the part.. there is no way in hell i would pay that bill! no way!!! I would take it back and demand that they get you the right bolt and credit you for the thing! Also make them correct the allignment! anytime a shop does work without asking first, its their problem.. they will try to bully you but you should be able to stand your ground..

[HKYStormFront]

that's total crap, those are grade 8 bolts, how in the world did they break it to begin with?? seriously... anyway, yea that's total BS, first of all, our dealer's (granted not a nissan dealer) price for alignment is $69.95 no matter how long it takes. they should have a standard fee for alignment. they have ground to stand on saying you have a "modified" vehicle but that actually makes it easier to get into alignment, not harder... unless of course you break the "makes it easier" stuff i guess

[XE_KING]

LOL... yeah I go to Les shcuab.. allignment is $55.00 no matter what. + you get a warranty!!!! lol It would take a 4' solid steel breaker bar to bust that 1/2" bolt! they probably put a grade 5 in it now... youl break it.. just a matter of time!

I just had mine done last thursday.. it was a hair off, pulling to the right so I took it back and they fixed it no questions!!!

some shops are shady at best though! Industrial tire told me that my center link was shot (and could not be alligned)and my front hubs were shot.. they wanted $350 for the job... took it to schuab and its fine.... Bastages!!!

[Hertz]

the shop i take my truck to for alignments and everything else charges 55 for an easy alignment and 75 for one that requires major work. last time i had my truck done i paid 75 but i had just installed a new centerlink, uca bushings, and ball joints. so it was off bad.

200 and something dollars for an alignment and a new, weaker, bolt because they broke youre good one? would have been a cold day in hell if i paid for that. especially if they didnt call you first.

[BRUTAL]

lol, I doubt he BROKE it, more like "Ill say broke since Im an idiot to have crossthreaded the bolt and nut" and No its not good enough since both eccentrics are rotated to the extreme and you dont get that with the standard bolt. It takes 5min to install the bolt in either 4 or 2 wheel drive. theyre both easy. Hell I dont even charge for that when I do a Frontier and alignment(CF discount)

[XE_KING]

Originally Posted by Hertz

the shop i take my truck to for alignments and everything else charges 55 for an easy alignment and 75 for one that requires major work. last time i had my truck done i paid 75 but i had just installed a new centerlink, uca bushings, and ball joints. so it was off bad.

200 and something dollars for an alignment and a new, weaker, bolt because they broke youre good one? would have been a cold day in hell if i paid for that. especially if they didnt call you first.

damn!! you paid 75 for that mess? thats a deal! lol

[grantb7machz]

So I talked with the mechanic/garage owner again today and told him that I was not impressed and told him that that was an unreasonable price to charge for a wheel alingment. He told me that they were at my truck for 5 hours. This is unbelieveable to me. How can you spend 5 hours trying to do a wheel alingment? Anyways he said that he thinks that my upper control arms are too short and they can't be the right ones for my truck. He said that there is not enough camber on the bolts to aline the truck right and there is no way to fix it. (there has to be a way) He said the camber was right off the charts and that this was the best he could do. One of the mechanics said he expects there to be significant tire wear and that the reason was because the wheels were tiped in on the top/out on the bottom (/...\) There has to be a solution.

Is it possible that I have my truck cranked up too high and thats why I can't get an alingment? (I have about 1/2 to 3/4 inch between my UCAs and my low pro bump stop. Is this not enough?)

Could Calmini have sent me the wrong arms? Are there any differences in the Calmini Control Arms? (4Cyl, V6, 4x4, 4x2)

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

[chargedfrontier]

id find a new mechanic

[HKYStormFront]

Originally Posted by chargedfrontier

id find a new mechanic

x2, my understanding is that all control arms for 1st gens are the same so that guy's smoking crack and making excuses. i'd still fight to get my money back tho, that's just absolutely ludicrous charges. having been a service writer myself i would not have charged a customer that for an alignment, regardless of situation. an alignment is an alignment is an alignment, end of story. something may be installed wrong (don't know) but barring that, everything should be straightforward