Planet 9

While I had my 987S at the dealership for service, they noticed the clunk noise from the rear pas. side of car. They went on to replace that rear strut to resolve the noise problem under warranty. When I got the car back the alignment is way off, back and front. I need to turn the center of the steering wheel to 2 o'clock for it to go straight. I would've brought the car back but service rep and tech are already gone for the day.

So while I wait until Monday to contact their service rep, I'd like to get your input/confirmation on whether a full alignment (front and back) should have been performed after they replaced the rear pas strut. Thanks in advance for your input.

Yes an alignment has to be performed if they replaced a strut otherwise I can guarantee you that your car will be OUT of alignment as the odds of reinstalling a strut and keeping the car aligned as it was are pretty astronomical.

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K-Man S

Thank you, Ken. Much appreciate it

How about if only the springs are changed. Does alignment still necesscary?

If they only changed the rear strut it should only need a rear alignment - the front hasn't changed.

It's hard to understand why your wheel would be so far off - that's just a huge difference. Having spent some time experimenting with my car's alignment, and making careful measurements along the way, I can say that you'd almost have to be trying to get the wheel that far out. Something has gone very wrong here... Don't drive the car until this is sorted out.

In response to the other question, if the springs are replaced with the same part number, then the alignment shouldn't change very much.

If it changed the ride-height of the car, then yes, you've changed the alignment... in that case, there will definitely be more camber... maybe that's good, or maybe too much for what you use the car for... if that's the case, it might be good to get an alignment to see just what the specs are now, and then make any changes to suit your usual use.

brad

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PCA DE Instructor

If the steering wheel is not level when the car is travelling straight it most likely points towards a lazy technician!!

They probably checked the front, found the tracking out (highly likely even if its not been worked on, kerbing, pot holes, worn tyres, etc) and only adjusted one track arm.

If the strut has been off completely then the car will need an allignment. When checking anything other than just the front tracking its just as easy to check the whole car than either just the rear or just the front. Any adjustment made to toe, caster or camber will result in changes in another area of the car by default. Geometry work is a juggling act.

I would suggest that even if you only replaced the springs and havent touched any adjusting bolts you should still consider an alignment check if only as a precaution.

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If replacing one strut caused that much of a change then both sides should have been done in a pair. I would measure the height of your fender lip on level ground and compare it to the other side. Even a few millimeters difference will change the handling dynamics of your car and possibly affect the safety of driving it, the front heights will be affected as well. It does sound like a technician error but I cant imagine why the dealer wouldn't recommend changing struts in pairs to begin with! Is your car lowered? Maybe the replaced strut had a stock height spring already on it and that was what was installed... Good Luck and be careful driving until its figured out.

Astronomical? That would mean large? Think you meant something on a small scale, like 'microscopic'. Just turn the telescope around.

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