Ion Front Alignment

Just had my tires rotated & a front end alignment & a balace on all 4
tires,on the way home.the steering STILL felt like it was drifting off
to the drivers side,just as it was before.Should i worry about it?.Had
the work done at a Firestone,really think I should call tomorrow &
tell them.Or is that the way Saturns steer?.This shouldn'y be a
problem.

 

I severely mistrust wheel alignments. Just because they slap a gauge on the
wheels and make an adjustment dosn't mean it is right. did you only have a 2
wheel alignment or a 4 wheel done? The 4 wheel is definitely recomended,
especially for independant rear wheel suspensions.

There could be a suspension problem that won't show when the car is just
sitting there. Best to jack up the car (both fronts or both rears off the
ground), remove the wheels and take a pry bar between the hub and frame.
Stress it in all directions and look for any play between bushings, joints
and frame. I did this with my '01 lw300 and found that the rear trailing arm
bushings to frame were very soggy.

 

Firestone is a red flag for me. The reason the better shops charge more
is because it costs more to properly maintain equipment, and to have
experienced technicians. It could be Firestone's equipment was out of
calibration, the technician didn't set up correctly, the rear wheels are
out of alignment, a left brake is dragging, left suspension sagging, or
weight distribution (obese driver). If they did a front-to-rear tire
rotation it could be a tire.

 

You can have some of the best equipment but if the tech is careless or not
properly trained, the result is bad.

 

Thanks Gents,one would think most repair shops have decent
equipment,I'm not saying Firestones the best,it was handy & the past
work they;ve done was to my liking,that's interesting point on the
tire wear/rotation-to give it the same pull after the work.I want to
aviod Saturns flat rate jazz,I have no warrenty on that area of the
Ion.

 

We had tires mounted on the wife's car at a local Firestone. They
didn't put one of the valve stem inserts (the actual valve) all the
way in. The air leaked out in several hours and her driving on a low
tire killed the tire.

They covered the tire cost, hardly a bargin given the hours spent
changing tires, getting out to wife's work, etc.

Are there any chains that are any good?

 

I probably should have asked before, but did you bring the car back to
Firestone and complain about the drifting? Some shops are just into doing
whatever is on the work-order and not going past that at all - like
inspecting struts and joints before starting the alignment. They figure that
why spend the time, if there is another problem, the alignment should show
it up or the customer will be back with a complaint... in which case, then
they will take a closer look.

 

Snow chains are good if you live in a cold climate.

 

We had a local neighborhood Firestone back when I was a kid. Everything I
brought them they made worse and then tried to charge extra to correct. I
wouldn't let Firestone change my underwear let alone a tire on my car.

 

Check your owner's manual - it says that chains should not be used on
an Ion