-
Welcome to our new sponsor Lecatona, a brand dedicated to enhancing performance for VAG group sports cars, including SEAT, Audi, Volkswagen and Škoda. Specializing in High Pressure Fuel Pump (HPFP) upgrades.
PCIronmike
Guest
This really annoys me , garages let young lads adjust the track on cars and they haven't a clue what they are doing , I,ve been in the mechanic game for years and always prided myself on getting things right , the trouble is , is that wheel alignment has no guarantee and garages know this , they can align your car and as soon as the car pulls off the garage front that's it , you could of bumped up a kerb , hit a pot hole and its gone out . The mechanic should always do the alignment before removal of the old tyres , this ensures the suspension does not have to settle after being jacked up , there should be a steering wheel lock fitted while its being aligned which clamps the wheel straight using the drivers seat , the readings should be taken from the gauges to the rear flags and the adjustment to be made worked out from these readings , unfortunately many fast fit garages think that parallel will suffice for all cars , its not good enough , they have charts and tech data available but unfortunately most of them cannot read lol.
You can do that yourself very easily - just do a search for insp light and you will see how to re-set it yourself.
Luckily the garage have been quite good about it and have checked it twice without charging me again. They did seem to get the youngest, most retarded kid in there to do it tho lol. I think I'm just going to go to SEAT to get it done
cheers for your help guy
matt
Had my tracking done today, steering wheel not straight now as expected...
Can I take my steering wheel off and move it?
I'm assuming the airbag is held on with clips/multi-plug, or something like that... Has anyone done it before successfully? - Had a search and all I've found is questions and advice on how to remove it?
.G.
Can I take my steering wheel off and move it?
I'm assuming the airbag is held on with clips/multi-plug, or something like that... Has anyone done it before successfully? - Had a search and all I've found is questions and advice on how to remove it?
.G.
Take it back and demand that they correct it. ( you paid for tracking to be done - that includes the steering wheel being straight )
You CAN move the steering wheel but it is not advised because of the angle sensor in the system and the possibility of screwing up the airbag.
I tried six different places before i found a place that does it properly - now i stick with the same place all the time.
Depends if you supply your own parts
£140 for a full service with Bosch (OE Quality) Service parts and castrol Oil
Seat stamped
Full Service being:
Plugs
Air Filter
Oil Filter
Fuel Filter
Pollen Filter
Oil
Sump Nut
Full vehicle inspection
Even got the car Hoovered! haha.
Depends if you supply your own parts
£140 for a full service with Bosch (OE Quality) Service parts and castrol Oil
Seat stamped
Full Service being:
Plugs
Air Filter
Oil Filter
Fuel Filter
Pollen Filter
Oil
Sump Nut
Full vehicle inspection
Even got the car Hoovered! haha.
I asked at my local stealers if they would use parts supplied by me and was told to go forth and multiply.
Have been doing it myself ever since. Much cheaper and I know it's been done.
Unlucky, I saved a bundle. I could have paid £200 at another stealers with parts supplied.
I could have done the service myself, but at the cost of £90 worth of labour I would rather spread the blame. I couldn't really argue either for that price & it being Seat approved looks good in the Log Book
Unlucky, I saved a bundle. I could have paid £200 at another stealers with parts supplied.
I could have done the service myself, but at the cost of £90 worth of labour I would rather spread the blame. I couldn't really argue either for that price & it being Seat approved looks good in the Log Book
Great if they will do it - and as you say - the book is stamped by seat as well.
Even when I told them they were about to lose a customer - they didn't seem to care.
They just kept harping on about it not being their policy to allow customers to supply parts.
I'd expect that that is the line that any big main dealer would take, for them not supplying the parts could mean that they get bad press for something that you supplied failing - can you blame them?
I have supplied parts to my VW big main dealer, but only parts supplied from their parts dept when I knew that the planned repair would be delayed as they would only order in parts after the car was handed in - and the parts that I knew were needed were not stocked items.
Last edited:
I agree to a certain degree, but when your supplying them with Bosch parts for example which are OE Quality, whats the issue? Their Profit margin thats the issue! I'm sure your consumer rights come into play somewhere along the line. They are supplying you a service i.e. their Labour. The parts are just something which is required to complete the job. Dealers need to be kicked into touch in my own opinion.
Thats my Pennies worth
The mechanic should always do the alignment before removal of the old tyres , this ensures the suspension does not have to settle after being jacked up
Incorrect, ive been a tech for 12 years now and was taught never track/allign a car on old tyres.This will cause the new tyres to wear in a simular way to the old ones.Easiest thing to do is fit new tyres R/test then allign.I know not all places do it this way but every one ive worked at have done it this way,(one was a TVR dealership).
Incorrect, ive been a tech for 12 years now and was taught never track/allign a car on old tyres.This will cause the new tyres to wear in a simular way to the old ones.Easiest thing to do is fit new tyres R/test then allign.I know not all places do it this way but every one ive worked at have done it this way,(one was a TVR dealership).
you need to get the track rod ends checked, i've just had mine replaced, caused the tracking/alignment to be out and caused 1 popped tyre and two tyres unevenly worn and needed replacing, lots of money later its sorted for a part that costs about £15 get those checked and it might save u alot of money.
get those checked and it might save u alot of money.I agree to a certain degree, but when your supplying them with Bosch parts for example which are OE Quality, whats the issue? Their Profit margin thats the issue! I'm sure your consumer rights come into play somewhere along the line. They are supplying you a service i.e. their Labour. The parts are just something which is required to complete the job. Dealers need to be kicked into touch in my own opinion.
Thats my Pennies worth
Yes, its the stupid thing that "its in the wrong box" that they would use as a get out. That is one reason why I'd always advise DIYers to buy NGK plugs on-line - so get same as used on car except that there is no VAG marking on them - same with brake pads from Textar and Pagid, with these two items if you buy them wisely, you end up with the correct parts and not just OEM. Always remember OEM only means that that manufacturer did supply some parts to VAG - a lot of times Bosch as an OEM just means that they supply relays and a few other bits but the OEM badge tries to stick to things that Bosch never supplied VAG for use in that model of car - or maybe even never supplied to any marque for use at the assembly lines, but is trying to cash in on ignorance in supplying into the aftermarket and so mugging flok in to part with their money for "genuine" parts.
you need to get the track rod ends checked, i've just had mine replaced, caused the tracking/alignment to be out and caused 1 popped tyre and two tyres unevenly worn and needed replacing, lots of money later its sorted for a part that costs about £15
mmmmm
I done the track rod ends on my Clio, wasn't too hard, can't see it being anymore difficult on this, if I do that I'll get the ARB's done at the same time....
.G.
I worked in the Tyre Industry as a Regional Sales Manager for 15 years and half the problem is quality control ! every 4 wheel tracker needs to have a set schedule whereby the equipment needs to be calibrated, without regular calibration the equipment is useless and your fooling your customers that you have set the tracking to the correct setting. All it needs to be out is 1mm across the front out of calibration and this in turn throws out the front to rear setting, and then you end up with offset steering wheels cars pulling slightly one way or the other.
It may be a case that the garage you use dont have a set schedule for calibration? or you had a poor operator? The trouble in general with the tyre industryas a whole is
1. Lack of training
2. Poor Equipment
3. No calibration carried out
A few years back they would simply have removed the steering wheel and re-splined it by 1/2 to get the wheel straight, now with one master key on the wheel and air bags thats a thing of the past.
I would take it to a national company (not KF) who are ISO 9001 registered who have to carry out calibration checks and get them to align it correctly, and remember a tyre can cause the vehicle to pull one way even with a correctly aligned steering. ATS are a ISO 9001 company and as such will have correctly calibrated equipment, as will other good companies
It may be a case that the garage you use dont have a set schedule for calibration? or you had a poor operator? The trouble in general with the tyre industryas a whole is
1. Lack of training
2. Poor Equipment
3. No calibration carried out
A few years back they would simply have removed the steering wheel and re-splined it by 1/2 to get the wheel straight, now with one master key on the wheel and air bags thats a thing of the past.
I would take it to a national company (not KF) who are ISO 9001 registered who have to carry out calibration checks and get them to align it correctly, and remember a tyre can cause the vehicle to pull one way even with a correctly aligned steering. ATS are a ISO 9001 company and as such will have correctly calibrated equipment, as will other good companies
Well the winter salty corrosion combined with the nasty cheap Skoda sourced TRE and nyloc nuts might just provide you with a bit of a challenge - a very annoying challenge at that! By ARB do you mean bushes or drop links?
if you don't have any luck with the garage, use the below web site to find a decent garage near you.
www.alignmycar.co.uk
All of the dealers on this site use the Hunter 4WA machines is widely regarded as being a decent bit of kit, they are very popular amongst the BMW crowd, BMW's are very sensitive to misaligned suspension geometry so a decent proper 4WA is vital.
I had my E36 coupé done on a hunter and it made a hell of a difference. Give it a try, you wont be disappointed.
www.alignmycar.co.uk
All of the dealers on this site use the Hunter 4WA machines is widely regarded as being a decent bit of kit, they are very popular amongst the BMW crowd, BMW's are very sensitive to misaligned suspension geometry so a decent proper 4WA is vital.
I had my E36 coupé done on a hunter and it made a hell of a difference. Give it a try, you wont be disappointed.
Last edited:
Similar threads
