seeking advice from Honda mechanic

I am a backyard mechanic but know nothing about alignment related problems
and about problems related to the parts that effect alignment. Therefore,
I need your advice.

I noticed that my front right tire had almost no tread. I checked the air
pressure in all of the tires and it was the same. I purchased two new
front tires. The young person that replaced the tires told me that I
needed to have the alignment reset. I plan to do that at the Honda
dealership since the young person did not seem like he knew much about
tires and tire related problems. I had him check the tread on the front
tires and these are results

cupping feathering on tire that had almost no tread
0/32 on inside tread
1/32 on center area of tire
5/32 on outside tread

All other tires were normal.

Are there any parts that need to be replaced. I am going to have all of
the wheels aligned in about one week.

 

If you take your car to get align, take it to Firestone. For 150.00, you
can have your car aligned for the life of the tires. I take mine back
every 5k miles, and it is no charge, I just paid the initial fee.

 

You definitely need an alignment. The dealership is a reasonable place to
start. I think you will find other damage or failed parts in the right
front as well. If they tell you they can't fix it, then your next stop
should be a frame shop. Many times they can simply bend things back into
spec (and generally charge less than the dealer will for an alignment).

If you decide to use one of the tire store places (Firestone, Goodyear,
etc.) get some recommendations from your friends first. These places can be
hit or miss quality wise.

 

That sounds like a great deal. I call them. I just hope that they don't
have a lot of young college students working there that care more about
their plans for the weekend or their next exam than they care about their
jobs.

 

I don't know what the hell the other posting is doing taking his car in
every 5000 miles. That is completely absurd. Only somebody that has some
type of compulsive disorder would do that. There is no auto technician in
the world, or shop, or dealership that would suggest having an alignment
done or checked every 5000 miles. It would be like getting a physical
every couple months. You would be labeled a hypochondriac.

I did just get my eyes dilated after an eye exam and I am having trouble
seeing so perhaps the other poster said 50,000 miles. He wouldn't be as
nucking futs then but still a little odd.

Your tire wear is definitely alignment related. Your cupping of the tires
is suspension related as in the struts/shocks need to be replaced. Most
people never pay any attention to their suspension unless something breaks.
Well struts usually don't break they just wear out. Your cupping is an
obvious sign of worn-out struts. Get them replaced and then align the car.
You shouldn't need an alignment again unless you hit something or your tires
are wearing in a pattern that suggests you need an alignment. Take it to
the Honda dealer for about$60. That will give you a 4 wheel alignment that
your car probably needs. You didn't mention what car you had but I think
I've hit the nail on the head.

From a previous ASE certified Master Auto Technician, ASE certified Heavy
Truck Technician, and a graduate of Universal Technical Institute's
Automotive/Diesel technology program

CaptainKrunch

 

It just depends, but my locla firestone has decent guys doing the work.
The only thing I don't let them do is remove my tires, they use air
tools to install tires, and I am afraid they will over tight my wheels.
I rotate the tires my self then take it to them to have it aligned.

 

You are so oblivious for so long you did not notice your alignment is
_so_ out of whack one front tire is severely worn (it sounds like your
camber is incredibly positive), and your greatest concern is that the
poor bastard who is going to have to check and try to reset your front
end, and deal with your incredible obtuseness, is a career wage slave?

Take it to a dealer, quietly and kindly pay them what they ask.

 

Well CK, I'm sorry if I offended you about taking my car so often. I
paid for the service and I take advantage of it. It takes 30 min or
less, and it cost me no more. Firestone is the one who suggested to
bring it back at that mileage; if I am late they remind me to bring it
back as close to the 5k as possible.
Belive it or not, everytime it needs and adjustment, so I don't care. I
can tell you my car always runs fine, and my tires after 40K miles have
about half of the thread left, and is wearing perfectly.
I gave the guy an advise, and everybody is free to take it on
consideration or just ignore it, no big deal.

 

Your tire wear is definitely alignment related. Your cupping of the tires

waht kind of tires? toyo's will cup on a honda all the time. i see
it every day. some tires just don't fare well on a honda. you do need
a 4 wheel alignment though. as part of an alignment they should be
checking all suspension components anyway.

from an ASE master tech, and a Honda gold level tech.
Chip

 

Do I need to replace all the stuts or just the ones on the front wheels?
I have a 1999 Honda Accord Sedan EX (4 cyld.)

 

Bad news--there are no Firestone dealers in my town and I called several
stores that sell tires and they all said that they don't offer such deals.
They said that they were not cost effective since many people expected
them to test the alignment much more than once per year.

 

waht kind of tires? toyo's will cup on a honda all the time. i see
it every day. some tires just don't fare well on a honda. you do need
a 4 wheel alignment though. as part of an alignment they should be
checking all suspension components anyway.

from an ASE master tech, and a Honda gold level tech.
Chip[/QUOTE]

I plan to take it to a Honda dealership in a couple of weeks. I'll have
them check remove all of the wheels and check all suspension conponents.
Since the tires on the rear of the 1999 Honda Accord were in perfect
condition--if I replaced the front struts--should the struts on the rear
also be replaced.

 

You are right. I should have noticed it several weeks ago when I made sure
the air pressure was correct in all of the tires. I only looked at the
treads on one of the front tires and it was the wrong one. Next time--I'll
check the tread on all of the tires everytime I check the air pressure.

 

A very good idea; if the pressures are off there's a very good chance
of anomalous wear.

 

....Care to explain that, please?

I've never heard such a thing.

 

toyo spectrums cup bad if not rotated every 3000 miles, they are the
worst. I see it every day but again i do 20+ cars a day.
Chip

 

Just make sure they use the torque chart and the specified torque bar
extension.

Dave M.

 

I heard that SEARS also offers an unlimited alignment plan. check into it.

 

....I'll try again: Can you explain that, please?

 

Thanks for the advice. However, at the local Sears store, they have some
staff members that don't seem to know what they are doing. I heard the guy
at the desk tell several customers to go to one of the local tire stores.
I went to the bays where they repair cars and noticed two employees taking
a break and no one working on the only car in the bay. They probably get
paid the same whether they service 20 cars during their shift or only 5
cars. This is also true for the guy at the counter and he might be
involved in some sort of plan with the workers to reduce the work load by
referring customers to local tire stores.