unable to align 98 Honda Civic?

Hello everybody. Just took my 98 civic to Firestone for alignment and
they said they couldn't align it. (Right front in red, I think it was
-.1)They suggested taking it to a body shop or getting a camber kit. I
have not lowered the vehicle or done anything to it in that matter. He
said 96-00 civics have this problem. I'm skeptical and thinking about
taking it somewhere else before a body shop. Any insight? Thank you.

 

I have a '98 Accord. Last summer I noticed some abnormal tire wear, and
checked with my mechanic. Evidently I needed new adjustable control arms in
the back, something only $300 would fix. I took it to my dealer, who did an
alignment for $58 and brought everything back into the green. YMMV.

Al G

 

red flag. either you've had a crash or they're trying to sell you
something you don't need.

yes, find another alignment shop.

 

??? Not that it's physically impossible, but if there's one make of
vehicle which tends to be actually built within the design specs, it's
Honda. And Toyota.

 

Generally only toe is adjustable on older Hondas. If it
can't be brought into spec, then a structural member such as
a control arm may be bent or otherwise damaged.

Consider a dealer or import car specialist for the alignment
in the future.

Not sure about 96-00 Civics in particular.

 

As others have mentioned, try taking it either to the dealer or what I
did, and take it to a reputable auto body shop. My 95 Integra was
having abnormal wear on the inner walls and would go through tires
every month. I took it to one alignment shop who has been in business
for over 25 years, and the issue was still there after 6 months. It
was a joke, I don't think they even adjusted the tie rods. I ended up
taking it to a collision repair shop to have it inspected for any
structural damage which they found that a lower control arm was
replaced (I knew that from my cousin who was involved in an accident)
but the structure wasn't damaged. The car is a lot better than what it
was before, but the uneven wear is still a little noticeable.

Your car is almost 10 years old now so you need to consider that some
other things in the suspension may also need to be placed.

Nick

 

By any chance was the damage to the control arm obvious by,
say, comparing it to a new one?

My 1991 Civic had its first alignment ever the other week.
It drives much better but the import shop that did the
alignment said the tiny bit of right side pull it
experienced could not be remedied with an alignment. The
shop suspected the right lower control arm was bent a bit.
It's not obvious from inspection that it is. I do my own
work on parts like this and have in fact removed the control
arm in the past, so I am thinking of getting one from a
wrecker yard for $16 (so I was quoted), taking the old off
and putting the junkyard one one, and see if it fixes the
pull problem.

(The alignment followed the installation of four spanking
brand new tires, all balanced at the time, so I think the
wheels can be eliminated here as the cause of the pull.)

 

highly unlikely unless you have frame/suspension arm damage.

i think you need to take it back and make sure they know how to adjust
the rear trailing arms. for some reason, a lot of the alignment shop
data books say [incorrectly] that civic rears are not adjustable, hence
they don't bother back there. i know this to be the case because i had
this exact issue with an alignment on my own civic and the shop dude was
very apologetic but said he couldn't do anything because the rear was
"not adjustable" and he showed me his book. so i showed him where to
adjust and happened to have the shop manual on me with the spec. he had
the thing done in about 10 minutes and it's been the best alignment i've
ever had.

bottom line, without that crucial adjustment, the car will never track
straight. and it needs to be done /both/ sides at the rear, especially
after bushing replacement like you've undertaken.

 

I worked at Firestone for 4.5 years, and understand what the tech ran into.
Most shops cannot measure a frame and something is worn or bent to cause the
"red". The easiest way is a camber kit, it lets you move the unmovable to
get it into the green. You have to weigh how much you want to spend and how
"red" it is. The Alignment machine can show red if it is just over the
limits; and can you (and the car) can live with. .1 isn't a big number in
the alignment world
Steve

 

a camber kit does nothing to adjust rear toe - one of the things often
not done properly on a civic. camber kits are for lowered cars, not
bent cars. bent cars need to be unbent at a frame shop, not monkeyed
with at a tire shop.

 

the op didn't say what was red, I assume camber due to the suggestion of the
kit. I agree, the frame shop is the correct way, but many want the cheap
way. that what the camber kit offers. I've used them on lowered cars and
stock. the end result being a car in alighnment (the tires at least); all
except one car I wanted to go away. A mitisubushi that had been driven hard
and put away wet. A local dealership wanted the alighnment fixed. I said
"take it to a frame shop"; it was decided by powers above me to put 4 cam
kits in it. I tried to get the numberg green AND make it drive straite I
couldent do it. They had a tech work on it who has years of "feel"
experiance. Be carefull what you buy!
I no longer work at Firestone; learned alot; took to much out of me.
Interesting to see the pro's and cons of the dealership workings now.

Steve