My way is not only LESS work, it's faster, and less expensive to the customer. What the customer would pay for a 4 wheel alignment on the car bucky posed would be the base menu price of $69.95 or whatever. This would be for a camber and toe adjustment at all four wheels, and a cradle adjustment if required, which is essentially a caster adjustment. Ironic isn't it, that the more creative, and experienced an automotive technician actually is, the LESS he/she may potentially actually earn. This alignment as I outlined would take approximately 50 minutes, allowing for a road test before it was performed to check for any pulling, vibration, and the steering wheel centering position at straight ahead. Then the suspension and steering components would be checked, tire pressures set and the machine set up on the vehicle. All adjustments performed, and then a final road test to confirm the vehicle is aligned correctly with the steering wheel centered. I asked about the "Ackerman Angle" which is commonly called "Toe Out On Turns". To check this angle during the initial caster swing you simply have to pay attention to how far you have to turn the wheels as the machine makes it measurement. Normally the machine will instruct the technician to center the steering wheels and it takes a starting measurement. It then commands the tech to turn the wheels to the right, somewhere in the area of ten degrees. Normally the RF wheel will achieve that turn first, and then the LF wheel will have to be turned just a little further. Now the machine commands the opposite turn. If everything is correct the routine will follow exactly the same, the LH wheel will achieve it's turn and measurement first, then the RF wheel will need turned just a little further. If "Toe Out On Turns" is incorrect, you will see something like the LF wheel achieve it's RH turn before the RF wheel does when turning to the right, and then again see it achieve it's turn to the left before the RF does. Typically when this angle is incorrect the tire shop, alignment tech see's a car with the front tires worn out so they replace the tires and perform an alignment. Then in a very short time the tires are worn out again, in fact so fast that the tires likely get warrantied, and the car goes back onto the alignment rack. What the tech see's is a car that is right in specs. At this point they don't have any idea why this happened because it's a very infrequent issue. Typically if the tech looks close enough he/she will see that the inner tie rods have different angles from the steering rack to the knuckles. Then putting the machine on the main screen page setting and turning the steering wheel, you would see the front end toe-in when turned to the right, and then you would see toe-out when turned to the left. (As in my example, or the mirror image depending on the problem) Here is another question. When adjusting camber by pivoting the knuckle at the base of the strut, what happens to the included angle?

I will have a new 15 SEER Goodman 3.5 ton heat pump system install tomorrow, the outside unit # SSZ140421A, the inside unit #ASPF426016. Total cost(part+labor)is $3,700. I think I get a very good price.

The door closer on a Larson screen door got damaged by wind and needs to be replaced. I never liked the stock door closer that came with the door anyway because it prevents the door from opening wide enough and it closes forcefully for the first half of travel so slams you in the back when you let go of the door and then closes very slowly for the last several inches. How can I find a door closer than controls the rate of closure through the entire range of motion and allows the door to open close to 90 degrees so it doesn't restrict carrying large items through the door when you prop it open? I already looked at the local Lowes and Home Depot and what they carry in stock locally looks no better than the original closer that came with the Larson door. I will need to either special order from those stores or order from Amazon, but I don't know how to find one that suits my requirements.

Under what conditions does the rattle occur? Does it sound like a metal or plastic part Does it sound like it might be a heavy, load bearing part? Does it sound like a trim piece? Bumper support? Bumper cover? Hood rattle? Which side of the car does it come from? Can you make it happen with the car parked by pushing the car up and down as much as you can? Try one front corner and then the other. Both corners should behave the same. If they don't, suspect the damper action of the struts. With the car parked and engine off and shift lever in park, try rocking the car front to back with the hood raised. Hear any clunking? If so, check out the engine mount that counteracts driving torque. Its a front wheel drive and the engine/transaxle assembly directly supplies torque to drive the wheels. Somewhere on the engine there is a control arm that does this job and limits engine rotation. The elastomer bushings in this torque arm are subject to getting beat up. On most cars, this arm is easily replaced. If a clunk sounds occurs mainly when only one front wheel hits a bump, suspect the bushings supporting the anti-sway bar. From underneath the front of the car, whack the bumper with a rubber mallet. Don't pound on the plastic bumper cover, but hit the metal parts. Make sure that the ignition key has been off for at least two minutes. There are crash detection accelerators up front somewhere and we don't want to blow an airbag. Rattles can be difficult to locate. If you can find a road next to a wall, drive with the front windows down and listen. Sounds that you don't normally hear will bounce off the wall and be more easily heard. I've used this technique to identify noises from wheel covers. I once had a wheel that flexed a small amount and caused the wheel cover to make a scrunching sound with every wheel rotation. In this case, the wheel was normal and the spring clips in the cover were misshapen and weak. The wall does not have to be high to be effective. It is helpful to have an observer in the passenger side to help find noises on his side of the car. You could take the car to a tire shop such as Firestone and have them check out the suspension and steering. They are adept at pushing, pulling, and prying to find worn joints. Its best if the shop have mechanics who are certified to do work other than replacing tires. The shop that I use can replace entire drive line parts including axles and axle housings on 4 wheel drives.