front outer cv boots changed=alignment necessity?
 

I cant for the life of me remember if i did an alignment after the cv boot replacements, this is the 3rd or 4th time front outer cv boot change the X has had in its 113k ...mechanic said take it for alignment...but is this needed..? for sure need front thrust bushings too and after that i am sure did alignments but not sure about when cv boots done

Depends on what was undone/removed as part of the process of changing the cv boot. In theory, if any suspension arms were removed (and they would have been) then an alignment is recommended but I’ve changed cv boots and not done an alignment afterward, with no ill effects.

cheers wpoll, i will drive it see if it veers left right as start and take it from there

front outer cv boots changed=alignment necessity?
 

More importantly: wear.
When toe gets misaligned you’ll see edge wear pretty quick

On e fifty three if you have square size setup, you can use a string wrapped around the tire centered on the hub and check for alignment.

Put a popsicle stick between the tire and the front edge and have somebody steer slightly both ways past center. The string should be straight on both sides when steering wheel centered

As Andrew has stated, the issue here is tyre wear. If you can feel a wheel alignment is out when you drive, it's WAY out!! If it's way out, you may feel it understeer or oversteer slightly but that can also be due to vehicle loading, tyre pressures etc.

I've done numerous bearing swaps etc where the suspension is taken apart and reassembled no alignment but when changing tension struts or lower control arms it's necessary.

I was able to get away with string alignment DIY though.


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Ive found that replacing the lower control arms will definitely throw the alignment out, and even the steering wheel, but I’ve had good luck doing tension strut work and not having to do the alignment.

If I was reusing the control arms I would not get an alignment. the attach points are relatively precise and will go back in the same position.


If you have any concerns a lot of places will check alignment for free (although if you have no intention of actually doing it, you have to decide if this is ethical or not).

front outer cv boots changed=alignment necessity?
 

That actually makes sense. When wife's were so worn the whole wheel moved almost an inch when braking, it still didn't wear tires or track funny.

I have replaced boots and axles multiple times with no alignment. As long as you're not replacing control arms or unbolting the struts everything goes back together where it belongs. Recently took my X in for an alignment when I put new tires on it. IIRC one side was out of toe by .1 degree. Everything else was fine and I had both control arms off both sides a number of times before that.

They do seem to be pretty stable in this respect. A couple of years back I changed my strut assemblies (installed Bilstein B4s) and the alignment never moved.

I never even aligned my car after changing the tension struts and ball joints a few years ago. I was ready to, since if the new ones had a different length than the old ones I could see that I might need to. But the car tracked perfectly fine before and after.


Honestly if you are bolting something on that is not adjustable, the only reason it would need an alignment is if it is a different size/shape than the original, or if you can bolt it on in a different position than the original.


It's my opinion, speaking as a mechanical engineer with a background in vehicle dynamics, that we align our cars way too much -- after a tire change for an example. There is nothing you can do during a tire change that would make you need an alignment. It is just an upsell from the tire shop. I actually have not aligned a car in almost twenty years. I would only recommend alignment if you have a tracking issue or if you have a tire wear issue. Otherwise I would suggest it's a waste of money and half the time the alignment is worse when you get it back. Alignment techs are generally sloppy with their work and they have wide ranges of "acceptable" alignments.

I, too, haven't had a professional shop align any of my vehicles in over 20 years, as well, with two exceptions.


When my truck and camping trailer hit a MOAP (mother-of-all potholes) at 75-80 mph one Sunday afternoon (of course, when no tire shops were open), and three of the tires on my 2500HD received belt/cord damage.

I should've found a motel, and stayed 'til I could replace the tires, but I had to be at work at 6 am the next day, so I drove home the remaining 150 miles, at 55 mph because though I put the spare on the front, the remaining two busted tires were on the rear, and driving at speeds above 55 mph was shaking the whole truck too violently to go faster (I'd check pressure and temperature of the two bad tires every 50 miles). Drove a backup car to work, and went to the nearest NTB (with tires on sale!) later the next afternoon (driving the truck on side streets).

I replaced all four tires with new All-Terrains, and as a precaution, had them align the truck, too. The report sheet showed it was just barely out of spec, but I aligned it anyway (why not, it was already on the rack).That was about 7-8 years ago.

The previous time I had an alignment was in 2004, IIRC, when I took my drag race Chevelle to a "drag race alignment" specialist that was popular with my racing organization. My Chevelle was doing 12" wheelies (after installing a more powerful engine, a trans-braked powerglide, a high stall converter, and 4.88 rear gears), and would dart to the left upon touchdown, and sometimes steered left at the finish line, at 125 mph or more. It still did that even after i increased the air pressure in the slicks from 10 psi to 15 psi, so I decided to try a drag race alignment. The specialist made it better, for sure, and it was worth the money. The car never veered left anymore, at start nor finish line.

I've self-aligned three other vehicles in the past twenty years (two trucks and one car, all 2wd/rwd) using tape measures, bubble levels and right-angle framing squares. But that was on my friend's level shop floor, and my home work place (outdoor) and even my paved garage floor are anything but level, so if/when I think I need an alignment again, I'll take the vehicle to a shop.