Date:         Mon, 20 Nov 1995 10:07:30 -0800 (PST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         John Brown <jlbrown@u.washington.edu>
Subject:      Ball joint/alignment

In a previous post I mentioned that I took my Vanagon in for an alignment 
and the tech told me that I needed to replace my upper right ball joint 
before he could align the vehicle.  He adjusted the toe-in and said to 
bring the Vanagon back after I had the ball joint replaced.  

The toe-in adjustment fixed the difficult steering and the uneven tire 
wear.  The van also does not pull right or left.  

I replaced the ball joint and took the Vanagon back for the "free" 
re-alignment.  Well, he still can't get it into alignment.  Not only 
could he not get it into alignment he made it worse than when I brought 
it in.  Now the steering wheel is not straight when the van is going 
straight and if I let go it pulls to the left.  

The van has not been in an accident as far as I can tell.  Does any one 
know how difficult it is to do your own alignment and what tools you 
need?  Also, what could be causing the van to be out of spec for 
alignment.  Bad bushings?  Bent suspension parts?  How do I tell?

Thanks,

John Brown
jlbrown@u.washington.edu