97 850 4-wheel alignment questions

chuckcintron · Post by **chuckcintron** » 23 Aug 2007, 07:25

I could use some help figuring out how to find a decent place to get my car aligned, after I recently finished replacing just about every moving part on the front end suspension (all OEM parts). I marked bolt positions and counted threads as I removed/replaced parts -- so I'm dialed in to where the car was -- but I'm sure it's not 100% correct -- so I need to get it aligned.

I'd rather not take it to the dealer.

A good friend of mine (who lives across the country from me) is a maniac about his Lexus like I am about the Volvo -- and he swears by his local shop that is equipped with all Hunter alignment tools:

http://www.hunter.com/

I found a small shop near me that has this equipment.

Questions:

1. My car (97 850GLT wagon) is definitely 4-wheel adjustable, right? No need for shims or any other extra devices to dial it in, correct?

2. Anyone have any experience with a Hunter alignment shop?

3. In general, when I talk to an alignment technician what questions should I be asking, to make sure that I'm convinced that they know what they are doing and the job will get done to spec? I've heard stories of folks bringing Volvos to the national chain places and being told that their car could not be aligned.

This is one aspect that I worry about, because the results of a poor alignment job may not be felt right away -- but weeks later strange tire wear may show up...good luck getting the alignment shop to own up to that...

Post by **JRL** » 23 Aug 2007, 07:49

If it's stock (no lowering springs)
these cars are not hard to align if nothing's bent.
Sometimes the rear toe can be a PIA but a GOOD shop should be able to deal with it straight away.
Not a whole lot to adjust, front camber ft. toe and rear toe.
Rear camber in non adjustable as is front castor

chuckcintron · Post by **chuckcintron** » 23 Aug 2007, 08:25

All stock, and the car ended up within a millimeter of ride height before and after my repairs.

When you say that the rear toe can be a PIA, what exactly does the tech have to do to dial in the rear toe? I'd like to know myself, so I can gauge the chance of the tech getting to that point and just giving up on rear-toe (and not even tell me he skipped it).

Does he have to break free the big cross-links back there?

Not sure if it matters, but I have had zero issues with rear tire wear, or steering tracking on this car...so maybe the rear toe is good already...(I didn't do any work in the back either, besides new shocks).

Thanks!

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 23 Aug 2007, 10:06

The rear toe is adjusted by loosening the bolts that secure the bushings that tie the two delta arms together.

Items 4L & 4R on the diagram here:

http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo850rearsuspension.htm

When doing the alignment they should do it in this order:

1) Rear Toe

2) Front Camber

3) Front Toe

...Lee

chuckcintron · Post by **chuckcintron** » 23 Aug 2007, 10:47

Super...thanks for the pointer, Lee. I called the place with the Hunter equipment today -- sounded competent over the phone, and was familiar with my model Volvo.

The only thing I didn't like was he said that a normal 4-wheel alignment costs $85 -- but if he has to make "a lot of adjustments" (whatever that means), it could be as high as $125. I'm not going to try to wring every dollar out of this, but it seems to me that if you are setting a price on an alignment service, it ought to be set with the expectation that anything normally requiring adjusting will have to be touched. Shims, or other add-ons, or stuff that's broken and needs fixing...charge for that if needed.

So, I think he basically just told me to expect to pay $125 for this service.

-Chuck

milesursogood · Post by **milesursogood** » 17 Mar 2013, 08:47

I replaced a pair of rear coil springs and rear shocks on my 850 wagon yesterday. Is it required that I have the rear wheel alignment done?