Alignment Question

[Mike80911]

I just took my Cayenne to the local Firestone for an alignment the guy at the counter said he cannot align it because there are special weights required and only the dealer has them. Is he correct in what he told me? If so what are the weights for? The dealer wants $325 to align it seems like alot to spend for an easy job. Thanks

[wcc]

I say BS, and take it somewhere else. I had tires and an alignment done at Belle Tire a couple years ago and they didn't have any problem.

[Mike80911]

Thanks
WCC seems wrong to me too

[jhhaas]

I just took mine in to a local shop and he said he couldn't do it because the front wheel bearings are bad. Sounds fishy to me. My old track trick of trying to shake the wheel reveals no play at all. I have no noise, vibration or other signs of two bad front wheel bearings. Sucks living in a small town sometimes.

[not_hans_stuck]

I wonder if he gets his alignment weights from the same place he gets his muffler bearings.

[jhhaas]

and locals complain about folks going out of town for goods and services...what the hell would he need weights for?

[Mike80911]

jhhass everything up front is tight just put in a new ball joint and Porsche put in a new front differential that is why I need an alignment warrenty company would not pay the $350 so I figured I would just bring it somewhere else for $100 and save myself $250 I am going to try somewhere else Anyone know a good shop in NYC

[914-6Porsche]

Did you want a 4-Wheel alignment or just the front end? I got my 2004T done at the dealer for $99

[jeffdtla]

There are no weights required to align a Cayenne. In our sports cars, you are supposed to have a full tank of gas to make sure the front end sits at the correct height, and some dealers use weights in the trunk when cars do not have a full tank. But there is no such thing for a Cayenne that I am aware of and no reason why it would need that. This is a front-engined SUV, so any reasonably sized load you can put in the rear will not have any significant effect on the alignment. That Firestone place probably heard that Porsches need weights to be aligned and assumed that the Cayenne was one of them. The local shop probably didn't know how to align your Cayenne. Unlike many lower priced cars, it has full adjustments for caster, camber and toe in the front and camber and toe in the rear, so they were probably afraid that the usual "adjust-the-toe-and-go" budget "alignment" would not be enough or even make things worse and therefore did not want to do it. There's a reason the dealer charges $325 for this. Even some guys at the dealer don't feel comfortable doing these cars(or the Q7 or Touareg since it's often the same dealer), but if you know them, they're a piece of cake to align.