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Here's one opinion on the need for corner balancing. Not necessary. You don't need a set of race scales under each wheel to confirm there's equal weight on each front or each rear wheel.
The tripod method was mentioned in an earlier post. It's low tech and it's in the factory repair manual. Essentially, the process transforms a four-legged stool into one with 3 legs, thus eliminating one corner of the vehicle from affecting the other end. If the ride height is the same on the tested end (front or rear and with sway bar drop link disconnected), the corner balance is close enough (validated by others who have performed this).
Lacking weight scales, the repair shop could have performed this simple procedure, then, having confirmed and adjusted accordingly, moved on to adjust the alignment. Granted, adjusting the rear ride height can be a trial and error process that takes time. However, if the tripod method isn't used and weight scales aren't available to confirm the car is "balanced", any alignment attempts or subsequent height adjustments to "compensate" will prove fruitless.
In that he stated the alignment rack was "unavailable" I find it difficult to imagine they otherwise aligned the car using strings or other low-buck but equally accurate method.
If the car pulls to one side, I don't see any relationship if the stiffness of an individual corner is different. If all 4 tires point in the correct direction, the vehicle should still roll straight. Ride harshness is another issue.
MHO,
Sherwood
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