2002 M6 GTO, less than a week old. Bugged me because I got a slight pull to the left and my steering wheel was possibly 2 degrees off center to the right during normal straight line driving. I probably wouldn't have even noticed in a car not designed for performance driving but the level of feedback this car gives made it more irritating. I took it in and I'm glad I did. I requested to see before and after and it was farther off up front from the factory than any car I have ever owned. I don't remember the exact specs and he wouldn't let me have a copy for whatever reason but it was pretty well out of range on the camber and the total toe up front. They got it pegged nearly dead center and got the steering wheel straight for me. Just pulling out of the dealer's parking lot at low speed I could tell things had changed but it didn't become obvious until I had some speed up and also took some turns. It felt probably 15% better to drive, at least to me. The turn in now seems more confident and concise to me when before it seemed to be undecided right at initial turn in. The car tracks straight on the highway now and also seems less jittery. It is clearly a noticeable difference. I have read about one other GTO being off from the factory alignment wise so if you suspect something can be wrong up there then be sure to get it checked. It's a long boat ride over with lots of loading and unloading from trucks, much room for some slight impact alignment changes. Plus, Holden isn't exactly familiar with transporting vehicles this way and they may not have the experience yet to align left hand drive vehicles for American roads. I honestly have no idea, just speculating possible scenarios... Or I could just have got a fluke where the guy who set it up was going to lunch or something as soon as he was done. The dealer did not charge me, they were great about it. Just a simple and hopefully unnecessary warning. Take care.
Be sure to have the alignment checked if you suspect anything.
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My dealership could not allign the car. Actually my wheel is being "reannodized" by a restoration place today because they scratched a wheel trying to mount the equipment. They promised me that if I don't like the wheel they will buy a new one and told me to take it where ever I want to get it aligned and they will pay for it.
Wow, that really stinks. I watched them do the whole job and they didn't seem to have any problem hooking the heads up and compensating them. They actually made quick work of it. They were strange looking heads though, not the rim clamp type I'm used to saying. Hard to explain but the heads just sort of grabbed on to the inside of the wheel using black rubber feet.bronko91 said:
I just got back from going to the store and I'm not kidding on how much nicer this car seems to drive. And I liked it before!
I have concerns about my dealer
I have a similar problem with my car slight but consistant pull to the right.
Took it in last week for alignment and was told that the only adjustment that was possible was to change toe in. That seems very strange. I'm going to have to check out what other dealers are doing.
I have a similar problem with my car slight but consistant pull to the right.
Took it in last week for alignment and was told that the only adjustment that was possible was to change toe in. That seems very strange. I'm going to have to check out what other dealers are doing.
Alignment
We have not had to align a GTO, but should not have any problem with installing the heads. Will look into wahat is adjustable or not.
Keep in mind, if you have an alignment complaint, it must be taken care of within 7500 miles. GM is a stickler about this.
Even if vehicles have are not alignable, there are ways to adjust. Case in point, we have eccentric shims that can go between the wheel bearings (hub assembly). Nothing new, but available. This is the only way to adjust many of the foreign cars. I.E. the Pontiac Vibe rear toe is adjustable using the shims.
tghere are lots of other methods, but they are another thread.
dms
We have not had to align a GTO, but should not have any problem with installing the heads. Will look into wahat is adjustable or not.
Keep in mind, if you have an alignment complaint, it must be taken care of within 7500 miles. GM is a stickler about this.
Even if vehicles have are not alignable, there are ways to adjust. Case in point, we have eccentric shims that can go between the wheel bearings (hub assembly). Nothing new, but available. This is the only way to adjust many of the foreign cars. I.E. the Pontiac Vibe rear toe is adjustable using the shims.
tghere are lots of other methods, but they are another thread.
dms
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Don't think alignment problems are exclusive to GM products GTO in question. Total toe is easily adjustable and in some cases you don't need an alignment rack.dms said:
The way to better assist getting your problem resolved is make sure the car is pulling or steering (left or right.) I get alot of customers that say they have a pulling problem when infact the car just steers left with the steering wheel strait. Pulling is when you let go of the steering wheel and the car pulls to which ever side, pulling is generally a camber caster problem. And I belive caster is not adjustable.
Pontiac vibe need shims to adjust rear alignment,,, don't think so but next time I have a toyota matrix on the rack i'll check.
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when having alignment done find a tyre store that has a 3d aligner the heads of the aligner clamp on between the tyre and rim so as not to scratch rims also to do compensation all the have to do is roll the car backwards and fowards no need to jack up cars this also in my experiance is one of the most accurate aligners around and give great results with the right operator. also if camber to be adjusted there is two strut bolts have to be loosened to adjust camber when camber is adjusted those two bolts have to be replaced or at least the nuts, before any alignment i would check with GM as here in aus these nuts have to be replaced if camber is adjusted. so check with GM technical division first.
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Hate to go on a tangent but this is incorrect, as first the pontiac vibe is made at NUMMI in california (a former GM plant that toyota kept it from being closed now is a joint GM/toyota plant).dms said:
Their are two versions of the Pontaic Vibe rear alignment is adjusted by the following. 4WD is eccentrics on upper lower control arms (also adjusts camber). FWD rear toe is adjusted on the rear lower control arm, similar to the inner outter tie rods on the front axle.
vibe alignment rear
dms
Not to increase the tangent and analness, the AWD Vibe is adjsutable at the rear. The AWD only makes up about 10% of the Vibes. The FWD version does not have alingment capablities in the rear. We have seen some tire wear issuesGMH GTO said:
dms
shims
dms
We ahve had at least 2 of them that I can account for that the toe was out of specs. We remove the rear hub assembly and put a eccentric shim plate between hub and the rear spindle. Works well. Depending on wear you put the ecentric, you can adjust camber and or toe. jeff strausser, brand quality manager for vibe, is trying to get GM to support/supply a shim kit for this. Have used this tkind of shim kit for many years on a whole lot of FWD vehicles.GMH GTO said:
dms
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I'm having the same issue. Mine pulls to right and the st.wheel is @ 5 to 7 degrees to the right as well. I know the diferance between pulling to the right and stearing to the right. She's pulling slightly. I talked to my dealer and gave him a list... Thunk in the trunk,, Alignment, buzz in the door. He is looking into parts and reserving me a loaner. So far so good. I'll update when I know more. glad I'm not the only one anal about the alignment.1COOLPC said:
I am taking mine in today to get checked out. My alignment feels totally out of whack!
Just an FYI: That thunk in the trunk is these metal cover things just sitting on the spare tire.
Lift the carpet you will see them. Secure them and they will not "tunk" anymore.
Wish me luck with the dealer, I hope they are good about this! Otherwise I will get mad
Just an FYI: That thunk in the trunk is these metal cover things just sitting on the spare tire.
Lift the carpet you will see them. Secure them and they will not "tunk" anymore.
Wish me luck with the dealer, I hope they are good about this! Otherwise I will get mad
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There was an actual 'thunk' besides the spare tire - but it was fixed before 1/2 the cars were built. It was the rear end carriage hitting the underside of the car. The fix was to extend the length of some bolts and put a stopper in place. Any cars delivered after mid-March should have been fixed or built w/ the fix already done.5point7 said:I am taking mine in today to get checked out. My alignment feels totally out of whack!
Just an FYI: That thunk in the trunk is these metal cover things just sitting on the spare tire.
Lift the carpet you will see them. Secure them and they will not "tunk" anymore.
Wish me luck with the dealer, I hope they are good about this! Otherwise I will get mad
Dan
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