Im getting my 88 wagon aligned, i changed the outter tie rods. The manager comes out and says the driver side cant be aligned, its bad by like -2.75 degrees. He says i absolutely need an adjustable ball joint, not even a new stock one will work. Is this shop trying to rip me off?
I do know that the previous owner crashed the car mainly from the driver side, some frame damage... but i want to know if i have to get an adjustable uca/ or ball joint, or will just a new uca fix this.

 

if you need an adjustable anything it means something is damaged on your car or suspension. chances are if the alignment guy thinks it needs something that much then stock WON't cut it as there is other damage the adjustable joint is going to hide.

 

Well you can choose to skip that and have the frame repaired correctly. How's this a question if you know there's previous/existing damage? The arm connects to the unibody (structure) which is integrated with the frame so to speak (not like older cars/trucks that have a separate frame and body). So if the frame (unibody) is crooked in anyway it will more than likely make that arm out of position.

 

an adjustable UCA wont fix a bad frame. and if its just the UCA that needs replacement, just get a new OEM one. then see where the alignment is and see what else you need to do.

they should still be able to align the toe. it may not drive straight that way because of the off camber.

this is why (smart) ppl dont buy frame damaged cars...

 

I would just get the adjustable ball joint and call it a day. And the shop is correct, the camber is not adjustable from the factory. I mean, if you've got nearly 3 degrees of negative camber, and that truly is from a tweaked strut tower and assuming you don't have a severely bent control arm, ordering a new control arm isn't going to give you any positive camber back.

I don't know if you have the original control arms or aftermarket, but I put aftermarket control arms on my EF (which was never wrecked) and it made both sides have about 2 degrees of negative camber, which really bugged me visually. I added adjustable ball joints to fix it.

 

Ok ill just get some adjistables. Everything is stock. @Tyson i dont think it was dumb of me to buy this wagon, because i got it for 400$ running clean title passed smog in CA. The rest of the car has oem beige paint no scratches or sunfade, interior is nint besides driver seat. And i just recharged the ac on thursday with 134, using an old *** receiver drier thats been sitting in my backyard for a year, and the wagon blows 40 degree ice cold air. It even has the oem under car splash shields.

 

i think its ridiculous to knowingly buy a frame damaged car, then expect it to be aligned correctly, and complain that you have to buy a new UCA to fix it.

glad you got the answer you were hoping for. best of luck.