i went to the alignment shop today for the first time. its a private shop referred to me by a friend. the guy there seems really honest and i can tell he's definately a perfectionist. anyways, i tell him about my rex, 1" drop, etc and he begins the alignment. i guess alot of stuff was seized so it took alot longer. but anyways, he came back in and told me a bunch of stuff was wrong, including:

-i need new tie rod ends
-i need a new wheel bearing
-my front right camber was 1 deg off but my left front was 2 deg off

he made it sound really bad. i paid $190 today for the work that he did, which btw he did correct alot and it drives much better. but he estimated that parts and labor for everything mentioned above would be around $750. my jaw about dropped, especially after i just forked out over $3000 for my recent motor swap. so we're talking almost 1 grand to drive straight? i couldnt believe it. is this normal to have a car this messed up? or is this guy an over-perfectionist? also about the wheel bearing, only one is bad. the car has 120,000 miles on it. is it wise to replace just the one? or is the other going to fail soon where i may as well just replace them both at once?

i would HIGHLY appreciate suggestions and opinions as to what i should do here. this area really isnt my specialty so i feel really lost.

thankyou all to who reply

 

If that is the installed price for new tie rods and 4 new wheel bearings, it may not be too bad.

You could save some money by installing some of these parts yourself. The outer tie rods are easy to change while the inners are a bit more difficult since I believe you have to bend the washer over to secure it to the rack gear.

The front wheel bearings are a bit of work to get the hub out and then press the old bearings out and the new ones in. The front bearings from Honda last I checked were like $100 each. The rear wheel bearings are pretty easy to change and around the same amount of money.

Good luck

 

If he is really a perfectionist, he would not have tried to align the wheels if the tie rod ends were that bad. He may feel they have a little more slop than he would like to see, but at this point replacement doesn't seem to be required. Keep an eye on them though because they could last a long time yet or get worse sooner. Another alignment will most likely be required after replacement.

As for the wheel bearing, you can replace one at a time. There is no reason to change the other unless it is bad too. It's a PITA to do yourself since you need a press to do it. Shop around at other Honda specialty shops for quotes.