have not seen anyone post those needed replacing..

 

Sounds like the alignment guy is full of it. What kind of shop was it? It is unlikely those items would wear out in under 3-4 years unless you're putting a ton of miles on the car (which you really aren't).

 

I cant find anything anywhere either. What else would cause a little bit of wobble or sloppiness in the rear wheel.

The whole reason we discovered this was bad wear on my front left tire....wearing prematurely on the inside edge. I dont know if the sway bar links or other issue are related or not.

 

It was a tire/alignment shop.

Sorry, not sure why i posted this here...should have been in the suspension board. id move if I knew how.

 

It's a generally technical discussion - no biggie!

 

What I meant was are they truly reputable?

For example, my dad needed to get his car aligned. A local shop that's been around forever told him they could do a computer alignment. Last I checked they don't have an alignment rack. Another shop told him the rear suspension wasn't adjustable (it was, and needed to be aligned).

In other words, never trust a shop unless you have a reason to do so.

 

Yeah, they are definitely reputable....probably the most reputable in the area.

 

When the rear suspension is unloaded grab the wheel at 12 and 6 oclock and pull in and out. You will feel the play in the bushings if they are loose. The whole arm has to be replaced no bushings available seperately. Mine has 100,000kms and one is getting loose. Had another one with both loose and broken coil spring.

OP the sway bar links have nothing to do with tire wear or alignment

 

@jreed, how are things going with the Acadia? Did you get it in for another opinion?

Michelle, GMC Customer Service

 

Sounds like the alignment guy is full of it. What kind of shop was it? It is unlikely those items would wear out in under 3-4 years unless you're putting a ton of miles on the car (which you really aren't).

I agree. A 3 year old vehicle with 60k miles would make it unlikely that they would wear out. Of course, the way a vehicle is driven also has a lot to do with how soon things wear out.

 

Michelle, not yet. Sometime this week I will be taking it in. Ill let everyone know how it goes.

In the meantime, I had the sway bar links replaced but a clunking remains in the front end. ugggg....

 

Although, maybe I should revise my statement.

In a previous car there was a bushing in the control arm that wore/tore rather quickly and it was a well documented "flaw". Easiest fix was something aftermarket that couldn't tear.

 

I took my Acadia to my dealership yesterday for an alignment and didnt say anything about the control arms. The last place found the issue and said they couldnt align without replacing them. This time I wanted to see if the dealership said the same so I didnt volunteer the info. They aligned it with no problem. :shrug: No word about control arms.

 

this is a tricky one.. maybe they just aligned it to the best of their ability...

And I say this because--- I recently had a 07 Impala wearing out the inner rears.
Turns out from the factory- theres no REAR CAMBER adjustment. So I bought Camber adjustment screws- and installed them.
I took it to Pep Boys- and told the service writer--- I installed bolts for Camber adjustment..
Well they did their thing, When I got home I looked over paperwork- Camber specs were still in RED ink.
I went to look-- they didnt even touch the Camber bolts. They adjusted as best they could and left it like that...

So the actual techs- just did his best with what he had. (Didnt bother to mention bad Camber-- or to inspect). and the service writer didnt bother to tell the tech what I told him.

 

What I meant was are they truly reputable?

For example, my dad needed to get his car aligned. A local shop that's been around forever told him they could do a computer alignment. Last I checked they don't have an alignment rack. Another shop told him the rear suspension wasn't adjustable (it was, and needed to be aligned).

In other words, never trust a shop unless you have a reason to do so.

Although I agree with your post... perhaps the computer alignment was to be performed at another shop. I have sent my vehicle to my local mechanic before only to find out he has sent it out for work that he can not perform. It was somewhat disturbing to find out later, but I suppose it really only matters that he is liable for the work.

 

@jreed, how is the vehicle handling since the alignment? Are you still having concerns with it?

Michelle, GMC Customer Service

 

Last Friday I took my '08 Acadia with 119,900 miles to a local suspension shop. Both the right & left rear control arms & bushings need to be replaced and I also need the front done. The estimate that they gave me was almost $1700.00. I went to my dealership and got a 2nd estimate and all the work does need to be done, but their cost for Genuine GM Parts was over $200.00 less and I also have a 20% off the service coupon (I received it in the mail last week, talk about timing). So I had them order the parts, I was surprised usually the dealer is more expensive, but glad to let them do it, and am waiting for my parts. The back end of the car is really bouncing around while going down the road. Will let you know how it turns out.

 

this is a tricky one.. maybe they just aligned it to the best of their ability...

And I say this because--- I recently had a 07 Impala wearing out the inner rears.
Turns out from the factory- theres no REAR CAMBER adjustment. So I bought Camber adjustment screws- and installed them.
I took it to Pep Boys- and told the service writer--- I installed bolts for Camber adjustment..
Well they did their thing, When I got home I looked over paperwork- Camber specs were still in RED ink.
I went to look-- they didnt even touch the Camber bolts. They adjusted as best they could and left it like that...

So the actual techs- just did his best with what he had. (Didnt bother to mention bad Camber-- or to inspect). and the service writer didnt bother to tell the tech what I told him.

The issue here is you went to Pep Boys and expected quality work. Most shops won't touch anything that isn't factory. Doesn't surprise me at all.

Also, back to my folks' Camry. It too was wearing rear inners. Turns out the toe was out of whack. A proper alignment fixed everything. Camber is almost never adjustable in the rear unless we're talking about Corvettes and such.

 

@jreed, how is the vehicle handling since the alignment? Are you still having concerns with it?

Michelle, GMC Customer Service

Michelle, I havent driven it yet. My wife does drives the Acadia and she said it seems fine to her. We are going on a bit of a road trip this weekend so Ill see how it feels and report back.

 

They fixed my car yesterday, the dealership that I use in Charlotte - Team One Chevy was a lot cheaper then the suspension shop in Lansing, I ended up after using the 20% discount coupon that I received saving almost $700.00. I ended up having the from lower control arm bushings, rear link, rear arm & nuts & bolts replaced. I am very happy with the repairs and my Acadia handles so much better now. I am a very happy customer.

 

@jreed, we hope you and your wife have a wonderful, but safe trip this weekend. I look forward to reading updates when you get back.

Happy Friday!

Michelle, GMC Customer Service

 

Thank you for sharing the good news, Sunkahlua! I’m glad things are taken care of.

Michelle, GMC Customer Service

 

After taking my car and having it looked at I was told I need to front hubs. We went to replace the brakes at the house and the guy doing the repair told me to get an alignment and two tires and a name of a reputable business. I called them Monday and they gave me a free inspection of the suspension. I was told the rear upper control arm bushings were bad and an alignment could not be done until than. The quote he gave was 1107 for two tires, two control arms, mounting balancing and a four wheel alignment. Labor at 125 an hour for roughly 3 hours. After watching youtube this does not seem to be that bad of a task. Has anyone else had to do this? The guy that did the brakes said he could do it and cut the bill down some but I'm just not sure.

 

... After watching youtube this does not seem to be that bad of a task. Has anyone else had to do this? The guy that did the brakes said he could do it and cut the bill down some but I'm just not sure.

Done a bunch of suspension work, but not on the Acadia. The job doesn't appear difficult to do, just a little time consuming. Competence of "the guy" should have been noticed while doing the brake job. It's up to you whether the work is done in one step, or two. One-stop shopping seems a lot more attractive to me, though.

 

He did notice there was an issue but said to go get the alignment. When they wouldn't do it until this is done brings me back to square one. Trying to save a little money we live paycheck to paycheck

 

If "the guy" is competent and charges you less per hour, by all means have the work done by them. Don't accept a bill for labor hours any higher than 'published flat rate' for the job, though. You'd be getting ripped off for any labor hours charged higher than flat rate. I don't currently have access to a flat rate schedule. You might be able to find labor hours charged for the work on the 'net. If not, call a dealer service center and ask a service adviser for help with that. Hope you find one who will cooperate with you.