So I know the story is that the first thing you do after replacing some front end bits (in this case - both lower control arms and passenger tie rod end) is to get the car aligned to avoid tire damage. And that was the plan. Les Schwab (only game in town) told me their typical rap that if I brought it in by 7 in the morn and left it they could get to it that day (this was Friday). So we went to work, it was hard, but we got it done. I took it in to Les Schwab wednesday afternoon thinking they could do it Thursday. Turns out while we were doing the front end, one of their two alignment techs was getting covid. After two days of the car sitting there I went and grabbed it and now I have an appointment Tuesday in Minden which will be about a 40 mile drive and I will likely put 40 miles on it before then (including 20 so far). It doesn't appear to be pulling at all.
We were careful to get the torsion bar key screw back to the exact same spot. And we counted the threads on the tie rod end (and adjusted for the new part being 1 mm longer) being careful to get everything back where it was (which may or may not have been aligned). So, after driving 80 miles would there be any way to tell if I actually need to get it aligned? It's only $100 to do it, but Tuesday is also shaping up to be the year's first good powder day so driving off the hill for a mid morning appointment is a kick to the vajayjay.
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