johnsonrod

I recently had my 2008 Honda engine replaced on warranty due to a cracked block. It was installed by the local Honda dealer and they also replaced an axle that showed signs of wear. 600 miles later my almost new 80k mile Bridestone Potenza tires needed replacement due to abnormal wear.

Should the car have had wheel alignment after an axle and engine were replaced? I had the tires rotated just prior to the engine/axle replacement and they were fine.

ezone

What exactly was this "abnormal" wear?

johnsonrod

Outside shoulder wear on all four tires.

ezone

All work done was on the front end of the car.
How would you expect that to cause rear tires to wear abnormally?

Hmmmm?

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Seems like your tire issues may have existed prior to the engine work.

Someone noticing tire wear shortly after the engine work does not automatically mean you can point the finger of blame at whomever touched the car last.

Has a 4 wheel alignment been done to correct the current issue? What were the 'before and after' readings of the camber/caster/toe, for all 4 wheels?

FYI I haven't seen an alignment issue after doing one of the Civic engine block replacement jobs, but I can't speak for anyone else who may not do the work the same way I do it. The service information for the engine work does not specifically state to align the wheels as part of the engine job.

HTH

johnsonrod

I'm out of my element with alignment. Yes, I put on new Michelin tires and had a 4-wheel alignment done. The alignment print out has Actual/Before/Specified Range readings. Which are you asking about, before and actual?

ezone

Yes. Post a picture of the printout?

Curious to see how far the alignment was off after the engine work was done, if it was significant or not.
(Keep in mind someone who knows what they are doing can manipulate the numbers.)

And to see the numbers for the rear which would have not been touched during the engine work.

Are you the ONLY driver of the car?

johnsonrod

Actually, I hope it isn't a "woman driver" problem. My fiance drives the car but says she hasn't jumped any curbs lately. She's a "reasonably" responsible 47-year old.

I took a picture but can't figure how to post it? I saved to my hard drive. sorry, duh.

ezone

Lately? LOL. I use an image hosting service like tinypic or imigur. Upload the pic there then post the link (URL) to it here, using the 'insert image' icon above the text reply box.


Or...From the FAQ: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/f...b3_attachments

johnsonrod

Thanks. I think I attached a jpg file of the picture but don't see the icon.

She is actually a very good driver. Now if she let her daughter use the car, well...

ezone

I see a bunch of toe-in that isn't explained by the engine job (rear is excessive as well as the front).
Toe-IN can cause wear of the outside shoulders of the tires.



I see someone went to a lot of trouble to change the camber on both front wheels. Did they mention doing this, or needing hardware (special bolts) to make this change?


Possible previous alignment job errors?
Wear and tear, winter, potholes, curb, etc.?

johnsonrod

Boy, you sound like you know your stuff. The mention of "special bolts" brings back memories. I'll have to look at my Civic file. There may have been previous work. I bought the car new but was surprised that I have gone thru three axles at 141k miles. I believe the first two were replaced or compensated in part by warranty.

I think at this point if you think I'm ok w/ new tires, and a new alignment, and I don't have a particular party that screwed up, I'll just hope for the best down the road?

I very much appreciate your insights. I will look at my records regarding previous repair/alignments.

ezone

I saw a few of those cars that had noisy CV joints fairly early in life, but 3 replacements seems unusual. What were the circumstances behind the replacements?
That's about all you can do at this point.
Check tire pressures and air up whenever needed, and rotate tires on a regular basis.


Now that it has been aligned and new tires are on it:
Take the car for a test drive (preferably by yourself at first), note if the steering wheel is perfectly level while driving in a straight line on a level road, and it doesn't pull to either side. Mentally note that for future reference.

Drive again with spouse in the car. Mentally note if wheel is still level and no pull.
Note again for future reference.

Drive the car periodically, and note steering wheel position whenever you drive.
If there is ever a significant change from level, something is probably wrong.

johnsonrod

Thanks again for insights on checking alignment/issues. I will certainly be watching it more closely after this expensive issue.

I think the first two cv joints were replaced due to increasing clicking while turning and I brought it to the Honda dealers attention. The last one came this past March when the engine was changed out. The Honda dealer called me to say one of the axles was "going" which I guess meant starting to leak or something. Anyway, they felt it would be failing shortly and as long as they were "in there working on it" they made the repair at a substantial cost savings to me. In fact I think they only charged me $10 which seems odd because their cost on the part must have been more than that. But in any event I had it replaced and it has been fine since.

ezone

I don't know about the parts cost, but labor should have been minimal.

Maybe an extra couple tenths of labor time to remove the nut and drive the shaft out of the hub (and reinstall the new one), the other hard stuff was already out of the way when the engine and trans were dropped out of the engine compartment.