Agreed.
The last shim that gets put in should be tight enough that you have to tap it in.
Sounds like you may have found your "steering" issue!

 

Couldn't be happier with the help I've received from all of you fine people you guys made my day. Silly question but I must also ask; if the shims are loose I would assume you would need an additional shim to tap in there to make it right? I'm wondering if the tech at Firestone messed with those shims at all/didn't do it properly?

 

I'd suggest getting a set (or two) of stainless shims, and new cotter pins, and replacing all of them. The next person who does your alignment (and it could be you!) will thank you.

You'll also get a better look at the bushings, and can decide if they need to be replaced.

 

Okay everybody today keeps getting fun. I had a conversation with the service writer over the phone and she thought the car was 4WD so I could already tell what was going to happen.
I spoke to a different service writer about the problems I saw, within one hour he said the different "master tech" finished the alignment. I was told that shims were missing from the front top right control arm (and they were...when he was done they were so loose I pulled them out with my fingers...) and that the drifting was from road crowning. I asked him how he did the alignment without using the proper shims and he told me "We don't carry shims, and its an additional $60 to install them." (I had my own pack of Dorman shims and they refused to use them unless I paid them.) I explained the issue again and told him he was not going to charge me labor for shims on a lifetime alignment but he clearly didn't care even though they screwed it up. So this is the sheet I was left with.

After inspecting it myself, he did tighten the sleeve jam nuts on the rear. The trailing arm shims are still slightly loose on the passenger side but tighter than before, and I took the stack of shims out of the top of the control arm closest to the A/C compressor because they were going to fall out while driving anyways. Its very difficult to find anyone to touch the alignment on my car in my area and judging by this sheet I will assume the problem will persist.

Side note; I did provide them with the Van Steel alignment specs from this post and asked the tech about it and he told me "Those are unverified specs I can't do those."

 

Perhaps someone has suggested this already. If not, do this now.

Invest in the tools to do you own alignment, and follow @cagotzmann 's instructions.

No one loves your car more than you, no one will do a better job than you.

Did you provide additional stainless shims for the rear trailing arms, or did they just tighten the bolt until it compressed the frame?

DIY thread
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...nt-method.html
Bonus thread, with photos of rusty trailing arm shims.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ment-81-a.html

 

Thanks for the threads, they look to be above my paygrade but I will read it again to see if I can do it; its a great thread. And no I did not provide the trailing arm shims, I doubt they would've put them in if they did. The frame still looks good.

 

Your experience with this shop really sucks. From what I read and understood, it's no wonder the car is all over the road. Sounds like none of the suspension parts are securely held in place. There have to be other shops that can do a quality alignment somewhere near you - I may even be tempted to go to a Chevy dealer.

Earlier this year I got the Gyraline app and holder where you use your phone to measure angles and adjust from there. I measured and did my own front alignment. I haven't tried to do the rear. I then had an alignment shop measure the car and he didn't touch anything, it was good to go. It took some learning about the concepts of how the different adjustments change handling but overall everything went smoothly.

 

Thanks for the input Owen, its been a headache to say the least. I'm sure Chevy would charge me an arm and a leg but I would give it my best shot first with the tools you recommended and threads posted above. The app looks pretty interesting so I'll check it out in my spare time.