You are correct - sorry - the General Lee is truly a magnificent beast that can do everything; very poor example from me...

any car that is aligned is set up on a level rack or pit and slip plates under the front wheels, the car is not supposed to be backed up or steered while doing this, then the foot brakes are jammed on.

The jamming of the brakes is of no use if the car is FWD as the front bearings are uber tight anyway.

Well I took it down to the dealership Saturday. Here's an update:

The service manager was very receptive and attentive. He asked questions and listened to what I had to say and seemed genuinely interested in helping out and not just throwing money at the problem. He said when he got in that morning he talked to the alignment techs about the problem and said that they suspected there might be steering slop or a worn component and that they would check it out but not do any work that was not approved or required (i.e would not align the car is something is bad etc).

I told them about my past experiences with other shops and he said that, in fact, they get a lot of alignment business because other shops simply can't or won't do the alignment or do it , but do it poorly, etc.

The wanted $129 plus fees, taxes, etc for the alignment should the techs/mechs say that thats what was needed. I OK'd that and they threw in a complimentary car wash.

They closed at 4pm that day. I hadn't heard a call and we decided to head back down around 315 or so as we'd told them that I needed the car back for Monday. The car was still up on the rack, I could see someone working on it. Another manager said that we should just hang loose, it might take some time. It wasn't until around 430 did I get the car back.

I forgot to ask for a before-after sheet, it was a half hour after close and everything was closed/off. I'll was going to call back yesterday but didn't get around to it.

So far the alignment has been a good improvement over the old. The car tracks well, with minimal need to compensate.

Hopefully this makes sense:
With the previous alignment, the road surface curvature/warp/etc would be directly translated into the steering wheel and cause me to have to compensate often. With the new alignment this curvature is translated into the suspension. I can feel the road surface with the front end but it does not effect my steering like the previous. The car does not feel like its being pushed all over the road. Steering is more predictable and such.

Well that sounds a lot safer.

Try and get the sheet if you can - it might be entertaining to see the difference between the two jobs.

Please post the final specs when you get them..

I will try to get them. I, too, would like to see what they finally arrived at and what they were before. I only had two weeks on my previous alignment.

Glad that your car is driving better.

I think it was asked in a prior post about how whether they let the suspension hang during the alignment. From what I remember they have the front wheels on plates that are on bearings The mechanic can move the wheels around.

One way that I have seen the alignment done is that the mechanic actually puts a small razor cuts in the tire tread at the center of the tire and then bases at least some of his measurements off of the cuts.

From what I saw, they pulled it up on a drive-on type lift. There was some type of apparatus attached to the wheels, I think they went into the holes around the lug bolts.

1982 300SD Alignment
 

Last spring I replaced most of the components on my front end. Though the project seemed daunting, it eventually became just another nut and bolt disassembly / assembly, fortified by the confidence gained from the motley crew on this board. When I had completed the job, my front end literally chirped when driven the short distance to the MB dealership for its alignment.

The tech had done several in the past, and had what seemed to be all the right tools. They have a special lift, equipped with pads on all 4 wheels, lasers that bolt onto the special holes in the MB rims, the elusive spreader bar, and a computer that records the adjustments. I had the privelage of watching the process, and it was fun to see a tech who seemed to care about his work. An hour of tugging, testing, re testing and adjusting put the car back on the road for a test drive. The steering / tracking felt great to me, but the tech was not satisfied. Another 45 minutes on the rack and it was done. Nice to see a vehicle built with the ability to attain accurate adjustments.

The toll for my entertainment and adjustment was $170 all in. Alot to spend, but I will do it again before I attempt to follow the steps Army / Stretch offers. His patience is rewarded with work successfully completed. I know when to open my wallet, and when to do the work myself.

I would gladly recommend the alignment services at MB of Buffalo, even to a guy who lives 170 miles from Buffalo!

So I fueled up today and noticed something...My economy improved! I had logged a good amount of miles averaging a around 30MPG with my previous alignment, so I fuel up after a full tank on my new alignment and I got nearly 33 MPG!

You can see the three tanks before getting the new alignment I was pretty solid at ~30MPG....

Here is the data:
http://i.imgur.com/U0MTyFdl.jpg