It's fixed! It's finally fixed!

"sefeing, actually bought an E46" (sefeing90) 06/27/2014 at 11:15 • Filed to: shop recommendation, focus st, ST

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So after I railed a pothole with my month old Focus ST, it hasn't been the same since. Took two different Ford dealerships to finally diagnose a problem as a wheel bearing (sounded like it.), and pulling to the right when you applied any throttle (in higher gears too. Not torque steer.) Two months of spending a damn fortune and replacing things on my brand new car.

Finally decided to try another alignment, so I brought it to a local shop near me with amazing reviews. I got there to find out it's a tiny place, but they've got top of the line alignment and balancing equipment. After they did it, they gave me a before & after printout, which I'll post another time. They aligned to factory spec. Apparently, the dealer I had the alignment done at had some ancient (not laser, or light or however it works it's magic) equipment and didn't do it right, ruining a few tires. The back wheel alignment was WAY off, and that would explain this next part:

When I brought it back to have them re-check later in the day, (which they gave me zero problems about), the shop owner took a look and noticed incredibly uneven treadwear. He recommended at least one new tire. I bought three (replaced the 4th a month ago or so) and sucked it up to have even tread all around.

Got them put on yesterday, and it fixed all my problems. Car tracks straight now, and the noise that Ford said was a bearing (or sounded like one, and then ordered parts for me) is gone. Bad tires seemed to be the issue.

Moral of this story: The Ford dealership misaligned and misdiagnosed my car, so Here's an independent shop recommendation, if you live in / around Queens, NY, or just NYC in general.

RCT Performance on 15th avenue in College Point may be the best shop I've ever dealt with. The guys there were never rude, accepted appointments 15 minutes in advance, and got the work done right at a great price. I talked to the owner for a bit, and he was an awesome guy. Told me about some tunes to check out for the ST, and explained what went wrong.

Sorry if this isn't coherent. I'm running on 4 hours of sleep and about 8 beers from last night while trying to function at work. Beer tastes good, last night. Advil and water taste fantastic now.

Rico > sefeing, actually bought an E46 06/27/2014 at 11:19

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Glad that everything ended up being fixed, also good to know of a great shop in the NYC area. I'll note this in my phone for future reference!

Bad Idea Hat > sefeing, actually bought an E46 06/27/2014 at 11:25

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Advil and water tastes great any time you're up after midnight and not at home.