5kcstq alignment question

[Joshua Van Tol]

I just finished installing new subframe bushings, and a new rear tie 
rod, so I took the 1987 5kcstq in for an alignment at the local tires 
plus shop. They seem like reputable folks, are recommended by a 
friend (who's a BMW fanatic) and all that. Anyhow, I'm a bit 
concerned about a couple of things.

1.) The alignment tech mentioned having to adjust the suspension "all 
the way to one side" to get it into spec. Seems kinda fishy. I could 
be at fault here because I don't think I centered the subframe 
properly when I replaced the bushings. Is this something I should 
have done, or should the alignment shop have known to do this?

2.) They didn't get the steering wheel centered. Grrr. I can recenter 
the wheel, but I wonder if they centered the rack before adjusting?

Finally, they gave me a printout of the settings, which I compared to 
the Bently. I have a bit of confusion though because the bently lists 
specs in degrees, minutes, and seconds, while the alignment shop uses 
decimal.

They set things up as follows:

Front:

Caster Left: 0.0 degrees    Right: 0.79 degrees
Camber Left: -0.78 degrees  Right: -0.37 degrees
Toe    Left: 0.03 degrees   Right: 0.04 degrees

Rear:

Camber Left: -0.47 degrees  Right: -0.20 degrees
Toe    Left: 0.04 degrees   Right: 0.04 degrees

Near as I can tell, the audi spec is:

Front:

Caster: +1 degree +- .6666 degrees Max difference between sides 1 degree.
Camber: -0.5 degrees +- 0.5 degrees Max difference between sides 0.5 degrees.
Total Toe: .0847 degrees - .1666 degrees

Rear:

Camber: -0.25 +- 0.25 degrees max difference between sides 0.5 degrees
Toe at each wheel: 0.0833 +- 0.0833 degrees

So, the question is, did they do okay, or should I go back and ask 
them to do it over?
-- 
Joshua Van Tol -- josh at spiny.com