Has anyone ever heard of suspension parts that are only 2 years old being too worn for an alignment?

Here's the story.. when I first got my 1992 GTA up and running there was slop in the steering. I ordered a front end rebuild kit from Spohn which contained new tie rod ends, adjusters, center link, and idler arm. I replaced the old ones on my car which were clearly worn and loose and had this shop do an alignment. this helped the slop a little, but some was still there. A couple of years ago I had replaced the steering box which improved the slop but didn't eliminate it. Reading in the forums I found guides on how to adjust it to tighten it up so a few months ago I tried that, which did nothing to the slop. When I got the steering back together I noticed a pull to the right.

So today I put the car into the shop for an alignment and they tell me the tie rods and center link are too worn to perform an alignment. Now the only stress I put on this car is driving back and forth to work, which is highway and interstate traffic. these parts are only a couple years old.

Has anyone ever heard of this? Anyone with bad experiences from Spohn? Do you think the shop is pulling my leg here?

 

Was it all moog parts? where they all greased real well after install?
That does seam awful fast..

 

Are you sure some of your slop isn't in the tilt sterring bolts?
GM didn't use locktite and they losen with time.
Gotta remove wheel and almost gut the colmun to reach them.

But id say Spohn should warranty them parts even if pro rated.
Though make sure the shop isn't just trying to make a buck off you too.

get a 2nd opnion, but make sure and tell them upfront thats why you are there and you probably won't have them replace anything. [more honest when they know up fornt they got no sale on parts or service ]

 

definitely get someone else to take a look at the front end. I know some shops that will tell you that you need lower ball joints every time you take your car in for alignment. Agreed, if they were not lubed up real good at install they could have worn out. doesn't take long if they're dry.

 

Here's an update:

The mechanic offered to show me what he was talking about. Indeed, there slack at several of the joints. It seemed really loose and that would explain some of the slack in my steering. I'm surprised I didn't see that before honestly.

They were parts from Spohn, so it looks like I'll be going for Moog parts when I replace what's on there now. When I installed the parts I don't remember lubing them up, so if that can cause this much wear this quickly that's probably why.

For future reference, can anyone give me pointers for when I go to install new parts?