Two Questions:

 

Is there any mechanical damage to an un-aligned car? I know there will be damage to the tires and difficult steering/handling, but can this lead to mechanical damage in the differentials, or something else, also?

 

Once aligned, how long should it last? Is it pretty much once you drive off the mechanic's lot after alignment, it's in your own hands. 100... 1000... 2500 miles down the road and you're paying for a new alignment?

Two Questions:

 

Is there any mechanical damage to an un-aligned car? I know there will be damage to the tires and difficult steering/handling, but can this lead to mechanical damage in the differentials, or something else, also?

 

Once aligned, how long should it last? Is it pretty much once you drive off the mechanic's lot after alignment, it's in your own hands. 100... 1000... 2500 miles down the road and you're paying for a new alignment?

 

no mechanical damage can occur and it's good to get an alignment about every 10 - 15k miles. depending on how many potholes you hit

I bought a lifetime aligment from the tire shop that sold me bridgeton tires.

Why are you asking? Arent you the guy with viscous coupling failure? Did you check your tires for uneven wear/pressure?

thats a better question....why?

Being non mechanical: Yes, I'm the one that had the VCU failure.

 

The car has an unalignment problem now. It has been that way for maybe 1000-1500 miles. I thought maybe that could have caused the viscous coupling to fail and wanted to kick myself if that was the case.

 

Plus, I probably had the alignment done, at the dealer, 5000 miles ago. And now, it is worse than what it was before.

 

I did take it to a respected tire dealer and asked him about the wear (I wanted to change the tires) and he said that they were fine and I probably could get another 10,000 miles out of these. I do rotate them at 7500 miles, sometimes less.

front end alignment will last the life of the parts affected if you dont hit curbs,potholes etc.