Apr 26, 2016, 01:35 PM
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front end alignment
front end alignment I recently intalled new tie rod ends. And to set the toe I. Used a grid laser on each hub. Measured and adjusted until they was perfectly square. Is that the right way of doing it? And I'm also lowering my car real soon. What alignment adjustments am I going to need for that? I really enjoy doing all this stuff myself insted on paying someone to do my work. So any suggestion?
Wheels have a natural tendency to toe out when going forward, i dont remember the spec but it may be smart to toe in a few hundredths of a degree to counteract this. usually the spec compensates for that. Lowering will affect camber and caster the most, which means you'll have to reset the toe again when the camber and caster are right.
Disclaimer: Alignment should be left to the professionals.
Fun part: Yes, you can set camber yourself with an angle finder or iPhone. Camber is simply the tilt of the tire at the top as facing the camshaft of the engine (easy way to remember CAMber).
Don't measure against the sidewall if at all possible since the bulge on the bottom can influence the reading. If there is a flat spot on the wheel or hub, etc you can measure against, that's better. Something that's parallel to the brake rotor.
ramey
Fun part: Yes, you can set camber yourself with an angle finder or iPhone. Camber is simply the tilt of the tire at the top as facing the camshaft of the engine (easy way to remember CAMber).
Don't measure against the sidewall if at all possible since the bulge on the bottom can influence the reading. If there is a flat spot on the wheel or hub, etc you can measure against, that's better. Something that's parallel to the brake rotor.
ramey
Disclaimer: Alignment should be left to the professionals.
Fun part: Yes, you can set camber yourself with an angle finder or iPhone. Camber is simply the tilt of the tire at the top as facing the camshaft of the engine (easy way to remember CAMber).
Don't measure against the sidewall if at all possible since the bulge on the bottom can influence the reading. If there is a flat spot on the wheel or hub, etc you can measure against, that's better. Something that's parallel to the brake rotor.
ramey
Fun part: Yes, you can set camber yourself with an angle finder or iPhone. Camber is simply the tilt of the tire at the top as facing the camshaft of the engine (easy way to remember CAMber).
Don't measure against the sidewall if at all possible since the bulge on the bottom can influence the reading. If there is a flat spot on the wheel or hub, etc you can measure against, that's better. Something that's parallel to the brake rotor.
ramey
top of tire tilting in at top would be neg camber/out at top be postive camber.
Camber and toe are easy to correct, caster is a bit harder to correct, if you are not getting a hard pull eather side I would not worry about caster as it is not much/if any wearing problem, if you have a pulling problem to eather side then you would need to advance the lower ball joint on the side that is pulling( only about 1/16 per in at a time-if you are out of movement to advance on that side then retard the lower ball joint on the other side.) to adjust camber/caster locate the points where the lower control arms connect to the frame/craddle, the points which are in line side to side with the lower ball joints these are for camber, the two points which are behind the line side to side with the L BJ are for caster adjusting, just take the weight off the wheels , lossen the bolts a little bit and pry (with a big screw driver )the lower control arm the way you need to adjust
I like to adjust in this order camber/caster/toe
Toe must be set last<
Johnny
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My advice when installing outer tie rods is, mark the last visible thread(s) with a grey sharpie and/or count the threads in case the mark gets removed. Break the outer tie rod loose and replace. The TOE will remain unchanged. I personally would leave any alignment duties to a professional at a shop. Alignment goes as follows caster, camber, toe.
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There are two bolts on the undercarriage of the car, where the lower a-arms connect to the chassis. These bolts go through the bushings in the a-arms, but pass through slots in the chassis. By moving the arms in these slots, you adjust caster/camber.
I recently intalled new tie rod ends. And to set the toe I. Used a grid laser on each hub. Measured and adjusted until they was perfectly square. Is that the right way of doing it? And I'm also lowering my car real soon. What alignment adjustments am I going to need for that? I really enjoy doing all this stuff myself insted on paying someone to do my work. So any suggestion?
If you have access to a dial indicator and a dial indicator stand, you can easily adjust the toe. Get the car on a pair of ramps, so you can squeeze yourself under there and make adjustments. Put a floor jack under the lower a-arm, lift it just enough so the tire can move, set a dial indicator against the front edge of the sidewall of the tire, and adjust the tie rod so the wheel turns "in" about 0.020". repeat on the other side.......
If you wind up getting the steering wheel "off center" while doing this, it's no big deal. You just have to adjust BOTH tie rods in the same direction, until the wheel is centered. In other words, if the air bag is tipped to the right, as you're driving straight, you need to turn BOTH front wheels an equal amount to the right. If the bag is turned left, turn the wheels left. The important thing is that you go an equal amount on each side.
Well said leadfoot but the last part is just the opp. If you are tooling down the road and the air bag is tilted to the left and you try to straighten the wheels you are turning them back toward the right and vise versa so they need to be turned back the opp way ie wheel tilted left adjust them back to the right and so on. Not trying to be a smart **** just want to help out.
Well said leadfoot but the last part is just the opp. If you are tooling down the road and the air bag is tilted to the left and you try to straighten the wheels you are turning them back toward the right and vise versa so they need to be turned back the opp way ie wheel tilted left adjust them back to the right and so on. Not trying to be a smart **** just want to help out.
I was thinking of viewing the car from the front, then switched to thinking about vieing from behind the steering wheel.
