HappySalesman

iTrader: (3)

So I just finished re-doing the entire front suspension of my 4th gen. New moog bushings, tie rod ends, etc.

I know I'm going to need an alignment, but the nearest trustworthy alignment shop is a good 30 minute drive, most of which is freeway. Not to mention I need to get the car tuned, and my tuner is 180 miles away.

Is there anything I can do to get a good "best guess" for the alignment so the car is safe to drive?

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

Get your steering wheel straight up centered, then set up two jackstands, each one about 2 feet in front and behind the car. Tie a string between the stands, then set them out so the string is taught, and 6" from the sidewall in the rear of the rear tire, as well as 6" from the front of the tire. This gets the string parallel (more or less) to the rear axle of the car.

Now set the toe of the front wheel, on that side of the car, so that the distance from the string, to the front wheel, is equal at both the front and rear sidewalls of the tire. repeat on the other side of the car, and this will get the toe reasonably close to "zero", which should be close enough to drive to the alignment shop.


EDIT........have the string set as close to the center, height wise, of the tires.

StoneColdLT1

iTrader: (8)

Leadfoot's method is good to. What I did after I rebuilt my suspension, I wanted to put some mileage on the springs to let them settle in before I got a professional alignment. I eyeballed the caster and camber and ziptied a straight edge to each wheel and strung two tapes across. I toed the front in very slightly because when you drive it'll pull and even out to zero. I put at least 100 miles on this setup without any tire wear before I got a professional alignment done.