Does anyone do their own front end alignment?

[qdeezie]

A few days ago, I finished a complete rebuild of the front end of my '03 Ford Focus. New lower control arms, inner and outer tie rods, quick struts, sway bar bushings and end links. Not long before the rebuild I had the wheel bearings replaced at the same time my clutch was replaced. Everything is new and hopefully I can get a good, solid 10 years or so out of it.

The last step is to get the front end aligned and I'll be all set.

Out of curiosity, I went online to see what methods were out there to adjust the toe since I know my tie rod adjustment is off (I can actually see my drivers side tire is off) and I saw that there were people using the string method and others used toe plates (which is new to me) to get it adjusted so that they could safely drive to an alignment shop.

However, I saw that there were some folks out there that relied solely on their at-home alignment and said that their tires had normal wear and they corrected what their alignment shop was unable to correct.

That got me to thinking..........what are you all doing with regards to front end alignments?

 

[IndyIan]

Two people and a tape measure can work for setting toe, just measure at the highest points you can have a straight tape, on the tread on the front and back of the tires.

 

[WyrTwister]

Jack up one wheel / tire . Spin the wheel / tire and use a nail to make a slight mark on the tire , all the way around . Let it back down and do the same on the other side . Let it back down .

Have your assistant hold one end of a pape measure on the front side mark while you take a measurement on the opposite side wheel / tire . Write it down . Repeat , measuring the back side of the 2 tires . Write it down . Subtract . This will tell you the approximate / rough toe in .

Did you count the ruens to remove the tie rod ends & install new ones the same # of turns ?

 

[qdeezie]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Did you count the ruens to remove the tie rod ends & install new ones the same # of turns ?


Yes I did, but I suspect the front end had been worked on prior to purchasing the vehicle. The front end was never all the way right (in my opinion), which led me to doing the complete rebuild. It was 15 turns on the passenger's side and 13 on the driver's side. The passenger's side tire looks straight (visually) but the driver's side is a little inward at the front of the tire.

 

[BigD1]

When I rebuilt the front end of my Toyota pickup back in the Summer of 2017, I used the string method.

I tried over and over to get the steering wheel lined up perfect, but only got close. Took it to the alignment shop, and the mechanic said I did a good job because I had it close. He did get the steering wheel centered just right.

 

[EricG]

I do my own alignments with Harbor Freight slip plates. It takes longer than bringing it to a shop. Using my homemade rim clamp device, I use an angle finder to find the difference in degrees from vertical of the face of the wheel when i turn the 10 degrees right and 10 degrees left to get the caster. Give slightly more caster to the passenger front wheel to compensate for road crown. For camber, I measure off of the face of the wheel. Toe is measured with a tape measure, or if you have one long enough, a trammel point set. Very even tire wear, and if I was to see anything unusual, I can make adjustments. I can afford to pay for an alignment, but hate to pay someone else to do something that I can do and I enjoy doing my own work.

 

[ragtoplvr]

45 years ago as a broke college student I had to rebuild a font end, New springs, ball joints, upper A arm bushings, outer tie rods. I aligned it with a level and tape measure. Tires wore just fine. Finally got the bucks to take it in, they only had to make minor changes, it was fine as it was. I could feel slightly less pull from road crown is all.

So yes, it can be done.

Rod

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I do the front alignment on my Jeep. That only has toe adjustable, so it's not terribly hard.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted by qdeezie
..........what are you all doing with regards to front end alignments?

Not well.

 

[ddtmoto]

I use quicktrickalignment.com toe kit. Its great for one man toe setting. Looks like they no longer sell the 'toe kit' without the complete camber, caster set up.

 

[Dave Sherman]

I've done it on the MG, but it's pretty simple because there's no camber or caster adjustment, only toe-in. I built a jig out of 2x4 that went under the car and got pushed against the front tire treads, then had a 2x4 leg attached at 90 degrees that bumped against the tire sidewall at 3:00 or 9:00 if you're looking at the tire. Used a square on the other side and carefully measured from sidewall to sidewall, and rolled the car to take measurements at different points along the sidewall. Moved the jig to the front and rear of the tires to check the distance until they were within spec (the service manual doesn't give degrees, just says 0-1/8" of toe-in). To get the wheels pointed straight I tied a string to jackstand placed behind the rear wheels and pulled across the rear tires and the front tires to see if the string hit the front and rear of the front tires equally. Must have worked, it handles fine, the steering is spot-on, and the tires are wearing normally. I should say I used the string to get the wheels pointed straight first, then adjusted the tie rods by equal amounts on each side to adjust the toe-in.

 

[CR94]

Yes, I have, by my own methods, which are tedious but should be reasonably accurate.

TOE: Find a couple of small boxes or blocks roughly 3" tall. Place one against the front of each tire. Place a long bar or stick on the boxes against the tire, and mark the bar at corresponding features on each tire. Repeat at the rear side of the tires. For zero toe, marks should line up the same as at the front. Due to minor imperfections in tread alignment relative to the wheel, there will be error, which can be overcome by doing it repeatedly and taking an average, or pre-marking the tires as WyrTwister suggests.

CAMBER: Park on reasonably flat pavement. (It doesn't have to be perfectly level, as long as it's flat.) Place a large carpenter's square with one edge resting on the pavement and the other outer edge touching the tire sidewall, beside the center. Measure horizontal distance from the vertical edge of the square to the top of the wheel, then to corresponding point at the bottom of the wheel. Divide the difference by wheel diameter. Caster angle is the arcsine of that quotient. Repeat at another parking place to double-check.

 

[WobblyElvis]

I set toe in-out by putting my eye close to the ground and looking across the outer face of the front tires towards the rear. Park on a level spot, use the rear parking brake and put the car in neutral so there is no load on the front tires, steering wheel straight. You have to know the toe specs and the front and rear track of the vehicle and do the math. This method has worked fine for me but you have replaced a lot of parts so camber and castor might be off.

 

[Kestas]

I gently place a push pin on each tire and measure the distance between pins from front to back. I did the geometry and math for my cars and compared it to specification. It works out to 1/4-inch difference.

Camber is checked with a custom made level. Again, the math shows 1/4-inch difference measured at the rim. I have yet to tweak a suspension for camber.

 

[CharBaby]

This is how I do my own alignment:

Drive over to the Good/Year Service Center. [This one that I frequent does a great job].
Walk in and ask the servive writer if they'll do an alignment for $60 instead of thier regular $90.

 

[Mr Nice]

Unfortunately lots of idiot techs don't know the proper way to use a Hunter Alignment rack.

 

[Traction]

Originally Posted by Mr Nice
Unfortunately lots of idiot techs don't know the proper way to use a Hunter Alignment rack.

True, but most people attempting to do their own alignment, trying to save a couple bucks couldn't either. I've destroyed more money in rubber myself thinking I got it close enough.
It's another art, besides the right tools.

 

[nobb]

I don't have the patience to try to do camber/caster on my IFS 4Runner and would rather just pay the $120 to get a shop to do it. Toe, however, I am perfectly fine to do and have done it on multiple vehicles after replacing the tie rod ends. Using a straight edge and some fine fishing line, you can get it just as accurate as a shop provided you are careful with your measurements. It's been 3 years since my last DIY toe alignment and there is zero abnormal wear on the tires.

 

[CharBaby]

I know, right?
You gotta do in on your hands & knees and if you can't get the lockdown nuts lose, you need to torch'em. And maybe end up with iffy results, Naah!

 

[atikovi]

I just drive the car up on ramps. Using a tape measure on the same tire rib on both sides, check the differance between the front and rear. Adjust to spec so the front is usually a little less than the rear. You now have the basic allignment. Take it for a drive. Car should go straight with hands off the wheel but the steering will be off center. Back on ramps and lock the steering wheel on center. Mark both tie rod ends, inner and outer with a grease pencil. Loosen the tie rod nuts and adjust the left tie rod in or out to compensate. Adjust the right an equal amount but in the opposite direction. You might have to adjust, drive, adjust again, a few times to get it perfect. I've always been able to get the steering wheel on dead center and with no wandering to one side after the 3rd or 4th adjustment.