DIY Alignment

[dhcomp]

Ok, so I have an alignment issue.

After swapping the front axle (but using my tie rod), bending said tie rod, and then straightening it agian, my toe adjustment is F'd.

A few thousand miles, and my front tires are horribly worn on the outside.

So, i get the idea of measuring toe in, and adjusting the tie rod, but where you do you guys measure to?

Details?

Hard to get a measurement at the rear of the tire accurately.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Get the wheel off the ground then use a piece of chalk and spin the wheel and make a chalk line somewhere along the tread that will go all the way around the tire. Now all you have to do is measure the distance between the chalk lines on both front wheels at the front and then again at the back and if the front is wider than the back your tires are toed out however far and if the front is narrower than the rear then the wheels are toed in that amount. IIRC you want anywhere bewteen 1/8"-1/4" toe in. Make sure that you take your measurement at the center (height wise) of the tire.

If you need help doing this and you're in Fremont one evening or weekend let me know and i'll be glad to help.

 

[dhcomp]

Get the wheel off the ground then use a piece of chalk and spin the wheel and make a chalk line somewhere along the tread that will go all the way around the tire. Now all you have to do is measure the distance between the chalk lines on both front wheels at the front and then again at the back and if the front is wider than the back your tires are toed out however far and if the front is narrower than the rear then the wheels are toed in that amount. IIRC you want anywhere bewteen 1/8"-1/4" toe in. Make sure that you take your measurement at the center (height wise) of the tire.

If you need help doing this and you're in Fremont one evening or weekend let me know and i'll be glad to help.

What is a good way to measure the width at the 1/2 way point of the rear of the tire? Doesnt' the tape measure hit the pinion?

If i bent my tie rod, and then straightened it...and its still slightly bent, i'd bet money that i am too far toe'd in.

 

[NorCal_Chris]

I measure from inside rim front and back. To get back you kinda have to go right under the calipers. This has always worked for me. I have know others to Jack up truck take wheels off and bolt a peice of wood or metal to hubs and then measure off that.

 

[4X4HIGH]

I measure from inside rim front and back. To get back you kinda have to go right under the calipers. This has always worked for me. I have know others to Jack up truck take wheels off and bolt a peice of wood or metal to hubs and then measure off that.

Doing that will give you a wrong measurement as the further out you go the worse the measurement will be (either toed in or out). In order to get the proper measurement you MUST measure from the tire tread unless of course you want zero toe in or toe out.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=252028&highlight=alignment

 

[ChadRay13]

You should always take measurements with the vehicle weight on the tires. That's the rule of thumb I've always went by when doing alignments. As you jack up the vehicle, suspensions components relax. Any slack in ball joints n such. That's why they make turn plates to do professional on the ground alignments (not needed to ruff in toe)

 

[diesel4me]

I use two lengths of conduit that will slide inside of each other as a measuring gauge--I had some 3/4" and 1" conduit hanging around,and a coupler for the 1" size with two set screws can be used to clamp the 3/4" peice in place (by using a longer set screw on the 3/4" side of it)...............................................................................................To use it I just slid the two peices apart till they touched the outside of the tire tread at the center of them up front--then clamp it tight,and remove the "gauge" carefully and move it to the rear of the tires,and see how much wider the measurment is in the rear compared to the front...you want 1/8 to 1/4" of toe in on most GM 4x4s................................................................................................I checked my tow in on my K2500 this way when I replaced the drag link ends recently--looked to me that one tire was taking a left,when the other was straight,after I centered the steering wheel by adjusting the draglink....I measured the toe in before I tried moving the tie rods,and it was a good thing I did--after both tires looked "straight" by eye,I could hardly keep the truck on the street!...............................................................................................I put the tie rod back where it was before I touched anything and I guess I got the adjustment right,(or it was "right to start with!)...because it now goes straight when the steering wheel is "straight ahead",and driving the truck under VERY slick conditions showed no tendency for it to slide around or pull,and on icy roads is the where ANY misalignment will be shown up dramatically...you'll know instantly if one tire isn't pointing where it should be when your on slick surfaces...when toe-in is wrong on our trucks,they will "crab walk" when you take a sharp turn,and scrub the front tires ,and lurch from side to side while the tires are scrubbing...

 

[Blue85]

Doing that will give you a wrong measurement as the further out you go the worse the measurement will be (either toed in or out). In order to get the proper measurement you MUST measure from the tire tread unless of course you want zero toe in or toe out.

So everybody has to swap on stock-sized tires to do an alignment? I don't think so. The real spec will be in degrees, not inches, so there really should be another math step involved. But to rough it in, measuring from the tread blocks or the rims should work, as long as you set a very small difference for the wheels or a rather large difference on some 44's.

 

[dhcomp]

So everybody has to swap on stock-sized tires to do an alignment? I don't think so. The real spec will be in degrees, not inches, so there really should be another math step involved. But to rough it in, measuring from the tread blocks or the rims should work, as long as you set a very small difference for the wheels or a rather large difference on some 44's.

Thats not what he is saying. You want the 1/8" toe in on whatever size you are running. He is just saying that the adjustment will be different on larger tires, so you have to reset toe when you go up in tire size.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Thats not what he is saying. You want the 1/8" toe in on whatever size you are running. He is just saying that the adjustment will be different on larger tires, so you have to reset toe when you go up in tire size.

Darren understands what I said. Also the toe spec WILL be in inches not degree's.

 

[folkenheath]

Darren understands what I said. Also the toe spec WILL be in inches not degree's.

I agree with Blue85, here is the spec with toe angle, with the "total toe in" inches derived from the degrees. The only reason they give the size in inches is to make it easier for the people doing alignments with stock size tires by removing the extra math needed. If you use the same number of inches for all tire sizes then your angle will change as your tire size changes, which is exactly why they put the disclaimer at the bottom.

I prefer to just stick one short piece of masking tape on each tire, then rotate both tires halfway and measure front vs back. Then you know for sure you are measuring the exact same spot on the tire in on the front and back sides. (exactly as Chris from ORD illustrated in the other linked thread...)