Front end Alignment

[bobbo]

With my front calipers off for checking and clean-up I decided to a little checking on the front toe-in toe-out situation. Have noticed the right wheel seemed to have excessive toe -out when steering is in a straight forward position. C clamped 2 angle iron pieces 32 inches long, one to each hub. The difference was a full inch between the back measurement and the front measurement. No wonder I'm scrubbing rubber off the right tire. Was searching threads for alignment but only seemed to come up with a 2010 thread on caster angles.
looking for info on correcting my situation..
Thanks, bob

 

[sunalp]

I have tried aligning the front end, but not successfully. I have a really good shop here
that I use for this. They're not cheap, but they're really good. The problem a lot of alignment
shops have is that our cars are too narrow to fit on their racks. You have to find one that has
the right rack. I'd call some alignment shops and see what they say.

 

[puff4]

You may already know this, but the shop manual shows a very specific procedure for performing an alignment, with special blocks to be inserted into the suspension, weights in the seat, etc.

 

[bobbo]

Looked at the chapter on alignment in the WSM. Yes very specific. Was hoping to get somewhat close without the procedures noted. I don't expect any shops will have the blocks etc. to perform as well as shims required, but I'll check around. May have to trip down to NY if I can't find a shop locally. Expect to call on some of our Ontario owners for shop suggestions.

 

[Toyanvil]

For that to work, your car needs to be at rest and the angle iron pieces need to be the same size as the diameter of your tire, mine are 23" diameter. The inside of my front tires were wearing more then the outside, so I built this, the ends adjust in and out. I set my toe in at 1/8" Drives great now.

 

[puff4]

I don't expect any shops will have the blocks etc. to perform as well as shims required, but I'll check around.

They may have suitable shims, but the blocks you’ll have to make - I doubt you’ll ever find them. Fortunately, though, there are detailed drawings in the WSM that make it pretty easy to make a set.

 

[sunalp]

May have to trip down to NY if I can't find a shop locally

Bob,
If you do, I still have that hardtop and it's still free!

 

[phyrman]

For that to work, your car needs to be at rest and the angle iron pieces need to be the same size as the diameter of your tire, mine are 23" diameter. The inside of my front tires were wearing more then the outside, so I built this, the ends adjust in and out. I set my toe in at 1/8" Drives great now.

Nice MacGyver-ing John

 

[jumpinjan]

I did the alignment on my Tiger using the affordable alignment tools I bought from Summit.
There is NO shop that will touch an old car that uses shims, like the old days (I was told that, so I did it myself)
Jan

 

[Bill Blue]

Truth time. If you have a flat driveway or garage floor, you can do a good job of setting camber, using a carpenter's square to judge angles. Truth #2, the exact alignment numbers do not seem important. Members report having good results with a wide variety of settings. Set it up so both sides are the same. Set camber at 0 to 1degree, either positive or negative. Toe seems to do well when 1/8", either in or out. Whether these are good or bad numbers depends on what you expect from the alignment.
Bill

 

[PROCRAFT]

Use a string line myself. set caster with a protractor. camber with a camber Guage. toe with a dial caliper.

 

[husky drvr]

Also important before trying to check alignment is to verify there are no loose, worn, or out of adjustment steering or suspension parts.

Crossover tube bushings, passenger side relay arm bushings, tie rod ends, wheel bearings, and ball joints come to mind.

When you check the Toe setting with the suspension unloaded ( without the weight of the car supported on the suspension ) you WILL NOT be able to check,or set the Toe setting accurately due to the way the suspension movement affects the steering linkage ( bump steer ). That's why the WSM specifies the use of gage blocks and weights when setting suspension to Rootes specs.

Hope this helps,

 

[bobbo]

Whew! Lots to consider. John, do you have any pic's of your alignment rig in use?
Steve, sending a PM.
Bob

 

[husky drvr]

have any pic's of your alignment rig in use

Bob,

I found this Hagerty article describing the use of a trammel bar for measuring Toe-in. It sounds more complicated than it is in practice.

Taking another shot at do-it-yourself alignment - Hagerty Media

Rob Siegel has added a new tool to his alignment arsenal: the toe pointer bar. Read why it is so effective.

www.hagerty.com

Hope this is helpful,

 

[bobbo]

great Hagerty article. Have square tube and welder. new weekend project in the works.
Thanks, Bob

 

[Bill Blue]

When doing toe, a major problem for me is to determine when the wheels are pointed straight ahead and therefore, which wheel needs to be moved. The problem goes back to the lack of straight lines in the body and different front and read track. This is where the alignment shop has the advantage. Then can determine straight ahead by measuring wheel angle changes as the wheel moves in its path from right to left. As a result, the alignment shop may tell you "overall, the toe is correct, but both wheels are pointing to the left." The guy that owns the shop I use says such a condition can lead to increased tread wear. Me, I dunno. I do know he is a sharp dude and very honest and up front. The repair shop owner of your dreams.
Bill

 

[Asm109]

Recirculating ball steering boxes are designed to have a tight mesh when centered in travel. As you turn, the mesh loosens a bit so it is easier to turn. If you have the condition you describe, the car will drive straight, steering wheel spokes will be a bit tilted, AND the steering box looseness will show up as excess play in the steering wheel.

 

[bobbo]

In reply to Bill and ASM, yes hard to tell if front wheels are aligned with the rear. With my steering wheel centered in straight ahead, the Left front wheel seems to be in line, with the Right wheel pointing out away from the front. Until I get the car mobile I can't say if when driving straight ahead where the steering wheel position will be.

 

[Toyanvil]

When I did my toe-in, I started with the steering wheel centered, found the center of the tires and set my gauge on the center to center of the back of the tires and then moved the gauge to the front and check the difference between the front and back. Then adjusted the tie rods until I had my toe- in at 1/8". I then drove it around the block and found the steering wheel was a little to the left. I have an aftermarket steering wheel with a bolt in the top center that I lined up with the center line if my steering shaft cover, when I drove it the top bolt edge was how lined up the the center of the cover, that's all mine was off. I then adjusted both wheels to steer a little to the left. It only took 1/6 turn on each side to get the steering wheel straight. For this I marked a line straight across from the inner to outer tie rods and tie rod link, then loosened the nuts and turned the tie rod link using the 6 flats on the nuts to keep track of how far I turned it, so both sides would be the same. In my case I only had to turn each side one flat of the nut. I did powder coat my gauge red to make it easier to see.

 

[pfreen]

This is what I use.