Here is a method I worked out to do the front toe-in and it is accurate...takes about 15 mins if you are just checking and the toe-in is OK.

If done right...it beats using angles and tape measures...string....etc...hands down.

Much more accurate.

Also works on cars where the center of the wheel (hub) is higher than the frame.


Wheel alignment 101:

http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm


* Before starting: You need to be sure that your wheels do not have side to side runout...or your attempts to set the toe-in will likely be off.

* If you have oversized tires...you will need to compenstate for this vs the OEM size...which are what the specs are for.

* If your toe specs are given in degrees...you will have to translate this into inches at the tread.


What you need:

* a small laser level.

http://www.harborfreight.com/

* a square aluminum or steel tube

* 2 home-made bungee straps...made using innertube rubber & coat hanger wire....the length depending on the style of wheel...you will need to hook the ends in the spokes or holes in the wheel.

* 10' tape measure

* a 6'... 2" X 4"

* 2 jack stands or similar STURDY supports

* pencil or pen

* chalk


How to do it:

* Find a reasonably LEVEL paved area...this can be more difficult than you might think due to the fact that most surfaces are sloped for drainage...but perfectly level isn't needed...a decently FLAT surface is.

* Drive your car forward STRAIGHT slowly with the steering wheel held steady and stop it gradually using the hand brake. Shut it off.

* Using vinyl tape, tape the laser tightly (without tripod) centered on the square alum tube. I use a wrap of tape at both ends.

Or use a lightweight steel tube and use the magnets in the base of the level.

> This tube must be very straight and uniform; and has to be cut at the right length to fit on the most reliably accurate surfaces on the face of your wheels....so that it fits parallel to the wheels surface.<

* Using the 2 bungee straps...strap the tube onto the first wheel at axle level using the vent holes in the wheel and in a close to horizontal position with the laser beam pointed to the front. Keep the tube centered vertically and horizontally; and check that is is sitting flat on the wheels surface on both ends.

* Place the 2 jack stands (or whatever?) 2' or so in front of the car at a right angle to the front/back centerline of the car. On these and AT AXLE HEIGHT, place the 2" X 4".

Check to be sure that the distance from the axle centers to the 2" X 4" is the same on both ends.

Mark the position of the 2" X 4" from the car on both ends using chalk on the paved surface you are working on.

* Align the laser beam so that it hits the 2" X 4" (it should be reasonably close to level...use the bubble) and use a pen to mark the EXACT CENTER of the light spot on the wood. I use arrows & a number (1).

* Then, without touching or moving the 2" X 4" or the car, move the laser to the opposite wheel, being sure to place it in the same way, and do the SAME thing. Mark with an arrow and the number (2).

You now have 2 marks at opposite ends of the wood.

* Now, measure the tread to tread width or the DIAMETER of the tire and multiply this X 4.

Set the jack stands and 2" X 4" up out this distance from the first position...using the first chalk marks to measure out this 4Xs distance at each end.

* Assuming that you haven't moved the laser or the car, adjust the 2" X 4" (and SECOND arrow and the number (2)) so that the laser beam hits EXACTLY on this mark...but now OUT 4Xs as far.

* Then, without touching the car or the 2" x 4", move the laser to the original wheel again. Mark the place where the laser hits with an arrow and label it (3).

* Using a caliper or tape measure, carefully measure the distance between marks (1) and (3). Then divide this by 4.

This will equal your CURRENT toe setting in inches....(+) or (-).


Adjusting the toe:

* It's best to have hit BOTH tie rod adjusting threads with penetrant BEFORE starting this whole process.

* IF your steering wheel is off to one side when drivng straight down a road, then you would want to try and correct for this when you adjust the toe.


Centering the steering wheel:

The steering wheel needs to be reasonably close to center in order for your turn signals to be able to cancel correctly.

Not too long ago I changed a new left-outer tie-rod (different brand than last one. I threaded in the same distance as previous tie-rod ends, but i still think the distance is off) and also got new tires (33"x9.5) install/balance a week ago.

Driving 550km to Toronto 2 days ago, i had to constantly hold the steering wheel a bit more pressure to the left, but not to the point where it's going right... When I brake, I get this left-right vibration to the steering wheel.

I am trying to follow the string alignment method described above.

I wrap one fishing line horizontally around all four tires. What now? Could someone repost those missing pictures?

What I see now:

-For toe-in, I have 13mm (0.5"+) difference btwn front & back of front tires. I think that too much toe-in, 1/8" is the spec right? Is it because I threaded in too much when I installed my new left outer tie-rod end, causing it to slightly go to the right?

-Passenger side: fishing line touche all 4 spots of both front and rear tires, without gaps. (front/rear sidewall of each tire)

-Driver side: Fishing line touche only 3 spots of both front and rear tires. with 1 gap. (touches front/rear sidewall of front tire, and only rear sidewall of rear tire, leaving a ~1/8" gap btwn the fishing line and the front sidewall of reartire.)

Does that confirm that my left front tire is toe-in too much threrefore creating that fishing line/front sidewall of rear tire 1/8" gap?

If anyone could find those picture, then I'm sure I will understand more about measuring the string part...which is point where I got lost...

btw, this is with bjs/no swaybar/30psi on all four. (Rear tire physically mesures 32-3/8" tall, front: 32" tall) Should also I air-up the front so tire stand equal height?)

Sorry for the long post! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Oooh I was just gonna ask about this. Is there any way to get those pics back?

I agree.

Anyway, what i just did this afternoon was air the fronts up to 36psi, rear 32psi. All tires seems to sit evenly with the heavier front end.

I unscrewed my recently replaced left-outer tie-rod end from the knuckle and untwist 1 revolution (lengthen the distance), then tightened it back in the left knuckle.

(I tried to turn the tie-rod adjuster tube thingy to adjust the toe-in/out with a pipe wrench...but the damp tube thingy got slightly squeeish instead of turning.)

So my adjusted toe-in difference measurement are now 3/16", instead of 0.5". Measurements were taken btwn the inner sidewall thread of 33" tire.

Test drive: go slightly to the left.
Braking: no more vibration as before.
Visual: It seems that my right tire is now pointing left and my left side is straight...
Steering Wheel: 5-10mins Clock-wise when the truck is rolling straight

Should I actually start twisting the right side tie-rods so I can get 1/8" toe-in?

Just found the page, here it is with the pics still on it: http://sdori.com/SDORI_Alignment.htm

Sorry, but I'm really having a hard time to understand this following step...

(3. Tape a string to the front wheel and walk with it to the rear of the truck. Measure against the front and rear outter surfaces of the rear wheel. The string should be the same distance indicating the front wheel is are pointing the same direction as the rear. If it isn't, loosen the adjuster on the tie rod and tweak it until the front wheel is straight. You can use a small ruler and easily get to where the distance between the front of the rear wheel and back side surfaces within .125". (1/8) At that difference, the front wheel is toed in/out a whopping .25 of a degree. That's nuttin'. If you wanna be anal, you can get it spot on.)

Where do you tape/measure the string on the front wheel?
Too bad those pics doesn't really help me figuring it out...
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

What I do on my truck (solid axle, but basically the same as far as toe in goes) is to just sight down both front tires and see where they line up on the rear wheels:

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/AxleTech/index.shtml#Alignment

Since my front and rear track widths are different, I can't use strings from front to back (for which I assume an equal track width is required). I just use a consistent mark on the front tires to sight down, like a line of tread blocks or a groove in the tread and see where that line of sight hits the rear tire tread. You can get pretty darn close that way and not even use any measuring tools, strings or anything.

The idea of eyeballing the toe-in seems pretty lame to me. I have used the method that 4crawler shows in the page he linked in his message (above), where you pull off the front wheels and clamp two 36" straight-edges to the rotors on each side of the truck and measure to see if they are near parallel (slight toe-in). However now I like to use a cheap laser level and shoot my readings onto strips of plwood or drywall that I stand up in front and behind the truck.

Back in the day I used to read magazines like Road and Track where they gave a lot of specs of cars that they featured in reviews and tests. One of the specs they gave was track width, front and rear. If memory serves me not many cars have exactly the same track width at both ends. If you tried to align a car like that with the string method you'd be wasting your time -- Matt

The eye-balling part is just to get the wheels pointed straight ahead with the steering centered in order to set the drag link length. Then I use the front-rear separation to set the toe in.

Hey Frank any chance you could rehost those pics. Thanks