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Measurements for a Home alignment

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alignment
5K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  seanpr1182 
#1 ·
Since there is only one real adjustment for the alignment, I've been doing it at home for the most part. However, after recently replacing a very very busted tie rod end the alignment is WAY out. I'm going to tackle it this weekend but wanted to double check on how you guys measure it and what you set it for? I've been taking two tape measures and putting one btw the trailing edge of the rotors and the other one on the leading edge and setting it for about 1/8 inch of toe in. Is that remotely correct?

Once that's set, i'll play with the drag link to get the wheel centered but I was just curious specifically about the tie rod adjustment and how everyone goes about it. Thanks.
 
#2 ·
The spec it 3/64" to 3/32" toe out as measured at the outside of the tire. Stick a pin in the tread of each tire. Measure. Roll vehicle the vehicle back to get the pins straight back and measure. Adjust.
 
#3 ·
The spec is toe out? wow totally didn't know that. I figured it would be toe in for stability. John, would you deviate from the spec based on any modifications to the vehicle? Like a lift, no sway bars, larger tires etc. I was toeing in since the reduced camber angle from the lift (2 inch) makes it a little more darty on the highway so i was trying to compensate
 
#4 ·
Toe is set so that when under power, there is no toe. With drive to the front tires, this pulls the tires in. You should not notice any real handling difference with toe changes unless they are huge. It mostly affects tire wear. The only reason to go toe in is if you converted to rear wheel drive.

Dartyness is due to castor mostly.
 
#5 · (Edited)
IMHO Toe spec is a guideline. It's strict for a factory-fresh vehicle, but as any race car engineer can attest - toe is a tool used to accomplish a goal.

If you're sure that your dartiness is not a product of other issues with the steering components (the most common is swivel ball tension). I wouldn't worry too much about caster causing dartiness. First, and others may disagree, but the first priority with caster is to get the pinion angle correct. Once that's done, everything else in the driveline alignment can compensate for anything from 4 degrees over and 4 degrees over spec. You can probably run just over 0 degrees caster and still drive like a relatively normal truck with the other variables you're allowed to play with.

IMHO If you need to run more toe in to slow down steering response, then run the toe in as much as you need to in order to get the desired steering response. No-one is going to judge you for running lots of toe in if that's what gets you the kind of vehicle dynamics you want for your truck.

Your tires may wear out faster and you'll eventually death wobble given enough toe in. If you toe in to the maximum that your steering components can allow, then your truck will probably behave very strangely. But this is all within the realm of the known.
 
#6 ·
For DIY alignments on the truck I cut a piece of 1/8"x1.5" cold steel down to about 20 inches and drilled a hole at the center big enough to fit over a wheel stud. Make sure hub mounting face is clean with no crap on it and put the piece on the stud and put a lug nut on to hold it in situ. The metal sticks out far enough from each side of the brake rotor so you can fit the tape measure on it with no fouling on other components.. Measure toe and adjust as needed. Having a solid axle truck makes it easy peasy to adjust the toe.
 
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