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TR2/3/3A Front end alignment

BobbyO

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I have been searching for anyone who could do a front end alignment on my TR3A. It seems all of the new alignment equipment cannot be made narrow enough to accommodate a TR3. Is anyone aware of anyone who can do an alignment, preferably in the Atlanta area. If not, what is being done to ensure alignment is close and not wearing tires prematurely?
 

Dash

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You might try investigating the sort of place you usually see tucked outside city limts that look like they are run by Goober. The ones you never see advertised and would never consider taking the mercedes to but some are actually manned by pretty decent mechanics. Chances are, if they do front end alignments, the equipement is not gonna be the latest and greatest. I used Firestone last time I had my tr4 done but that was a long time ago.
 

TR3driver

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The only adjustment on a TR3A is for toe-in, which you can do yourself with a simple home-made tool. You'll need a 5' or 6' length of 1x2 lumber plus a couple of scraps of masonite or wood paneling that are 13" long and 4" or 5" wide. Fasten them together like this, with about 44" between the two pieces of Masonite.
Homemadetoe-intool.jpg~original


Jack the front end up and spin each tire while making a mark on the tread with a sharp object (like a pocket knife). Set the steering straight ahead, let the car down and bounce it a few times to settle the suspension. Scoot the tool in behind the wheels and turn it so the Masonite pieces lay vertical against the back of the front wheels (so the edge is roughly at the centerline). Use a pencil to copy the mark from each tire onto the edge of the Masonite. Now move the tool in front of the wheels and line up one of the marks. The distance between the other mark on the Masonite, and the corresponding mark on the tire, is the toe-in if the tire mark is inside the wood mark; or toe-out if the tire mark is outside the wood mark. The book allows measured toe-in between 0 and 1/8".

Hokey as it sounds, my experience is that this method is actually more accurate than the results obtained by most professional shops.
 
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BobbyO

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Thanks Randall. I'll give it a try. Right now I've attempted to adjust the outer tie rods to the length specified by the service manual (7.68" between the center of the ball joint assemblies) but that calls for a lot of eyeballing. First you have to guess where the center of the ball joint assembly is, then come up with the 7.68". The .68" is just slightly less that 11/16". 11/16" is .6875" so that would also be a guess. Your method will be much more accurate.
 

bobhustead

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First, unless your bushes, tie rod ends and silent blocks are in good shape, don't bother. You could easily wind up with squirrelly steering. My approach is similar to Randall's. I pick a tread line on each tire and measure the distance at frame height front and back. Make the +toe in almost zero. This will account for the difference in radius between the 1/4 way up the tire that you are measuring and the center of the circumference that the spec. contemplates. As for centering the steering wheel, the nominal tie rod length won't get you much. Instead, after toe in is right, drive the car so it is going straight. Then, without jacking it up, lengthen one tie rod and shorten the other the same number of threads until the wheel is centered. I had all these problems last summer.

Bob
 

CJD

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Mine is simpler...

Just sight the front tires to the rear like you are aiming a rifle. If you can hit a target at 100 yards, your eyes can easily sight toe in at 7 feet. The front tires should sight to a spot within about 1/2" outside the rear tires.
 
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Sarastro

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Here's the method I use. I've used it on my TD and my Porsche.

https://www.nonlintec.com/mgtd/suspension/#steering

(Scroll down a little.)

This only works if your tires have a narrow groove for the string that holds the plumb bobs. But if your tires don't have such a groove, you can use a wider one and stick something in the groove to hold the string against one edge.
 
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martx-5

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I used the string method after I completed the restoration. Probably not as easy as Randall's method, but I had four jack stands and string laying around, so that's how I went. The biggest problem with this method is tripping over the string and jack stands in the narrow confines of my garage. :glee:

IMG_0728s.jpgIMG_0729s.jpg
 

jfarris

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Dash,
I'm close to all of these with a slight variation. Flat surface with the car driven or rolled enough to settle the suspension. Take a pencil-type white out marker and make a 1-2" straight line mark (along the rolling axis of the tire) as near the center of the tread of the front tires as possible, both lines the same distance off the floor. Measure the distance between the marks with a tape, then roll the tire to where the marks are on the back as high as you can measure with a tape. The difference between the two measurements is toe in or toe out and the marks will last long enough to move the car multiple times while you get it correct. You may have to jack the car up to loosen the tie rod lock nuts. If so, remember to bounce or roll the car to settle the suspension before measuring. On my TR3, I would drive the car with my toe setting versus taking to a pro. On the Boxster and Lexus RX, I checked the toe after replacing front struts and before I drove them to a pro for a 4-wheel alignment.
All these methods work, some are easier to set up and perform than others, i.e., your mileage may vary.
 

sp53

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I used an aluminum ladder in 2 half’s one on each side of the car and 2 quality tape measures to get everything parallel. I was surprised the front and back are not on the same line. I think the books give a rough number of 7-3/8 inches center to center on the tie rod ends. Yes do it yourself, and if not there should be a shop somewhere if you call around a lot
 

CJD

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I just aligned my TR2 for the first time last night. It took 2 minutes with no hardware at all. You guys should all try just getting in front of the car and use one eyeball to sight the outside edges of the front tire to see where it lines up in relation to the rear tire. You can tell in a second if the toe is off. Honest! Give it a try...
 

DavidApp

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Just done my front end alignment.

Thank you Randall for the simple tool tip. Seemed to work very well. I taped some card stock to the uprights so I could see my marks.

I was surprised how little you have to move the adjusters to make a difference to the Toe In or Out.

David
 

TFB

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I also used Randalls gauge method and it was easy,although I put a wrap of painters tape around the center of each wheel which gave me a better line when spun with a light pencil tip drag.
Tom
 

DavidApp

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I have brand new tires with 0 miles on them so I could use the lines in the tires. Did spin the wheels to make sure the lines ran true.

David
 

TR3driver

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That's fine, as long as you're certain they run true. But often they don't, in fact I don't recall ever having tires where they ran absolutely true. Maybe I just buy cheap tires :smile:
 

DavidApp

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Hello Randall

I will check them in the morning using a block and pointer and do the painters tape trick if I see any wobble. There is a very narrow grove at the edge of the tire and one in the center. I was using both.

David
 

CJD

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So complicated. Yesterday I used the iron sights on an old M1 Garand to hit a 12” target at 500 yards. If aligning 3 points works that well over 500 yards, it is definitely accurate enough aligning 3 points over 7 feet! I used to make these fancy brackets to strap onto the wheels to check alignment...but that was before I realized sighting the tire like a gun is much more accurate. I still keep one fancy welded aluminum bracket hung on the wall to remind me to keep things simple.
 

DavidApp

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I sighted down the tires but I am not sure I would trust my aligning it up by eye now. Some years ago maybe but not now.

David
 

TR3driver

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Same problem as the grooves; the sides of the tire are not necessarily exactly perpendicular to the axis of rotation.
 

CJD

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That’s the beauty. When ever you change the toe, you must roll the car back and then forward to allow the suspension to equalize. If you are sighting the tires, then you can check easily at multiple positions to verify within a minute. If you have brackets and such, you must remove and replace the brackets after each check. Not to mention the brackets never help get the wheel straight. You have to do the rolling check to do that spot on.

The only issues I have ever had with sidewalls were bumps on Good Years a while back. The bumps were obvious...and I quit using Good Year shortly after as they began to have major quality issues. Most wheels have more “pimples” to throw off brackets than sidewalls have problems. You can run your eye up and down the tire for a single sighting, and verify the sidewall is straight without any problem...or notice a problem immediately. I have yet to have a bad alignment by sighting the tires. I’ve had several bad alignments with computer/laser rigs that are mis-used.
 
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