BJ8 front wheel alignment

[4tecdog]

Hello again Healey guys can anyone point me in the right direction the basic front wheel alignment setup on my BJ8, I noticed the other day by visual inspection the offside wheel (rhd) was steering out more than the near side, The threads on the steering bar were fairly equal so I tried to align by removing the steering rod and threading on to the off side rod a few turns before starting the thread on the near side this seems to improve the situation but not fully. The toe in seems to be correct at about 5mm. The car was jacked up on a lift whilst measurements were taken. I could only align using a string from front to back not having the luxury of laser equipment. Is this the way to go or am I doing it incorrectly, the car seemed to drive well with some shake at 55mph and I am just about to invest in some XAS 180 x 15 tyres so would like to get the geometry as near as possible. Thanks.

 

[Healey Nut]

Get two long spirit levels 4ft or longer 6ft would be better . Gently tie wrap them to the spokes on the wheels so they sit flat on the tire walls without deforming them. Now simply using a tape measure measure the distance between the rear and front ends of the levels and adjust the tie rods until the measurements basically match . The book calls for 1/8" toe in I think but dead straight will be close enough .

 

[British_Recovery]

Toe in should be measured with the wheels on the ground and after moving the car forward.

 

[4tecdog]

Thanks Healey Nut that is a good way of getting a measurement for the toe in and I can understand it is to be done with the weight on the car however what I cannot get to grips with is a starting point to get both the wheels pointing straight forward before I set the toe in. Should there be an equal amount of thread showing on the steering bar locknuts or could something else be out of alignment, the wishbones both look OK new bushes have just been fitted. It is difficult to get both
wheels facing exactly forward without having to go right up to the end of the thread on one side of the steering bar.

 

[steveg]

There should be equal threads showing on each side of the bar. Suggest measuring distance between locknuts, then unscrewing cross rod until completely undone. Then carefully screw rod equally into both ball ends. Then you should be able to push the car back and forth with hands off steering wheel to get the wheels in the straight ahead position.
How to make a simple Healey toe-in caliper to measure at the sidewalls:
https://www.pbase.com/stevegerow/image/82931555

If after setting toe-in, steering wheel is off-center, remove wheel and move it on splines until centered.

 

[4tecdog]

Thanks I think my error was not rolling the car to align the wheels, I assume this should be done with the tie bar on?
I just aligned both wheels by sight and string with the car on the lift obviously wrong! What is the reason for measuring between the lock nuts? Thanks again.

 

[oxford]

I made a tool for the wheel alignment of my BN4. A bit Heath Robinson, but worked well. See here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsPWO7uEs2c

Matthew

 

[Jim 58 BN6]

Steve and Matthew, thanks for sharing your tools and methods. I like simple!

Matthew, great video - as usual! Question: Is Heath Robinson Australian for Rube Goldberg? Jim

 

[tahoe healey]

On Ebay you can find an aligning tool for about $40 to $50 US. It is easy to use and very accurate.

 

[4tecdog]

All these aligning tools are all good for setting the toe in but the point I am trying to clear up is how is the Initial reference point is set. It's all very well if the toe in is correct but if the wheels are not running parallel or one wheel is out. Has anyone had success with a gunsons trackrite ?

 

[steveg]

My description above was to help you get the cross rod centered between the two side rods. Before you start, measuring between the locknuts will give you the dimension you need in order to readjust the cross rod to the same approximate width you had before.

Once you've done that, roll the car back and forth on a flat surface (with no hands on the steering wheel) and the front wheels will self-align. Adjust your toe-in if necessary, then reset your steering wheel on the splines if it's cocked. You have to do this on the ground, not on a lift.

 

[4tecdog]

Thanks again Steve did what you said yesterday and all seems a lot better my measuring device is a bit more basic than yours same principle but it works, I was not convinced at first just rolling the car back and fore would centralise the wheels well enough. the toe in was a little out previously but now sits at about zero there is not much adjustment left though is this a sign of another issue.