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toe-in question
- Thread starter nevets
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dklawson
Yoda
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For an alignment it isn't necessary to adjust one side vs. the other. That said, pay attention to the position of your steering wheel while driving straight ahead. You may benefit from adjusting one or the other rod end to "re-center" the steering wheel a little.
I invested years ago in a Manco alignment gauge from JC Whitney. I've never used it. I found some very good DIY alignment information on the web. The simplest method goes like this.
1) put the car on level flat ground.
2) press short straight-pins into the tread of the tires on the "back" side of the front wheels. (The pins need to be low enough that you can look under the car from side to side and see each pin).
3) drill a small hole (just large enough to clear the pin heads) in a tape measure.
4) hook the tape measure on the far-side pin and measure to the near side-pin. Record the value.
5) roll the car forward and repeat the measurement when the pins are "forward" and as close as possible to rotated 180 degrees from where you made your first measurement.
6) repeat the tape measure measurement, do the math, and determine whether you need to add toe-in or toe-out.
It's a method that anyone can try and the expense is virtually "nill" as the tape measure is still good for other purposes.
I invested years ago in a Manco alignment gauge from JC Whitney. I've never used it. I found some very good DIY alignment information on the web. The simplest method goes like this.
1) put the car on level flat ground.
2) press short straight-pins into the tread of the tires on the "back" side of the front wheels. (The pins need to be low enough that you can look under the car from side to side and see each pin).
3) drill a small hole (just large enough to clear the pin heads) in a tape measure.
4) hook the tape measure on the far-side pin and measure to the near side-pin. Record the value.
5) roll the car forward and repeat the measurement when the pins are "forward" and as close as possible to rotated 180 degrees from where you made your first measurement.
6) repeat the tape measure measurement, do the math, and determine whether you need to add toe-in or toe-out.
It's a method that anyone can try and the expense is virtually "nill" as the tape measure is still good for other purposes.
Hello all,
you will get the alignment correct by adjusting one side, but there can be problems over the years as you can compromise lock on one side by the steering box or steering rack being out of centre position when in the straight ahead position. This can be a real problem with power steering as one valve can be opened at straight ahead and cause a pull.
The best method is to centre the steering box (rack) and adjust the tracking so that it remains central. It can be a lot more effort but is the proper way to do it. The steering wheel should not need to be moved, and is a good indication of incorrectly adjusted tracking.
Alec
you will get the alignment correct by adjusting one side, but there can be problems over the years as you can compromise lock on one side by the steering box or steering rack being out of centre position when in the straight ahead position. This can be a real problem with power steering as one valve can be opened at straight ahead and cause a pull.
The best method is to centre the steering box (rack) and adjust the tracking so that it remains central. It can be a lot more effort but is the proper way to do it. The steering wheel should not need to be moved, and is a good indication of incorrectly adjusted tracking.
Alec
OP
nevets
Jedi Knight
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In thinking about this further...am I correct in my understanding of adjusting the the length of the cross-rod in that it will be necessary to loosen both the left and right ball ends in order to rotate it, which by virture of having opposite threaded ends, will effectively add toe-in or toe-out, depending on which way I roate it? After all, if I only loosend one side, the cross rod would still be locked to the opposite side?
dklawson
Yoda
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I'm not a Healey owner so I can only speculate that your vehicle is similar to those I know. Usually the inner end of the link coming out of the rack has a ball joint thing under the boot. This allows you to loosen the jam nut at the rod end and rotate the link to the rack. You will have to loosen any clamps holding the protective boots to the link.
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Doug has a very good suggestion above. I'll add another. If you don't have a helper, the pin method will accomplish the same thing & possibly easier.
Due to possible runout of the wheels & or tire treads, You need a true measuring point on each tire.
Raise a tire, use a scribe supported on a wood block, & while rotating the tire, scribe a line around the tread face. Do both wheels, lower the car & roll it forward or backward a bit to normalize the suspension.This scribed line will be true to the tires rotation axis & remove any runout errors.
Measure between the scribed lines at the front & back of the tires. The difference in the two measurements is the toe in or toe out.
Only the longer cross rod is adjustable. The side rods are not adjustable so there is no problem of getting one side different from the other. Loosen the lock nuts on both ends & rotate the cross rod to make it longer or shorter as required.
A toe in of about 1/16", front measurement less than the back measurement, will work well.
D
Due to possible runout of the wheels & or tire treads, You need a true measuring point on each tire.
Raise a tire, use a scribe supported on a wood block, & while rotating the tire, scribe a line around the tread face. Do both wheels, lower the car & roll it forward or backward a bit to normalize the suspension.This scribed line will be true to the tires rotation axis & remove any runout errors.
Measure between the scribed lines at the front & back of the tires. The difference in the two measurements is the toe in or toe out.
Only the longer cross rod is adjustable. The side rods are not adjustable so there is no problem of getting one side different from the other. Loosen the lock nuts on both ends & rotate the cross rod to make it longer or shorter as required.
A toe in of about 1/16", front measurement less than the back measurement, will work well.
D
Geo Hahn
Yoda
Offline
The 'scribe' & 'pin' methods soundgood, but on TRs I have never been able to get a tape measure across the car at points that are 180 degrees apart -- the inner wheel wells and gearbox are in the way. Big Healeys may allow such measurements -- for me I have to do this...
With the car in the garage I select a point on the fat part of the tire -- 3:00 on the drivers side, 9:00 on passengers side. Using a spirit level vertically (plumb) I mark a point on the floor directly below the point on the tire (use masking tape n the floor for easy to remove marks -- label the tape 'R' for this measurement).
Then push the car backwards one half turn of the tires so that point on the fat part is now forward (9:00 d/s, 3:00 p/s) and make 2 more points on the floor (label the tape 'F' for this measurement).
Measure the distance between the points for the front and the points for the rear. A 6' folding carpenters rule works well but you can also use 2 yardsticks. Note that the 'front' points will be farther back than the 'rear' points. Taking the difference will give you the toe-in/toe-out at that point on the tire. A little thinking may now be required to slightly adjust this to toe-in at the tire tread. A lot of thinking will be required if your spec is in degrees rather than inches.
Time consuming the first time you do it but take lots of notes -- especially how much you have to turn a tierod to change toe-in by 1/16" and eventually it will become quick and easy.
Oh, be sure tire pressure is equal and correct and roll the car into position, do not lower it from a jack and start this process.
With the car in the garage I select a point on the fat part of the tire -- 3:00 on the drivers side, 9:00 on passengers side. Using a spirit level vertically (plumb) I mark a point on the floor directly below the point on the tire (use masking tape n the floor for easy to remove marks -- label the tape 'R' for this measurement).
Then push the car backwards one half turn of the tires so that point on the fat part is now forward (9:00 d/s, 3:00 p/s) and make 2 more points on the floor (label the tape 'F' for this measurement).
Measure the distance between the points for the front and the points for the rear. A 6' folding carpenters rule works well but you can also use 2 yardsticks. Note that the 'front' points will be farther back than the 'rear' points. Taking the difference will give you the toe-in/toe-out at that point on the tire. A little thinking may now be required to slightly adjust this to toe-in at the tire tread. A lot of thinking will be required if your spec is in degrees rather than inches.
Time consuming the first time you do it but take lots of notes -- especially how much you have to turn a tierod to change toe-in by 1/16" and eventually it will become quick and easy.
Oh, be sure tire pressure is equal and correct and roll the car into position, do not lower it from a jack and start this process.
Roger
Luke Skywalker
Offline
I've used both, and the string method too!
The thing to watch out for with the pin method is to make sure that the pins are at equal heights side to side - preferably exactly at hub centre height - as well as front-to-back before and after rotation.
The string method, using 4 jackstands and 2 long bits of string, is easy with open-wheeled cars but a bit more laborious with almost everything post-WWii!
The thing to watch out for with the pin method is to make sure that the pins are at equal heights side to side - preferably exactly at hub centre height - as well as front-to-back before and after rotation.
The string method, using 4 jackstands and 2 long bits of string, is easy with open-wheeled cars but a bit more laborious with almost everything post-WWii!