> Make sure you count the number of turns it takes to unscrew the ball-joint,
> otherwise your wheel-alignment will be incorrect when you reassemble. You may
There is no need to be too careful about this, because you are about to read
instructions for setting toe-in in the comfort of your very own driveway, using
just simple tools that any homeowner has.
You will need the following:
o Tape measure
o Paint or masking tape (for making a mark on tires)
o Wrenches of an appropriate size to loosen the tie rod end nuts
o A stretch of level roadway without traffic
o A helper
Place the car on the stretch of level roadway, make sure the tires are the
correct pressure, the suspension is settled, etc. Now put a mark near the
center of the tread on the front of each front tire. The mark should be
as high up on the tread as possible consistant with unobstructed path
between the two tires. 90 degrees from the road is optimal, but you can't
get quite this high with most cars. Now measure the distance from the
mark on one tire to the mark on the other. Write down this figure. Roll
the car forward until the marks are as high up on the back of the tire as
they were on the front. Measure the distance again. Subtract the second
figure from the first, and you've got a rough idea of toe-in in inches.
It can be converted to exact toe-in in inches or degrees simply by measuring
the radius of the tire, and the distance from the ground the marks were,
and some nasty trigonometry, but I admit that I usually just set the toe-in
to roughly 1/4 inch and call it a day.
Note that the measurement will be totally inaccurate if any part of the
suspension has a problem. Loose wheel bearings, bad ball joints, bad
trunnions, incorrect tire pressure, etc, can all render the measurements
useless. If you take the measurement several times, and the readings
seem to jump all over the place, take that as an indication that there is
some other problem, most likely wheel bearings, tie rod ends, ball joints
or trunnions.
When the guy in the alignment shop sets your alignment, he will also adjust
it so that your steering wheel is centered when the wheels are pointed
straight ahead, without regard to the steering wheel being centered wrt
(with respect to) the rack. To center the steering wheel wrt the rack take
the steering wheel, and turn it all the way to the right, then count the
number of turns that it takes to turn it all the way to the left, then turn
it to the right half that number of turns. If the steering wheel is
centered, then your steering rack already is centered wrt the steering
wheel, but usually in british cars you will find that it is miles off.
You then remove the steering wheel and place it in the center. You also
often have to adjust turn signal cancelling pieces on the steering shaft.
Now when you adjust your tie rods so the car goes straight when the
steering wheel is pointed straight ahead, everything is centered. (If you
don't bother to center the steering wheel wrt the rack it results in a
different size turning circle for right and left turns, that's all).
Joe
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