Quote:
Originally Posted by ShadeTreeMech
FYI I studied (and passed) a course in suspension, steering and braking last year, so this is a subject I'm very familiar with. I haven't needed to go to an alignment shop for about 2 years now; using a tape measure and basic hand tools I can get an alignment that is within 1% of spec of what a good shop would do. Anyone with the willingness to learn the ropes and patience to do a good job can align their own vehicle; consider it shade tree mechanics 201.
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I'd have to doubt the tape measure idea. I've worked out several methods to set the toe on various vehicles and the one's that work fairly well involve using a $12 laser to translate the distance to where it can be measured.
2 problems with using a tape measure...with most vehicles the suspension is in the way...and since you are dealing with usually around 1/16th of an inch...you need to very accurate.
On the other hand on an offroad trip last year I hit a "bump" in the road (probably put there by some runt on an ATV?) and went airborn...and decided I needed a toe adjustment...but with this 4WD truck all I needed to do was to tie a string around the tires at the axle level and set the toe to -1/8th" . Set it at -1/8th" because it has deep dish wheels on it. I could do this because it was a 4WD and because the front and rear track are almost exactly the same.