Pavelow Leaks Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 (edited) I wrote this up real quick for slick, but since I took the time I thought I'd share it. First off this is not ideal for a daily on road driver, it's for people like me that mainly drive their pathy off road and dont want to spend money on an alignment everytime they knock it out off road. That said I've done this and then taken it to an alignment shop and been almost dead on so it works. Here ya go. Ok Slick, here's a simple break down....of course your front end will be in the air. Attach strap/rope whatever you have to the rear axle, don't mind my dual shocks I'm special. after than bring the strap around to the front across the center of the rear & front tires and keep tension on it...it'll look something like this after you change all the parts, probably not as drastic, but I was tryin to make this simple. then adjust the tie rods to get the strap as straight as possible When finished it should look something like this... The above must be done on both sides to get it correct and you may have to play with the torsion bars to get the camber right, but this will pretty much get your toe settings good. AAAnd I'm spent. Edited December 11, 2006 by Pavelow Leaks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 except that you may have to do both tie rods assemblies as i did mine on one side and now it pulls that direction when braking. i like the strap ideas too.. nice and easy to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavelow Leaks Posted December 11, 2006 Author Share Posted December 11, 2006 (edited) I figured it was self explanatory you'd have to to both sides, maybe I shoulda said that. Fixed, thanx MZ. Edited December 11, 2006 by Pavelow Leaks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 well, it probably depends how much off it is. mine was bad but i didn't have the time to jack with the other side as all that stuff was a pita to loosen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Parking lot alignments are fun. Been there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LD50 Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Just to clarify... how much would the tires need to be turned? just to the point to where you can feel tension, or?? and what did you do with the other end of the strap to keep it tight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 (edited) you turn them till the strap is striaght.. no bends in it at all. actually you want like a tad (3/4"?) toe-in but you ain't gonna eye that especially if you got some mudders on there. the strap:i kept one end free. you kind of have to work both sides at the same time so i just walked around the truck to run the line on the other side. a strap on each side would be best. Edited December 12, 2006 by mzxtreme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 :bow: thank you pavelow. i really appreciate you taking the time and effort to make that write up for me (and everyone else!), it will save me some serious $$ in the long run, and as you know king caca is mainly for off road with the occasional trip to work and as a back up when mini me is sick. thanks!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavelow Leaks Posted December 12, 2006 Author Share Posted December 12, 2006 Just to clarify... how much would the tires need to be turned? just to the point to where you can feel tension, or?? and what did you do with the other end of the strap to keep it tight? How much adjustment you need depends on how bad your alignment is, after replacing parts it shouldn't be as bad as the picture. Just put your steering wheel in the straight position, if you care, and then adjust the wheels straight. I do, it bugs me when the car is goin straight but the steering wheel isn't centered. The other end is free, and I pull on it to get tension after adjustment. Slick, you are welcome, it's no big deal. It took me more time to roll the strap back up than to take the pictures and post it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Random thought- is the rear width (track?- distance between the tires) exactly the same as the front? I dunno, seems like it would make a difference, hence I'm asking. -thnkboutit- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 This is not really a new thing, people have been doing it for a long time. There is another how to on this topic... So given this and that PL is recommended that it is "mainly for offraod" then the difference in track should not be to big of a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavelow Leaks Posted December 12, 2006 Author Share Posted December 12, 2006 Didn't know this had been addressed before, Slick asked for pics I came through..Pin it and it won't come up again? As for the track, Red said it, doesn't matter because this is just to get it good enough to knock it out again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Oh no, not to worry... I think it may have been mentioned here before... maybe. the how to is on another forum. no biggy man. In fact, it has brought it to the attention of many who had no idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Great tip. I've usually adjusted toe by measuring from shoulder-to-shoulder of the front of the front tires and the back of the front tires. When the measurements are about the same, you're good to go. Of course, this technique doesn't help your camber and caster if they're out of spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pavelow Leaks Posted December 12, 2006 Author Share Posted December 12, 2006 Of course, this technique doesn't help your camber and caster if they're out of spec. I said that at the bottom of the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 I've had my truck aligned like this for quite a while and it's fine. I drive mine to work every day as well. Seems to me, with the age of our trucks, a "proper" alignment will only stay as such for a very short period of time. I, however, do have a camber issue that I'm going to have to explore in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now