From: Gary Casey [glcasey@gte.net]
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2000 1:31 AM
To: 928
Subject: [928] Re: wheel alignment shop recommendation please



Dan Shapiro wrote:

> Please kindly post the procedure for doing this so the rest of us 
can do the same thing!
>

I think I did this before, but..
1.  Find as level a surface as possible side-to-side to park the car.  
If you can't find a place level you have to make camber measurements 
with the car facing both ways and take the average reading.  My garage 
floor happens to be very level - I checked by running water on it to 
see if it runs one way or the other.
2.  Calculate the required camber and toe-in specifications in inches.  
My car has 16 inch wheels and it is very close to 16 inches between spots 
on the rim where I can take a good measurement.  For 30 minutes +/- 10 
minutes camber it figures out to 3/32 to 3/16 inches difference in 16 inches.  
Fortoe-in the distance between the front of the tire and the rear at the 
level a tape can be stretched across is about 20 inches.  In this distance 
the required difference is 1/16 to 1/8.
3.  Camber must be adjusted first as it effects the toe-in.  I use a 
carpenter's level - you need one at least 2 feet long.  I put the level 
against or near the bottom of the tire and measure in to the wheel at the 
top and bottom of the rim - not at the lip, but on the flat part.  The 
difference is the camber.  Adjust the cam until it's right.  After you 
think it's right roll the car back and forth to get rid of any distortion 
left in the system.
4.  For toe-in it takes two people to measure between the same tread 
elements at the front of the tire and the rear, being careful not to bend 
the tape under chassis elements.  Tires are not necessarily straight, so 
it takes more than one measurement to have confidence.  Either tie rod can
be adjusted.
5.  After the toe-in is correct the rack and steering wheel need to be 
centered.  Take out the plastic plug in the front of the rack and either 
use the tool sold or I just sight in the hole and turn the steering wheel 
until the depression in the rack is centered in the hole.  Now might be 
the time to remove the steering wheel if necessary to install it in the 
"straight ahead" position. Don't compromise on the centering of the rack 
to have the steering wheels straight - the rack is made with the center 
teeth a little tighter than the others to eliminate play in the straight 
ahead position.  I used a long straight-edge and sighted along the outside 
of the tire to the rear tires. Then adjust both tie-rods and equal and 
opposite amount until the outer edge of both front tires point to the same 
part of the rear tires.
6.  Now drive the car a little and check it again and adjust as necessary.

I found that after I followed the above procedure the car tracked straight 
with the wheel centered. One confession is the castor angle, which I haven't 
figured out how to adjust accurately.  I just set the cam in about the center 
of its travel and left it.  The wheel centers nicely from a turn in either 
direction and there is about the right amount of steering effort when 
cornering hard.  I might just leave it the way it is.

sorry about the long post.