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Tell me what to adjust for alignment

6K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  09v6 
#1 ·
I want to do the alignment on my car after 2 tries at the shop have failed to get it the way I want. I've aligned my '69 a few times and I understand the process and have the tools for the measurements. I just don't know what/where/how to make the adjustments on a new car. Can someone break it down for toe, castor and camber for me?
 
#2 ·
If you dont have caster/camber plates then you can only adjust toe. If your cars suspension is mostly or all stock then you dont have caster camber plates.

however if you do have caster/camber or even just camber plates then this may help you. Depending on what brand you got. PAGE 10> http://1.cdn.lib.americanmuscle.com/files/47028.pdf

how did the tires fail?
 
#3 ·
You said two shops have been unable to set the alignment where you want it. I suppose the first question I have is just where do you want it? With care, toe can be set at home with a tape measure or string lines. I would shoot for 1/32 - 1/8 inch toe in for street use and 1/16 - 3/32 inch toe out for autocross. As previously noted camber and castor has very limited adjustment unless you have aftermarket camber/castor plates. There is enough give or slop in the bolt holes to fudge about .2 of a degree if you care to try that. Toe is set at the outer tie rod ends just like older cars. Camber & castor is set at the top of the strut towers the same as most other strut type front ends. The bolts holding the strut to the spindle have a little give in them as well so between the strut tower bolts and the strut to spindle bolts you can fudge camber a bit.
 
#4 ·
Interesting, I didn't realize castor/camber could only be adjusted with the aftermarket plates and that it was all about how the struts are stuck in the holes. I guess I might look into getting some in the future. To be technical, the car is within the computer specs, but they have a terrible time getting it so it doesn't have a little drift without a crooked steering wheel (and no, its not the crown in the road). If the toe is just the tie rods like old school then I'll give that a try. Right now the car has a slight drift to the right and I have to correct with left steering wheel. The 2nd time I took it in for this they actually made it worse, so I just want to fix it myself.

So how do the aftermarket camber bolts work? I have those but I gave them to the shop to install the first time I had the car aligned after I installed all the suspension mods.
 
#5 ·
. . . . Right now the car has a slight drift to the right and I have to correct with left steering wheel. The 2nd time I took it in for this they actually made it worse, so I just want to fix it myself. . . . .
So all you really need to do is re-center the steering wheel. I need to to this also, and I think I know how it works . . . but it would be great to hear from someone on here who really knows what they are doing.
 
#6 ·
It's important that we are talking about the same thing when discussing this problem and how to solve it. Is the car actually pulling to the right on a straight level road with minimal crown and no appreciable wind or is it going straight, but the steering wheel isn't centered when doing so? If it's actually pulling to the right under these conditions it sounds like a castor problem, probably too much on the right or too little on the left. Given the limited range of adjustment stock it will take some creative thinking on the part of the alignment tech to solve this or camber/castor plates. Camber or toe would have to be really out to cause this. Now if the car is going straight, but the steering wheel is simply offset to the right the fix is a lot simpler. Think of it like this. The car is going straight, but the steering wheel is to the right. If you pull the steering wheel to the center position the front wheels are now pointing to the left. In order to make the front wheels point straight ahead while still keeping the steering wheel centered the left side tie rod end must be shortened and the right must be longer. Just how much depends on how far off it is. Each side MUST be moved equally or you will change the toe. So long as each side is moved equally the toe will remain unchanged, but the position of the steering wheel will move. I have had to do this fairly often after an alignment in order to satisfy my picky nature about this sort of thing. I would put a thin paint or sharpie stripe on the tie rod end before loosening the lock nut so you can see just how much you've moved things. I would start with 1/4 - 1/3 of a turn on each side to start. A couple of final comments. Some people like to autocross their car occasionally and since toe is the last thing set when doing an alignment you could have the shop give you two different toe settings marked with paint stripes. One would be toe in for everyday and one would be slightly toe out for autocross. Lastly our cars are what is known as front steer ie. the steering linkage is in front of the front wheel centerline. Some cars have the linkage behind the centerline and are known as rear steer. If you have a rear steer car the corrections to center the steering wheel would be opposite, shorten the right and make the left longer.
 
#7 ·
Thanks XRacer. I'm also very picky on my alignments, which is why I learned how to do it on my '69...the shops just couldn't get it. I'll definitely mark the tie rods like you mentioned. I hope to get at it this weekend.
 
#11 ·
I have a couple of suggestions/observations regarding alignment shops. First and most important try to find a shop where the person doing the alignment actually understands suspension geometry, not just how to operate the equipment. The latter situation is oftentimes the case at chain type tire/auto service stores. Not always, but all too often this is the case. Rear wheel alignment can be off even on live axle cars eg. all Mustangs built before the 2015 S550 models. If the rear axle is skeewed the car won't handle as it should. Check out the equipment used. Even the best mechanic can't do quality work with worn out equipment. FWIW Hunter makes some of the very best alignment equipment. Some auto body shops have alignment capability and usually the people there have a pretty good grasp of suspensions. I think one reason why the steering wheels aren't always perfectly centered is that sometimes the tech will simply open the driver's side door and reach in to center the wheel rather than actually sitting in the driver's seat while doing it. This is sometimes done to avoid soiling the seat with dirty clothes and to avoid having to climb up on the rack. Doing it this way is kind of like trying to read the speedometer from the passenger seat. You're looking at it from an angle rather than head on.
 
#12 ·
Been a while but I should close this out. So I made minor adjustments to the tie rods. It took me many tries to get it the way I liked, but now the car tracks better than it ever has AND my steering wheel is straight. I haven't actually measured anything. I based it all off how the car drives. I'm not too concerned, but I'll take some measurements at some point.
 
#13 ·
Since you decided to come back and make a post, let me throw in a few cents worth of info. If your car is within specs but you still have drift then I would look at the Tires being the culprit. I had a similar issue with my truck many years ago where it had a drift. MANY techs took a crack at adjusting it and it could not be fixed. Only by making adjustments outside of specs could it be made to drive properly. Well, being out of specs may drive nice but it wears out your tires. Those tires only lasted me about 25K. Terrible Goodyear tires. I hate Goodyear because they have always brought me Badyears. So when I switched them out to Micheline, NO MORE PROBLEM! One alignment took care of everything. BTW everything under the truck is fine, obviously the techs always check that before doing the alignment. I would look at your tires instead of blaming anyone else.
 
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