Subject: Re: Planning next project by BillH on 2017/1/7 17:28:38
Quote:
hcbph wrote: Quote:
BillH wrote: If you want to set the toe REALLY easy, just make a set of toe plates. Again, it will get you to the alignment shop.
2 steel or aluminum pieces of sheetmetal (even smooth plywood in a pinch). Set up against the tires, on the ground. Only need to be about 8 inches high. Slots cut in both ends about to 1 1/2 in. off the ground. Slots need to be the same height front to rear and the same on both plates and just wide enough to slip a measuring tape thru them.
See the pic, you don't even need the angled part that sits on the floor if you clamp them to the tires of have a helper hold them up against the tire.
Try and keep them off any raised letters on the tire if possible. Measure the front and rear. The front measurement should be shorter than the rear at least 1/8th inch (1/16th toe in per side). Or whatever your shop manual suggests. If your new rods were the same length, this will get you to the shop.
Full bodied race cars use these all the time at the track when they get the front wheels bumped and have to quickly reset the toe.
Pardon my ignorance, but I've looked at this some and keep coming up with issues. To change the toe rods I'm going to have to put the car up on jack stands to get enough room to work on it. How do you make those plates work with the car up in the air? I could see how this could work if you have a 4 post lift, quick lift or something comparable to get it up on it's wheels but that's not an option I have. Unfortunately I don't have that option, only jack stands or putting the car up on some form of cribbing, but that also will requiring jacking the car up to get them under the wheels. I could see something possible based on my original thoughts, something that bolts onto the hubs and has provisions for the plumb bobs I mentioned and maybe slotted to take tape measures like in those plates shown. Every option I come up with requires jacking up the car to be able to get under it.
What am I missing here?
First the angle on those plates does not go under the tire, they're just held against the tire with a clamp or by hand. So, putting them back on and getting ready to measure takes about a minute.
You're absolutely right about jacking the car up to make a change. After you make a change, the car must be rolled 4 feet back then, 4 feet forward. This is done to take out the additional camber in the tires that happens when you let the jack down. This is done every time you jack up the car. No matter what adjustment you make, the car has to be rolled before you take another measurement,
If you go to a retail alignment shop, you should see the tech roll the car every time he jacks it up.
When I do an alignment and corner weights on a race car, I roll the car back and forth from 10 to 40 times. Take the gauges off, adjust, roll it, measure and do it over and over.
Plus, every adjustment you make could affect the other measurements. Change camber and you may also change the toe. That's why you have to do a final measurement on everything.
