Alignment, how to?

Mavrick · Jan 16, 2004

Hey guys, i have to get the mustang front end aligned. It's pretty out of whack right now, seens how the previous owner never aligned it after he changed spindles etc. (had the car ripped apart)

Could anyone take me through how i can align my front wheels? I just want them to face straight, right now it's kinda like this \ / - i will get it done professionally so it's perfect, but for the mean time i'd like to try it myself.

Thanks.

stangbear427 · Jan 16, 2004

Is \ / the front view, or the view from above?

mysticfire5OH · Jan 16, 2004

I just finished a swap and went through the same thing.
heres how i did it.
1. i put penetrating oil on the treads of the things that connect to the spindle and steer the car (sorry for all the technical terms..ha)
2.the next day i used a pair of vice-grips and a wrench to bread them lose.
3. take a tape measure (this requires two people) and measure either from the front and rear of the rotors (with the tire off) or from the front and rear of the tire.
4. get this measurement the same and unscrew the the things until they fit back into spindles without moving the spindles.
5.after installing them you may want to measure again

Hope this kinda makes sense
thats how i did it and it worked great for me so i could take to a professional
if you have any other questions just ask.

NIck

Mavrick · Jan 16, 2004

mysticfire5OH said:
I just finished a swap and went through the same thing.
heres how i did it.
1. i put penetrating oil on the treads of the things that connect to the spindle and steer the car (sorry for all the technical terms..ha)
2.the next day i used a pair of vice-grips and a wrench to bread them lose.
3. take a tape measure (this requires two people) and measure either from the front and rear of the rotors (with the tire off) or from the front and rear of the tire.
4. get this measurement the same and unscrew the the things until they fit back into spindles without moving the spindles.
5.after installing them you may want to measure again

Hope this kinda makes sense
thats how i did it and it worked great for me so i could take to a professional
if you have any other questions just ask.

NIck

Oh boy, LOL. I think you mean tie rod ends... and where did you measure from? Rotor to rotor?

StangBear427: That is a birds eye view, one wheel is actually pretty straight when the steering wheel is straight, then the other wheel wants to point inward.

stangbear427 · Jan 16, 2004

OK. You can get them the same by measuring from the tie rod ends to the rack bolts, and screw in/out the one that is way off. Then for getting your toe right: you can straiten out the steering wheel, and using a straitedge about two feet long, set it across the wheel so that one end is touching the ground on the rear of the car side of the tire and mark that spot on the ground on both sides. Then do the same thing, only with it touching the ground on the front of the car side. You can measure these two and screw each side in/out evenly to get them parallel. Remember, it's better to have them toe'd in a little than out. If none of this makes sense, I can draw a quick scetch and scan it in for you.

Mavrick · Jan 16, 2004

stangbear427 said:
OK. You can get them the same by measuring from the tie rod ends to the rack bolts, and screw in/out the one that is way off. Then for getting your toe right: you can straiten out the steering wheel, and using a straitedge about two feet long, set it across the wheel so that one end is touching the ground on the rear of the car side of the tire and mark that spot on the ground on both sides. Then do the same thing, only with it touching the ground on the front of the car side. You can measure these two and screw each side in/out evenly to get them parallel. Remember, it's better to have them toe'd in a little than out. If none of this makes sense, I can draw a quick scetch and scan it in for you.

Thanks for that.. i understand how to get the alignment straight, but how to adjust the toe totally boggled me.

If you don't mind drawing/scanning up a diagram, i'd really appreciate it.

Jeff.

stangbear427 · Jan 16, 2004

OK, I just learned how to use my paint program. You want to do the same thing on both sides of the car, and measure from driver side to passenger side A to A, and B to B. The longer your straitedges are, the more acurate it will be- like if points A and B are a few feet in front of and behind the front wheels instead of where I show in the dia.

95 5.0L · Jan 16, 2004

http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13211&highlight=ALIGNMENT

Mavrick · Jan 16, 2004

Thanks.. i'll have to get a buddy to help me try that out...

stangbear427 · Jan 16, 2004

95 5.0L said:
http://corner-carvers.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=13211&highlight=ALIGNMENT

That was a good post. Same idea, only way more complicated. Way more precise though, that guy won't need to go to the allignment shop- but he also could have had it done a few times for the cost of the tools... and I personnally would rather it be someone else's ass if my tires end up wearing funny.

DJiCE · Jan 16, 2004

stangbear427 said:
OK, I just learned how to use my paint program. You want to do the same thing on both sides of the car, and measure from driver side to passenger side A to A, and B to B. The longer your straitedges are, the more acurate it will be- like if points A and B are a few feet in front of and behind the front wheels instead of where I show in the dia.

That drawing looks like a camaro ...

stangbear427 · Jan 16, 2004

Hey, it's my first time on paint1! cut me some slack!
Here, is this better?

Alignment, how to?

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