4x4 Driveway Alignment

[Brody]

This covers a large range of different rigs. What they all have in common is that a basic alignment can be done in the driveway with some very simple tools. Some of these are duplicated in a lot of other posts in the forum, so excuse the duplications.

Save yourself some bucks, too, especially if you have big tires and wheel. Straight axle rigs are the easiest ones to do as you are dealing with primarily toe in and toe out. Some of the links/articles get very specific about the "exact amount" of toe in. Bottom line, if you are running a wider than stock tire, you have quite a bit of leeway..1/8"-1/4".

http://www.ehow.com/how_4641061_align-jeep-cherokee-driveway.html

http://www.quadratec.com/jeep_knowledgebase/article-48.htm

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f178/how-to-set-your-toe-alignment-at-home-365904/

http://www.yotatech.com/f128/driveway-alignment-write-up-163666/

http://bb.bc4x4.com/showthread.php?137062-Driveway-alignment-write-up-%28LOTS-of-pics%29

http://www.f150online.com/forums/articles-how-tos/418488-alignment-how-diy.html


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZoL1gaWedA


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjcP07VKVZM&feature=fvwrel


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBrzXeJnYiQ&feature=related


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzN0Z2HupcM&feature=related

Here is my initial post:

Here is the down and dirty of doing it yourself:

Get your rig onto a level surface. Use a carpenter's square or tape measure and measure from the floor up, marking the same distance at the same spot on the inside of the front tires, both front and back. A sliver Sharpie works great for this.

Raise the front of the rig so that the tires are off of the ground, being careful not to rotate the tires. Measure the inside measurement, front and back. Loosen the adjustment bolt or nut on your tie rod and take a pipe wrench and turn the tie rod so that the front measurement of the tire is between 1/8" and 1/4" less than the back side. You are now aligned good enough for a rig with oversized tires that gets wheeled.

You may also notice that your steering wheel is now off center. Adjusting the drag link much the same way will recenter your steering wheel. The drag link will also affect the steering radius left and right, so you don't want to get to radical with this adjustment. If more than a turn is needed, especially with major lifts, it may be necessary to remove the steering wheel and relocate it to get it centered perfectly.

This process takes about 20 minutes start to finish. If you don't think this has been done for awhile, spray PB Blaster or another rust buster product on the tie rod ends or adjustment sleeve a couple of times a day for about a week before you attempt this. Do not expect the tie rod or drag link to move easily.

As an aside here, whenever you replace your tie rod or drag link, or just the ends, liberally coat the threaded ends with anti seize compound to make this process a little easier. Since I have a hollow rod for both of mine on my Toyota, I actually go one step farther and dump some regular oil into the rods before putting the rod ends on. This helps with rust forming up on the inside of the threads and inside of the rods.

Here is a really nice write up on the subject:

http://www.4wdandsportutility.com/te...ent/index.html (http://www.4wdandsportutility.com/tech/0702_4wd_steering_wheel_alignment/index.html)

Hope that this helps.