self made Wheel Alignment Tool

[ricwrench]

I use string, square tubing, 6' scale. Egyptian water level to get the Hoe sitting earth level first. 50 yrs spinning wrenches, never paid for an alignment yet. Old now, things get heavy!

 

[89Suburban]

I use string, square tubing, 6' scale. Egyptian water level to get the Hoe sitting earth level first. 50 yrs spinning wrenches, never paid for an alignment yet. Old now, things get heavy!

Neat trick with the water level!!! This is one hurdle I have been dealing with in my raggedy driveway. I take the truck to my work warehouse with the super flat floor to make the camber/castor readings.

 

[ricwrench]

Neat trick with the water level!!! This is one hurdle I have been dealing with in my raggedy driveway. I take the truck to my work warehouse with the super flat floor to make the camber/castor readings.

I installed level pads in my yard, big timesaver! I have a BF cnc mill. I can park on the table and indicate things really true. Overkill for alignment . Working on a painting program, movements will be programmed. Likely to be better than me at the job, . It's all math..... sorta

 

[nonickatall]

Well, today I was finally able to go to my wheel alignment after my axle work.

First I had to find out how it works with the GMT800. I had already discovered the necessary adjustment screws on the upper control arm, but didn't want to loosen them until now, because I wanted to measure the initial situation.

Today I measured caster and camber and found that they were not correct or outside of the tolerance range and I loosened the screws.

I then found out that the rear ones on both sides are so tight that they cannot be turned. I also found a strange piece of plastic in the setting plates. There was a big question mark at first because this plastic part dictated the setting, so to speak.

But youtube is your friend and that's how I found out that these are retainers that come from the production of the vehicle, i.e. the factory setting, so to speak.

This tells me that in the 200,000 km that my car has driven, the axle has not even been adjusted. Anyway, it was a big job to loosen the rear screws. Hammer, oil, heat and a lot of patience brought the desired result.

After that, with my wife turning the steering wheel, I was able to get the camber and caster to the correct values.

The toe will come tomorrow. I'm curious to see how the car drives.

I'll post pictures of my modified system tomorrow.

Here is just a picture of these retainers and the upper axle adjustment screws

 

[nonickatall]

At least the alignment of the axle worked.

I just drove a little lap with the engine stuttering but the steering seems very easy now. I no longer have tension when I turn the wheels all the way and the car runs nice and straight

Here a few pictures of my modified adjustment tool.

 

[nonickatall]

I modified the mounting of the whole thing again and now it works pretty well.

The Escalade now drives really great and I also adjusted the axle on my Chrysler LeBaron Convertible.

On the picture you can see the new Kingpin Gauge that I bought.

The cheap ebay stuff doesn't work that great either, but this is very good.

 

[89Suburban]

I modified the mounting of the whole thing again and now it works pretty well.

The Escalade now drives really great and I also adjusted the axle on my Chrysler LeBaron Convertible.

On the picture you can see the new Kingpin Gauge that I bought.

The cheap ebay stuff doesn't work that great either, but this is very good.

Good stuff man! I am using foundation hook bolts to hold mine to the rim. Just hook them in the holes and snug them down.

 

[nonickatall]

Good stuff man! I am using foundation hook bolts to hold mine to the rim. Just hook them in the holes and snug them down.

I see, you use the same principle.

I plan to alligne some different cars. That why I was looking for a solution for most every situation. I was also thinking about a solution like you choose. But that will not work on my LeBaron. (See pic of older version and different king pin gauge)

 

[89Suburban]

I see, you use the same principle.

I plan to alligne some different cars. That why I was looking for a solution for most every situation. I was also thinking about a solution like you choose. But that will not work on my LeBaron. (See pic of older version and different king pin gauge)

I like your adjustable tracked beam bar setup, that is real nice. Where do you get that from?

 

[nonickatall]

I like your adjustable tracked beam bar setup, that is real nice. Where do you get that from?

Sorry, even if i have this thread on watch, i didn't see your question...

The beam bars i bought at ebay. That is material for example for people who build individual fair stands or automation solutions.

If you search for: "alu profil nut 8" you should find it on ebay or google.

 

[89Suburban]

FWIW, if you know for sure your toe is alignment is properly set, and you need to make any camber/caster adjustments, you can make some reference measurements from these points. In my case, the front and rear measurements were exactly half an inch apart. I adjusted my castor out 1 degree, then readjusted the toe to a half inch apart.

I used the corner of the front UCA bracket where it meets the frame, and right behind the brake line there is a divot formed into the frame where the tape end settles into nicely.

 

[nonickatall]

Not bad, but i think that is probably very difficult to measure exactly, because of three points.

First the toe must be allignet in relation to the rear axle. Because no rear axle is 100% in line.

Second, the distance of the measurement at the rotor is very short, so you can't measure the toe good.

And third point. To measure everything exact, the car must stand on the axle. If the car is not on its wheels, the camber and caster is misleading. If you put a lift in the middle under the wishbone, the force on the wishbone is not the same as when the force last on the wheels. That leads into wrong measurement, i am afraid.

But a goot a fast DIY method to do it l, after install new wishbone or tie rods.

My method seamed to work very good.
Before, i had a tension if the wheels where fully turned. And in faster curves like leaving the autobahn, i had squeaking tires in left curves.
As well the Escalade seamed to have no good straight running.

All that is now perfect. And my fuel consumption lowered appx. 10%.

 

[BoatyMcBoatface]

I just did an alignment on the front end using the string method. Done it plenty of times on a number of vehicles. I just replaced the torsion bar keys, leveled it and new idler arm and mount because they were shot.I do have a set of first gen quick trick alignment bars. I measure camber and caster using a bubble gauge. And I use thin plastic cutting boards to make a set of slip plates with some oil between them. I use a big foam pad with a small scooter tire to center and lock the wheel straight. I did find a steering wheel lock on Amazon for 25 bucks to my surprise. The rear axle is a perfect reference point. Yes it takes a while to measure things up but once you are parallel in the box you're good to go. I check camber and caster first then set up my box. I have a 2500 Yukon and the center of the axle is difficult to reference to the front but I use the edge of the center hole on the rim. I also use a machinist 6 inch scale for these measurements. I rough in the toe then attach the quick trick bars and then fine tune to 1/16 toe in and lock it down. I have a friend who has a shop with an alignment rack and I usually have him set the camber or caster to make life easy but I know they measured good so I do the toe myself. I've done it several times on all my vehicles and used to have him double check but each time I got better he told me to save my money. A suspension on these trucks is sloppy and settling it between measurements yields better results. An alignment machine is just a fast way to do what takes me about 2 hours. I also bubble balance all my tires and never had an issue. (Mind you I don't drive this at 100 mph but not one shake or shimmy on highway + speeds)These machines help the mechanic get the job done quicker and with better repeatability. If you take your time you can do it and have the same results. The only thing I don't measure is thrust angle. As long as you haven't been in an accident that bent something you should be good. You can measure that dropping points from the rear axle to front reference points but again so far I've been lucky. Of course any major suspension replacement I will get it close but take it to the shop to make sure.