The Most Accurate DIY 4W Alignment
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- Опубліковано 24 гру 2022
- In this video I'll show you how to do a 4 wheel toe alignment at home using noting but basic tools and measuring devices, no toe plates or another other tools need to be purchased for this procedure.
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Due to factors beyond the control of Ratchets and Wrenches, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. Ratchets and Wrenches assumes no liability for any property or personal damage that may arise from doing a repair on your vehicle after watching any of my repair video's. Due to factors beyond the control of Ratchets and Wrenches, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Again Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Ratchets and Wrenches. - Авто та транспорт
Alex is the real deal. An Old school mentality mechanic that really knows new technology. He really knows everything, but does things the right way. No screw ups. Explains all the processes. Mechanical, Electromechanics, AC, suspension. I mean the whole bid! Bravo!
I've been doing this alignment technique for years, I works. I learned something new with using the garbage bags under the wheels.
I use two 10x12 pieces of ABS with grease in between
This is something I would rather use metric for. Good alignment system though. You explain things so simply and clearly.
Geez, you act like dividing 9/16 by 2 is harder than dividing 14mm by 2... oh... it is... forget I mentioned it... LOL
This Man is amazingly giving of himself and his knowledge. Love his Videos!
best explanation ever... a lot of other youtubers really skimp on how to make the square box thingy.
straight to comments to hear from the "experts" to read all about how he did it wrong, yet they have not gotten off the couch all day !!! hugs
I actually did this on my B5 A4 one day then like a week later to it to the dealer. My front was .000 and .005, but they should have been toed in just a bit. I didn't have the specs and was just trying to drive straight so if you take your time this really is a good method! I don't think I'll ever take another car to get an alignment!
Just seems like it takes forever
@@kurtm54 it's definitely not a fast process, but it usually takes a shop an hour or 2 to get you in and out as well.
@@4BillC Definitely, plus, you get the satisfaction and know it's done well. I'd just rather rent an alignment machine! Wish places did that.
Learned something new about squaring it with the pipes. Only suggestion I have is to set the tires on two concrete pavers (1 ft x 1 ft). This will help to raise the car up to provide more clearance to reach underneath. For my grease plates, I made a sandwich of two concrete pavers and linoleum tiles with grease between them.
I use plastic PVC with premeasured cuts, the same distance on both. I always use fishing line over string. Because of the premeasured PVC cuts, I know the distance I need at each wheel from the fishing line and can set this up in 5min.
You can easily make the apparatus that goes on the front and rear bumpers using white PVC pipe from Home Depot. Use a metal conduit pipe across the front and back to run your string over. The bumper rig is what you need if you plan to turn your wheels in/out 20* for calculating the caster or verifying toe-out on turns (turning radius). When you turn the wheels out/in on the plastic (or slip plates) the car will shift away from your string box and your measurements will be off. You need the string box to be affixed to the car if you're measuring turning radius or caster.
Thanks for posting the mini series on alignment! Instead of sourcing a pipe like yours and other videos, I used some 2x4s sitting in my garage. 2x2s would have been better to sit easier on the stands, then I can use those pieces for a project in the future instead of having long pipes sitting around taking up room until next alignment in 6-12 months. Just saw a notch in the wood and feed the string through the notches. My old jalopy hasn't tracked this straight and handled this well in over 150k miles! You saved me from the adjust and go techs out there that apparently can't use their brains.
I made my own with a cheap laser level from harbor freight zip tied to a 1" square aluminum
Pipe about 3 ft long. I put eye hooks at each end and hooked a bungee cord to it. I wrap the bungee around a back tire with laser pointed forward. I measure the laser from the center of each front wheel to determine if the rear is square. I then mark the laser dot on a piece of cardboard front and rear edge of the front wheels.I can check alignment in 5min. I store it in the trunk.
I’d love to see a video on your setup and how you do this please
Yes, I'd like to see this IRL
I cut long enough to reach across the tire but short enough to not bump into the body.I have used it on friends cars and it works. Remember this assumes the rear axle or control arms are squared up. Regardless,it will always track straight.
I've been struggling for months, thank you, you've blessed me with this knowledge 👍💯👍
Happy new year,glad to see back making informative videos!
Great video, thanks. Probably would be a good idea to firmly secure the steering wheel in the center position. When you adjust the tie rods you are causing equal force both ways. Force on the near wheel and force on the opposite wheel through the steering rack. That may affect the steering wheel position and the opposite side adjustment.
Indeed, I use the seat belt the wrap the bottom of the wheel or ask someone to hold the wheel. If the later I ask them once a while to move the wheel left and right and recenter to remove tire stretch and rack bushing compression
I did this several years ago on my 95 Civic after replacing the steering rack. I took it to a very well rated alignment shop and after they put it on the rack was told it was perfect! Bonus of no charge! Sadly the owner died a year or so later. Out of business.
You should open up shop!
When performing a _real_ alignment, setting the toe is the last thing you do, after getting the caster and camber correct. This is 1/3 of an alignment.
Most cars don't have caster adjustments and some don't have adjustable camber either.
B7 Audi's (2005-2008ish) don't have them either, you have to buy adjustable control arms which are a nightmare lmao
That's pretty extensive!
Merry Christmas Alex!
I've recently got my front end alingment done at a shop all rigged up however my streering wheel is slightly off i will utilize your method and see for myself. Big THX on this tutorial video and may the new year bring you and Family Good health and Wealth with the new shop and avocado farm 👌👍
Loved this thorough and well-communicated explanation! Liked and subscribed.
Every time you spot one. No matter how obvious, you have to say “is that a prelude?!” every time 🔥
I had a 91 Prelude si 2.0 4ws that I used to align myself in a very similar way to this. Kind of a PIA to set up but worked very well.
Having turn plates would have made it a lot easier.
Very nice, i like your content very much! Old School methods for DIY.
Hey great to see you still making videos. And the hair is looking Slick and Trim!
Stay gold.
I'm astonished that being 67yo and only having a vague notion of what toe in and toe out is let alone how to adjust it, I finally have a crystal clear explanation of what it it is and how to do it. Crystal Clear.
Many thanks.
PS Have you a description of camber, how to adjust camber, and how it effects toe in?
Cool video thanks for sharing I will try this on my old Tacoma
so happy that I live in a metric world.
Durrhhh fractions is hard!!
Wonderful Presentation - thank you.
Hi Alex, Merry Christmas, huge hug to you from CDMX (México city).
I appreciate your work and everything you do and achieve for sharing you wisdom and experiences.
Blessings for ever to you!
Thank you Gerardo, same to you as well. I dont know why everyone calling me Alex though lol
@@myRatchets esmet chiye dadash
hope your having a great christmas well explained
Nice work.
Nice set up
My brain hurts now, I had to rewatch the divide it in 2, then in 2 again part at 10:00 like 5 times to understand 🤣🤦♂️ I am NOT an engineer 😆
We use Smart Racing products Smart Strings on our Porsche 911s. We also set camber and caster, plus we corner balance the cars.
You incorrectly stated that as long as you measure at the centre of the rear wheels, it doesn't matter if they're toed in or out. That would only be true if the wheels pivot around that contact point. They actually pivot around the ball joints or other components.
Simple way to prove my point: turn the steering wheel, and watch the distance from the string to the centre point of the wheel get longer or shorter.
Merry Christmas Alex. I have enjoyed your channel for many years and have learned a lot. I thank you for that! Wyatt
Hey Wyatt how is your Christmas going, I appreciate you watching for all these years and your comments as well. Cheers my friend.
Ditto! (and Merry Christmas to you as well Wyatt!)
@@HouseCallAutoRepair Thank you, and same to you!
For educational purposes, would you consider taking that car to a proper wheel alignment place and see how accurate the string method was?
I use a similar method only I made brakets with rulers to make it easier. I have taken my car to a local alignment shop afterwards a couple times just to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong, and I found if you are careful it is spot on.
Most alignment shops will check your alignment for free or maybe charge around $25 just to put it on their rack and give you a print out.
I do my own alignment because it is for a track car that I am frequently making changes and use custom alignment specs which is difficult and or expensive to do at a shop.
@@ericmichel3857 I stopped believing you after you said most alignment shops will check your alignment for free, LOL
@@ericmichel3857A】
String is more accurate than laser..... Just ask any Racer
Great Video , Feliz Navidad , to you
Another DIY video that never evplained the importance of checking for runout in each wheel, otherwize good video.
Alex, one suggestion is to do this with the car sitting on 4 small pedestals or platforms. Some guys make those of wood (I have them by Race Ramps), that way if you’re working on a low profile vehicle you’re able to reach to the front suspension components for adjustment.
Only problem with those is that you have to jack up the vehicle to place the wheels on them. Which means that the suspension is altered, and you can't reset it by rolling the car back and forth. Sure you can jounce the suspension, but it's not as accurate.
@@LynxStarAutoI use a similar method with pedastals and it's fine. I even verified my alignment (more than once) with a shop laser alignment rig and it was spot on. Rolling the car is a nice idea, but completely unnecessary. And on a low clearance car you really have no choice.
@@LynxStarAuto would you not then just give it time to settle??
Merry Christmas. Looking forward to the paint less dent repair on that car. TELESPAR tubing comes in long lengths with pre drilled holes. I've used it to build smaller jigs, it may work for a 4wheel alignment jig too.
Thanks same to you as well. Good idea about the telespar tubing will look into it, thanks.
Great info. Eric at SMA has you in his list of other channels to watch. Now, tell me more about that RS6 in the background!
Great video!
Great idea 🙂
Son of a gun, Thanks Alex finallly I undestood, how to do it the right way.
Thanks for the video.
You made an easy job complex
love this channel
Me too :)
Great stuff 🎄 Thanks...........
Glad you like it. cheers
I do something similar only I made brackets with aluminum angle material for each wheel and attached three small metal rullers (front, back, and middle). Makes centering the box and taking measurements a heck of a lot easier and faster. Then I mark the center position with a color sharpie, so if it moves you will see it immediately. I also attached the string to metal poles (like you used), you can drill holes but I also use a metal hose clamp on one end to get thd string width prrfect front to back. Then I use tie wraps to attach the poles to the jack stands. Then with the brackets rulers on each wheel you can just tap the pole with a hammer to get it perfectly square.
All stuff from Home Depot for very little money and makes this method ten times easier, faster, and more reliable.
Can you make video showing the stuff you made
@@StrongerThanBigfoot Tried to post a reply with some picture links but it was quickly deleted. I don't get they way some messages are deleted for no apparent reason. YT sucks. If you want provide an email address and I can send you some pics.
@@ericmichel3857i believe that if you change the color of the text to the links, it will work. Id like to see what you've made as well, i have a vw cc that I've recently done a ton of work to the steering and suspension parts and an having a hell of a time getting it back driving straight.
@@schuylermorris5342 What do you mean change the color? They did show up as hyperlinks and were blue. These are just links to picks I posted in a flickr account. I could try deleting the www part? Or you guys can create an email account so I can send them direct. I will try posting with that part deleted from each link, if you don't see it after this, that means it was deleted again.
Good one bro
Will be doing this later today...wish me luck..Just noticed that nice Jaguar..I have the same car... B-)
If you have a car with metric threads, the thread should go exactly 1 mm with one full rotation of the adjustment screw. Note that the adjustment changes the position of the ball joint, not the edge of the wheel, though.
You are amazing !
No, you are my friend. You are :)
Wonderful video. Thanks for taking the time to post it. @9:15, where did you get that measurement marked on the pipe?
Why do the jack stands have to be perpendicular to the pipe? As long as the two on the same side (passenger/driver) make the string the same distance from the wheel center then the stands on the opposite side (passenger/driver) of the car (passenger/driver)don't matter. What am I missing?
Strings are attached to the stands. Pipe on top of stands.
Front to back has to be the same length on each side. Left to right has to be the same in the front and the back.
2 corners have to be 90 degrees (then the other will also be).
If not, you don't have a rectangle.
lol the rear was off @12:34 and he said "we're gonna call this good" 😂
Hi
Nice video.
Im in UK
Any idea how to compensate road camber to make steering wheel straight? I'm alinghing wheels perfect and steering always facing a bit to the right because road camber. So annoying. I'm making left tyre pararel rear tyre and right hand tyre a bit 1 mm positive. Goes straight but wheel always a bit off to right.can you help please.
Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 🤶 Ratchets and Wrenches
On Christmas day 🎄 My teacher Ratchets and Wrenches
PRODIGY Ratchets and Wrench
Thanks for sharing what you know with us on Christmas 🎄 day ,enjoy your Christmas with all your family around you
PRODIGY Ratchets and Wrenches
From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧
Thank you Nick, same to you as well. cheers
Hell yeah a gen4 prelude
m'dude. Good to see you.
Hi bro, love your videos. Very helpful. I just replaced my 2 front tires 4 days ago with new tires, immediately after changing them my car steering wheel is not straight, I have to turn it left to straighten the car, I swapped left tire to right and now the opposite happened, I have to turn steering right to straighten my car. This problem wasn't before new tires.. Please help?? Also 1 of the new tires the guy at tires shop didn't clean the wheel before mounting the new tire and didn't allighn the yellow mark with the air valve..
this tells me you have a bad tire with high rolling resistance as it fallows the problem .the driver side is the culpert .the bead not being cleaned will cause a bead leak ,the marking may or may not be correct as the red marking takes precidence over yellow for high and low spots on rim and tire.
Very interesting, try using toe-in plates, $40-$50 set or so.
keep in mind measuring at the rim will give a smaller amount of toe (in or out) than measuring at tire tread
Where do you get the specs for your specific vehicle for the alignment?
there is only fixed for toe in/toe out. Could you please show us the way to fix the camber and caster
Jump on the jungle site, and pick up a steering wheel brace/lock. They're only ~$30. Then as you're pulling into your box, make sure the steering wheel is dead straight while you're seated in the normal spot and lock it in place. THEN do everything you said! Otherwise you could end up with an awesomely aligned car... and your wheel is cockeyed to one side or the other - and we ALL know how annoying that is!! You can't trust that the column lock will leave the steering wheel straight, and most late model units don't even have them anymore anyhow.
Adjustable wrench DUDE!!!
👍
I believe light weight fishing line works best with no wind.
Thank god for the metric system
Put a tape on 4 pieces of flat iron with a groove in the middle on sliders at perfect 90. Homemade alignment rig if u have the proper fab tools
I appreciate all the effort that goes into making a good video like this. However, there's some mistakes in the numbers. I would flub the math on camera too! The spec. of +1/32" = +0.031". With +/- 0.031" the range is 0.0" to +0.062". That's 0" - +1/16". At 12:24 it was incorrectly stated that the spec calls for +0.013" +/- 0.013" so the high end of the range is +0.026". That was reversed. It's +0.031" +/- 0.031" so the high end is +.062". At 12:33 it was stated that the high end of the spec is +.026", which is an error. It's +.062". It got reversed from 62 to 26. If the total toe is +0.062" maximum, then the maximum is +0.031" per side. So at +0.03"+ it was within spec, assuming one can rely on a discrepancy of .001" with this setup, which is iffy. But I'd have called it ok as well. It wasn't 0.004" out of spec. Which I probably would have passed with this setup as well. We're splitting hairs here.
Thank you for explaining your method. Between your tutorial and some of the helpful comments here, I learned a lot. I'll be attempting a 4 wheel alignment on my channel at some point.
Ok and where can I download the alignment specs for my vehicle?
Got to be a much easier and quicker way using laser pointer/line.
If you put all 4 wheels up on dollys, I guess you could just move the car to center it in the box? Not sure if that’s easier.
My car looks the same on the same OEM wheels but silver
This doesn't adjust camber, right
The Most Accurate DIY 4W Alignment
It would be so much easier to use whole numbers such as Millimetres. Forget fraction of an inch then it's simply for example 138mm front and maybe 142mm rear . So much easier. Anyway Im luck as I learnt both metric and imperial but I never use the old system now.
Can you do this on a tractor 🤔🤔
sure, its even easier on the tractor you don't have to square it inside the rectangle since its got solid rear axles. You just run a line parallel to the rear wells and do adjusting on the front wheel on that side.
The problem with this method is that you need a flat surface to do it. I don't have such a spot.
It only needs to be reasonably flat for toe
This seems otherwise okay but you should really do better measurements to avoid having parallelogram instead of a rectangle. That said, it seems that your method doesn't actually require a rectangle but a parallelogram should be just fine because you're only adjusting toe. True 4 wheel alignment should also adjust camber and possibly also castor, too.
Good video, but going through all this to correct toe in/out is silly.
I wonder where he learned how to do that.
I don't see how the first rear wheel was in spec.
He said it was .03+, but then said the spec calls for .013+, with .026 being the highest.
He inadvertently transposed the numbers as he said them. The maximum is .031" on each side. Not .013". 31 versus 13. So it was within spec, if we believe it's possible to repeat-ably get a measurement within .001" accuracy. That isn't possible with these methods. This method might be good enough, as others have commented, to get it close enough for a DIY job. Which is why he accepted .004" out of spec. (Which it wasn't.) .002" is the thickness of a human hair, and we can't split hairs with this method! So, I would adjust to get as close to mid range as possible, which is approximately .016". I'd shoot for perfect, to hopefully fall above the minimum of .000" and below the maximum of .031". That's the best a DIYer can do without specialized equipment.
Man that's awesome but I'd rather just pay $80
Wrench around just doesn't have the same ring to it.
haha ok got it.
You mentioned metal instead of the string... nothing is straighter than a tight string. I'm just sayin'
It cost less for me to buy new tire than do an alignment at the shop.
Your new tire will still need alignment.. i really wonder how some of yall make it through life
@@confidential8738 😂I know….
@@confidential8738 No. If you’re old tire was wearing correctly, why would you need alignment?
I got a gravel driveway on a slope, I'm just going to have my car towed to the shop. XD
I think you are confusing toe in versus toe out.
off brand 3 plane lasers are getting cheap...
Should have been a science teacher....
Perfect example where inches that use base 12 and 16 that gives lots of 2s are more useful than the metric system that only gives you 5s and 2s.
1/2mm is equal to 1/51 of an inch. Much finer than 1/16";)
@@adrianmack3 That's what 32nds are for
Trust a guy using a shifting spanner arse about? Nope!
Measurements Done in. mm would be simple numbers without fractions, etc
Overseas , the rest of the world prefer millimetres as do the manufacturers
Actually, manufacturers just prefer to buy hardware from China who uses metric. American engineers are trained to use both systems and won’t cry in the comments when we see one used over the other.
Why are we not using metric??? Ridiculous.
Nobody gives a hoot about except UA-cam commenters
Still that blonde Honda does not know what direction its going.
imperial unit gives me headache
Is he persian?