At home alignment - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

IvelDesigns · 06-20-2007, 09:57 PM

this weekend i'll be wrapping up my air bag install. i have already put in new lower ball joints, and have all of the parts to do the uppers, inner and outer tierods and tierod adjuster sleeves. In addition to the bags, i have 2.5" drop spindles up front and 2.5" blocks out back. up front i had cut coils that made the truck low enough to where i could barely fit a 3 ton floor jack under the cross member. i expect to be very close to that for my ride height.

my truck is 2 hours away from me, and i'd really like to get it home this weekend, but i'm concerned that i won't be able to get an alignment done on sunday before i head home.

so, what are some things that i can do to get my alignment close enough to drive 140 miles and not shread my tires? I should probably say 180 miles cause i want to drive it around town a bit before making a 2 hour drive for the first time.

my thought is to take out the tie rods as one piece, and use those as a guide for installing the new ones. other than that, i know nothing about shims or any of that stuff.

kid66 · 06-20-2007, 10:31 PM

On race cars we do what they call stringing, because you can take a race car down to Sears for a aligment. Stock car products has a great way of doing it. I hope the link helps you out.

http://www.stockcarproducts.com/tech1o.htm

*Shane* · 06-20-2007, 11:29 PM

stringing will work to set "toe-in" and "toe-out" ... but does nothing to help with camber and caster.

SCOTI · 06-21-2007, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane

stringing will work to set "toe-in" and "toe-out" ... but does nothing to help with camber and caster.

For camber, you could use a level on the outside edge of the tire to get close to zero. My guess is you still are @ risk of tearing up tires w/o aligning.

kid66 · 06-21-2007, 07:30 AM

You can get a cheap camber and caster gauge at Napa or off the Tool Trucks. If you car trying to get the truck home I would worry about toe more than anything else at that point. Caster should be pretty much ok for a trip home unless you are going to do some Road Racing or Dirt Oval racing, and the same with camber.

06-20-2007, 09:57 PM	#1
IvelDesigns Commander Taco Bello Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Des Moines, Iowa Posts: 2,232	At home alignment this weekend i'll be wrapping up my air bag install. i have already put in new lower ball joints, and have all of the parts to do the uppers, inner and outer tierods and tierod adjuster sleeves. In addition to the bags, i have 2.5" drop spindles up front and 2.5" blocks out back. up front i had cut coils that made the truck low enough to where i could barely fit a 3 ton floor jack under the cross member. i expect to be very close to that for my ride height. my truck is 2 hours away from me, and i'd really like to get it home this weekend, but i'm concerned that i won't be able to get an alignment done on sunday before i head home. so, what are some things that i can do to get my alignment close enough to drive 140 miles and not shread my tires? I should probably say 180 miles cause i want to drive it around town a bit before making a 2 hour drive for the first time. my thought is to take out the tie rods as one piece, and use those as a guide for installing the new ones. other than that, i know nothing about shims or any of that stuff. __________________ Bagged '50 3600 - Bumper punchin' road kill since 2009... Bagged '69 C10 Longbed - Bumper punchin' road kill since 2007...

06-20-2007, 10:31 PM	#2
kid66 Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 25	Re: At home alignment On race cars we do what they call stringing, because you can take a race car down to Sears for a aligment. Stock car products has a great way of doing it. I hope the link helps you out. http://www.stockcarproducts.com/tech1o.htm

06-20-2007, 11:29 PM	#3
Shane Account Suspended Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: over yonder Posts: 14,270	Re: At home alignment stringing will work to set "toe-in" and "toe-out" ... but does nothing to help with camber and caster.

06-21-2007, 07:30 AM	#5
kid66 Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 25	Re: At home alignment You can get a cheap camber and caster gauge at Napa or off the Tool Trucks. If you car trying to get the truck home I would worry about toe more than anything else at that point. Caster should be pretty much ok for a trip home unless you are going to do some Road Racing or Dirt Oval racing, and the same with camber.



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