Do-It-Yourself Wheel Alignment Guide

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Diagram 4: Wheels toe in.
Diagram 4: Wheels toe in.
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Diagram 1: Scribe a line near the tire's center.
Diagram 1: Scribe a line near the tire's center.
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Diagram 2: Measure the distance between the lines, front and rear.
Diagram 2: Measure the distance between the lines, front and rear.
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Diagram 3: Adjust the toe by rotating the tie rods equal amounts on each side.
Diagram 3: Adjust the toe by rotating the tie rods equal amounts on each side.
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Diagram 6: Wheels positive camber.
Diagram 6: Wheels positive camber.
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Diagram 5: Wheels toe out.
Diagram 5: Wheels toe out.
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Diagram 7: Wheels negative camber. 
Diagram 7: Wheels negative camber. 
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Diagram 8: Wheels caster, steering axis and vertical axis.
Diagram 8: Wheels caster, steering axis and vertical axis.

This do-it-yourself wheel alignment guide provides step-by-step instructions and diagrams to get your wheels in alignment. (See the car diagrams in the image gallery.)

Do-It-Yourself Wheel Alignment Guide

THERE ARE THREE FACTORS contributing to proper front-end wheel alignment, and all of them must be in order if your car is to handle safely and if the tires, suspension and steering components are to live to their full maturity.

Toe is the automotive equivalent of a pigeon-toed stance; the front tires on nearly all rear-wheel-drive cars are set to point in slightly to help you go straight down the highway. Camber is vertical toe-in; the tires on many cars tilt slightly inward from top to bottom (negative) or outward (positive) to facilitate handling in turns. Caster is the angle from vertical that the wheel pivots on when turned. If you imagine this line extending to the ground, the point of contact will be in front of where the tire touches the ground. Positive caster gives the wheels an inherent tendency to center.

The bad news: You can’t accurately adjust camber and caster at home with simple tools. The good news: Caster and camber don’t usually need to be adjusted unless the car’s been in an accident, and they’re only adjustable by extreme means (such as bending a part) on many cars. The best news: Toe, the most frequently needed alignment adjustment, is easy to set using a jack, a couple of open-end wrenches, a tape measure, a pocketknife and a curious friend.

  • Published on Sep 1, 1988
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