Article in Fourwheeler

[TerryG]

There is an interesting article in the latest Fourwheeler mag about beefing up front end and steering components with some bullet proof tierods ,trackbars,draglinks, etc. What I thought was interesting was how they mentioned playing with the toe in or toe out adjustment on the alignment by measuring from centerline of passenger side tire to center line of driverside tire then compare with same measurement taken with back tires and the difference will be either your toe in or toe out depending on your measurement. I did mine and found that I was toed out . 25 of an inch. They mentioned that they liked about this much toed in.

 

[WyoJim]

Thats interesting Terry... I just went out in the garage and measured mine. It is toed in 1/8 inch.

It runs down the road without any wander except on high crowned roads.

I will have to pick up that magazine.

 

[SteveE]

Checking toe

"measuring from centerline of passenger side tire to center line of driverside tire then compare with same measurement taken with back tires "





When I check the toe I first jack up one side at a time so the wheel can spin, use a wood clothes clip with a spring, nail in clothpin facing out in the thin flat part of the clip to let it have a little give for tire runout to scrib a line on the tire while turning the tire. Scribing a line helps elimiate runout in the toe checking process.

After scribing both sides, left and right, measure front side of tires

then go to the rear of the same axle and measure on the line that you scribed. I use a 2x4 with a couple of nails about the width of the axle and bend the nails center on the line and then take that measurement to the rear of the tire. If the rear is wider it is toed in.

This works good for 4 wheel drive trucks as sometimes out in the boonies you need basic measuring after some parts get tweeked.



Hope that helps

 

[Joe G.]

Doing it that way assumes that the track width is the same on the rear as the front. Not always true depending on the vehicle. I do it by makeing a mark in the center of the tread on the front tires. Then I measure the distance between the marks when the marks are in the front and again in the back. Half the difference is the toe in. I also roll the vehicle forward for each measurement to make sure that the pressure on the suspension is in the same direction.

 

[Rob Thomas]

Joe, I think thats what Terry meant,back of the front tires, not back tires,type-o,I'm sure.