What basic tools are needed to do a simple alignment check at home?
I'm aware you can't easily do a comprehensive four-wheel alignment check at home (e.g., to check if a vehicle has been in an accident) but at home you generally are checking your own vehicles which you know the history of.
All you really need to check, I think, is caster, camber & toe, right?
And caster is a mathematical function of camber, right?
So do I only need to accurately check camber and toe?
If so, what tools do I need to check that at home, and what basic methods
are needed? For example, on Amazon are these $50 toe alignment plates. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1XZ6H8D
But those toe alignment plates bolt to the axle? Really?
Don't we want to perform toe measurements with the vehicle on the ground in the normal sprung geometry? On a turning plate perhaps?
Since those toe alignment plates have a strap, can they be used with the wheel on (I realize the tire pushes the alignment plate out about an inch).
For camber, this $100 camber angle gauge seems to be a magnetic mount. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PB7V3SU/
Is that sufficient to measure camber & toe (caster can be calculated)?
Or do I also need this wheel clamp contraption to get the camber right? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07532CB8M/
A board with nails or clamps will work for toe.
A simple mechanical incline gauge works for C/C.
Johnson Level & Tool 700 Magnetic Angle Locator.
On Sat, 31 May 2025 20:16:34 -0500, Paul in Houston TX wrote:Always on the ground or simulated ground level. Weighted would be
A board with nails or clamps will work for toe.
The problem is getting UNDER the engine so you need a "U" shape which I was able to fabricate with a board with two swinging arms and a nail in the
tip. But the toe plates seem, to me, to be easier.
But my main question was don't you measure toe with the vehicle weighted?
The to plates I references seem to go on the calipers which is unsprung???
A simple mechanical incline gauge works for C/C.
Johnson Level & Tool 700 Magnetic Angle Locator.
That looks neat, and it's inexpensive! https://www.amazon.com/Johnson-Level-Tool-700-Magnetic/dp/B00004T807
Do you place it against the hub with the vehicle on the ground weighted?
Do you place it against the hub with the vehicle on the ground weighted?Always on the ground or simulated ground level. Weighted would be
ideal but getting someone to sit in the driver's seat while you work on
the car may be difficult. Placing bags of sand in the driver's seat
might work. Remember, there is a specified settings _range_. When I
was working at the Ford and Chevy dealerships the alignment specialists would ask one of us to sit in the vehicle for a few min while he did the final check. He was fast.
On my recent visit to the dealer for routine service, I happened to
notice my car's details - year, model, plate, - on a large overhead
display screen near the service mgr.'s desk with a green "OK" .. -
upon asking about it I learned that - as I drove into the reception
bay a laser sensor at the entrance door scanned my car
and checked alignment < ! > He said the machine was dead accurate
when compared with their alignment bay measurements.
It would be nice if they would provide a printout of the scan
results < I didn't ask > but I think they would lose alignment
jobs if they did that.
On a properly desogned front suspension the toe should not change
with suspension deflection, but camber for sure, and possibly caster,
CAN change significantly - particularly on a strut suspension
On Sun, 01 Jun 2025 17:46:47 -0400, Clare Snyder wrote:
On a properly desogned front suspension the toe should not change
with suspension deflection, but camber for sure, and possibly caster,
CAN change significantly - particularly on a strut suspension
Oh. Is that why they sell on Amazon these $50 toe alignment plates. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1XZ6H8D
Are you saying the toe is the same whether or not the vehicle is sprung?
When you adjust the toe, does that adjustment keep once you weight the car?
When you adjust the toe, does that adjustment keep once you weight the car?
Likely not. Use the toe plates Luke!
On 2 Jun 2025 07:26:13 GMT, Xeno wrote:
When you adjust the toe, does that adjustment keep once you weight the car? >>Likely not. Use the toe plates Luke!
Wait. That's a Yes and then a No, but maybe I misunderstood what you said.
The toe "plate" can mean the static thing you bolt to the lugs (with the wheels removed and the vehicle on stands) or it could mean the rotating
thing you roll the wheels on top of (with the suspension weighted
normally).
Which is the way to do a toe at home because even with the thing that sits
on the ground that you put the vehicle on, you still need to measure the distance to the centerpoint under the vehicle.
Can you clarify as I ordered these based on what the others already said. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1XZ6H8D
The toe "plate" can mean the static thing you bolt to the lugs (with the
wheels removed and the vehicle on stands) or it could mean the rotating
thing you roll the wheels on top of (with the suspension weighted
normally).
The latter.
The toe "plate" can mean the static thing you bolt to the lugs (with the >>> wheels removed and the vehicle on stands) or it could mean the rotating
thing you roll the wheels on top of (with the suspension weighted
normally).
The latter.
Thanks. Both are called toe plates by people so I was confused.
Would you recommend any of these "turn plates" for a home alignment? https://www.amazon.com/s?k=turn+plate+alignment+tool
I would want to do toe & then +/- 20 degree camber to calculate caster. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSFLDQRX/
| Sysop: | Amessyroom |
|---|---|
| Location: | Fayetteville, NC |
| Users: | 65 |
| Nodes: | 6 (0 / 6) |
| Uptime: | 01:48:38 |
| Calls: | 862 |
| Files: | 1,311 |
| D/L today: |
10 files (20,373K bytes) |
| Messages: | 264,321 |