Alignment Specs and Sanity Check

[jma0506]

I just wrapped up a front and rear suspension overhaul over the winter (control arm bushings, bilstein shocks, turbo tie rods with spacers installed, rear spring plates and bushings, sway bar bushings all around) and just got the car back on the road and over to the alignment shop to get it dialed in.

I got a call from the alignment shop that they are unable to perform an alignment on the car because they are unable to get the machine set up because the Toe baseline was "too far out". Now based on the specs they sent over it looks like there is a ton of negative toe out on the right wheel (-1.8) probably due to my poor measurement when I replaced the tie rods. He said that the tie rod end is bottomed out and couldn't be screwed in any more. Now my assumption is that to correct for the negative toe, the tie rod end should be unscrewed (off the car) from the tie rod, not screwed in further, to push the back of the wheel out and straighted it up - I'm looking for confirmation on this point.

Initial Alignment Specs on Rack



Additionally, I'm looking for recommendations on alignment specs for a spirited road driven car riding at 25"/24.5" with 20/26 torsion bars.

Thanks for reading!

[dannobee]

Your assumption is correct. Since it's rear steer (that is, the tie rods are behind the spindle centerline), making the tie rod LONGER will toe the wheel IN. If he's making the tie rod SHORTER (as indicated by "bottoming out"), it's toeing the wheel OUT.

[47silver]

Should each tie rod be adjusted evenly?

[jma0506]

Thanks dannobee for making me feel like I'm not going crazy here. And perhaps 47silver? my old tie rods were completely shot and i likely mis-measured that one side which is why it's so off, but i assume once baselined they should be adjusted to even.

[manbridge 74]

Center the rack. Adjust tie rods the same length and align.

We do it all day, every day…….

[jma0506]

i thought it was about as straight forward as that Jeff, thanks for confirming

[snbush67]

Do it yourself.

Until recently I didn’t think this was possible to do. I recently replaced or refurbished my whole suspension and was able to get my height and alignment dialed in using the Scruggs method. I was helped by ICARP on this board (Ian) who talked me through this over the phone.

It doesn’t sound simple but it is; all you need is a flat place to park your car, 4 jacks stands, string (I used dental floss), and a measuring tape.

[smadsen]

That's a pretty big "oops." You might want to check out a different alignment shop.

Or as stated above, do it yourself. If you've got the technical expertise to rebuild the front suspension, you've certainly got the chops to do a front-end alignment.

[dannobee]

Center up the rack. Even out the tie rods, reset the toe. Confirm that the steering wheel is straight on the test drive.

[NotStock]

Do it yourself or take it anywhere but this place. They can't even figure out how to get it on the machine to get started. And that's the front, it's straight forward. Imagine the head scratching when they get to the back. You'll be picking it up again with a new excuse.

Agree with the above. Centre up the rack, even out the tie rods, measure and go from there. If the rack is centred you shouldn't be running out of travel on the tie rods.

[jma0506]

Thanks all for the responses, I finally got them to admit they were going in the wrong direction. I'll be getting it back from them and giving it a go myself.