Chris Birdsong posted this fantastic video on DIY front end alignments for Mopars...best I have seen
Please elaborate Mike. I spent a couple of hours contacting shops in my area and not one wanted to touch my car.The nearest shop that sounded competent is over 2 hours away, so trying this out makes sense to me.Other than caster,camber and toe what else is critical to a 53 year old cruiser like mine?
Thrust angle would be a challenge, but maybe one could do it with the angle iron pieces that I described for front end toe.How are you going to measure thrust angle? How about simple toe adjustment? String or tape measure? from what points? Just asking.
Agreed. Toe should be measured at the center of the tire and not where it is convenient to measure.Thrust angle would be a challenge, but maybe one could do it with the angle iron pieces that I described for front end toe.
I measured front end toe as described in my reply above. The points that were used are one of the tread grooves on both sides of the tire, out of convenience, 1/2 way up the tire.
Back in the day I don't remember tire shops pushing 4 wheel alignments at all so thrust angle was not checked or talked about to my knowledge.I used to take care of the maintenance for a small fleet of about 20 trucks and vans. Never discussed and if you rotate tires every other oil change how would you even know there was a problem?How are you going to measure thrust angle? How about simple toe adjustment? String or tape measure? from what points? Just asking.
That's exactly why I don't rotate tires.Back in the day I don't remember tire shops pushing 4 wheel alignments at all so thrust angle was not checked or talked about to my knowledge.I used to take care of the maintenance for a small fleet of about 20 trucks and vans. Never discussed and if you rotate tires every other oil change how would you even know there was a problem?
The 4 wheel alignment is important for vehicles with independent suspension. Not so much for vehicles with a solid rear axle.Back in the day I don't remember tire shops pushing 4 wheel alignments at all so thrust angle was not checked or talked about to my knowledge.I used to take care of the maintenance for a small fleet of about 20 trucks and vans. Never discussed and if you rotate tires every other oil change how would you even know there was a problem?