PDA

View Full Version : help with correct alignment



badzj999
01-26-2006, 07:41 PM
ok i know my tie rod alignment is perfect on my jeep but driving down the road it still pulls pretty hard to the right. im thinking that it could be my arms are not all adjusted perfectly, how do i go about checking this? i mean the arms are all adjusted to the same lengths but i may have welded a bracked a little off or something and need to adjust an arm to correct this, how would i go about getting these measurements?

ATL ZJ
01-26-2006, 08:06 PM
ok i know my tie rod alignment is perfect on my jeep but driving down the road it still pulls pretty hard to the right. im thinking that it could be my arms are not all adjusted perfectly, how do i go about checking this? i mean the arms are all adjusted to the same lengths but i may have welded a bracked a little off or something and need to adjust an arm to correct this, how would i go about getting these measurements?
Measure from the front edge of a hole on the framerail to a marked point on your axle (such as where the tube and inner C meet, for example).. Do the same with the hole on the other framerail and the matching point on the other side of your axle. Of course you need to make sure your axle is perfectly centered in order for this method to correctly reveal the information you want.

badzj999
01-26-2006, 10:10 PM
ok so the rear is definatly centered (4link) and both side of the axle are set at the same length, the front im pretty sure is centered but it seems like the side that it is pulling to, the right side is actually pushed forward an inch or so... so i adjusted it for that inch and still pulls to the right...

Swamp boy
01-26-2006, 10:38 PM
Measure from center of rear axle to center of front axle on both sides .. The measurement should be the same..

If its not you have to figure out if its front or rear axle thats not straight..

Start with the measurments...Let us know..

Picking a fixed point on the frame and make a straight mark across both frame rails.. Then you can measure from that point to the front and rear axle on both sides.. That should tell you which needs to me adjusted.. IE both sides of the rear are the same but the front is off there you have it...

Good luck..

nate
01-26-2006, 11:03 PM
My Jeep used to pull fairly hard to the right. The front axle was 1/4" closer to the back wheels than the left side. Doesn't take much.

gearhead313
01-27-2006, 10:21 AM
If you measured everything and know the toe is right, put it on an alignment rack. If you want it to track like a 18 wheela, thats the only way...to see it on paper.

badzj999
01-27-2006, 04:17 PM
ok well heres the problem i have... from my old control arm bracket i find that the drivers side of the front axle is a distance of 1'5" from the hole... the passengers side is 1'7" from this hole.... when i measured wheelbase on the drivers side it comes out to be 108" even or 9'... the passengers side is actually shorted by like a 1/4" to a 1/2" and when checking if the rear axle is straight i measured by dropping a plumb bob from the upper shock mounts and both sides seem to be even so why is it that my wheel base is shorter on my passenger side but that part of the front axle is actually moved forward? is there something im missing?

doyll
01-27-2006, 11:18 PM
take it to a good alignment shop and have them do a full alignment.

Good luck!
Lloyd

gearhead313
01-28-2006, 06:02 PM
Do you have a measurement from a common point on the frame to the closest part of the axle tube, both side?

Taz
02-09-2006, 12:59 PM
caster is supposed to be at 7*/7*, 6.5/6.5 is acceptable for pinion angle.

nate
02-09-2006, 01:26 PM
If your driving that Jeep on the street a lot, I'd suggest putting in on a rack and getting it aligned that way. Tape measure alignments better suited for rigs that don't see much road time. You can get it fairly close, but it's not going to be perfect.

Figure an alignment is $60-100 at most

OverkillZJ
02-09-2006, 01:52 PM
Then again, I drove Project Phoenix across the country twice on a tape measure alignment, over 20,000 tires. No adverse tire wear or anything. I was only concerned with Toe and made a jig to measure it more accurately than from tire to tire (metal stick which bolted to the lugs without the wheels on.) Caster was trial and error feeling how quickly the the wheel returned, it must've taken me 50 test drives, but it really was the best alignment I'd ever had from even the best of shops. It took time though.

It was also easier to set my caster to whatever I wanted, since I have an HP axle and pinion angle was of too much concern for me.

EMTimZJ
02-09-2006, 04:47 PM
... over 20,000 tires. No adverse tire wear or anything ...

That is quite a large quantity of tires! :coffee: