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I finished a front end alignment on my roommate's vehicle today, shadetree style. 2005 Hyundai Tucson, 2.7L 6Cyl (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by over_clox@lemmy.world to c/dull_mens_club@lemmy.world
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I'm not exactly sure when the alignment got out of whack, but a couple years ago he had his front struts and shocks replaced, so that could have something to do with it.

Anyways, what I found was that his right front wheel was slightly cocked to the left, what they call tow-in regarding alignment. Welp, I just basically eyeballed it once, turned the adjustment about 3 full turns, locked it down and had him go for a test drive around the block.

Second check, I realized I slightly overshot good alignment and went back about ⅓ of a turn, then had him test drive it a couple days.

Today I felt it was still ever so slightly overshot, so I turned it back about ⅓ more turn, and now it drives perfectly smooth!

Disclaimer: You'll find a lot of videos online about this and how supposedly easy it is just with some string and reasonable mechanic common sense, but that isn't always the case. Sure the string/laser methods are fantastic and all, but that only works if the front wheelspan and the back wheelspan are equal.

Not all vehicles are like that, I used to own a car where the back wheelspan was about an inch and a half wider than the front wheelspan, meaning the string trick couldn't possibly work right on that car. Thankfully my roommate's vehicle apparently has equal wheelspan both front and back, making the process easier.

But don't always trust YouTube, know your skills, your tools, and your vehicle before doing anything, especially if you're not sure...

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[–] over_clox@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I hear ya there, but it's only the first stage that I eyeballed it. The next 2 stages were by driving it a bit and fine tuning it from lots of experience and intuition.

I've done front end alignment my own way over 30 times, so I do happen to have enough experience to get mighty close to professional shop accuracy, while still using well educated redneck style.

My final test is when I can park the vehicle on level pavement, shut it off, put it in neutral, and push the entire vehicle with my right thumb alone. I'd say that's close enough for government work, so to speak.

Today on the highway it also felt great, tomorrow we'll probably take it for a faster test drive on the interstate, but I think I got it dialed in damn near perfectly. If I sense anything is still out of whack in any way, it'll be within ±¼ of a turn its that close 👍