At home alignment pretty close!

[spidernut]

I finished the lower A arm bushings last night and did my at-home alignment using a level and a tape measure. I took it in and had it professionally aligned this morning. I was pretty close! .8% off on camber and 1.7% off on tow. Not bad for a 15 minute job and none of the right tools.

Now let's compare that to the last alignment I had "professionally" done. After 3 days of them trying to get it right, camber on the driver's side was still +2.7% off, camber on the passenger side was +.1% off specs and tow was correct. They had the biggest variety and most incongruent assortment of shims in both sides and the front and rear bolts on the pivot arm had a different number and sizes of shims in front and back. Now looking straight at the car, they look more like || instead of /|.

On top of that, 85 degrees today with a slight breeze! It is an amazing day for a drive.

[4uall]

John, your post could not have come at a better time

I have this as a resource


I have seen a few different methods (youtube etc). What did you do? Can we get our own shims if needed? Any advice?

[So Cal Mark]

were those readings from a Spider? Your alignment results show camber and toe change in the rear. Unless they tweaked the axle housing, those readings won't change

[4uall]

@Mark I found this online a while ago, actually thought it was a reference document. After a closer look I see it may just be someone's results What should be our goal?

[spidernut]

How I did it:

I focused first on the camber. I found if you place a level (measuring plumb) on the tire (vertically) that the top of the rim is about 3/4" in from vertical. Instead of doing the math to calculate the actual degrees, I just replicated that distance using shims. It was close enough to get it to the alignment shop. I used the same number of shims on the front bolt as I did the back bolt.

Once I had the camber somewhat close, I turned my attention to tow. First, I cut two pieces of plywood about 6" square, covered the bottom side in grease and placed it between the tires and the floor (grease side facing the concrete). This would allow for me to turn the tires right and left several times to ensure the tow didn't changes after adjustments.

Running a string line along side the car would have helped immensely, but I only had to drive 1/2 mile to the alignment shop, so I visually aligned the driver's front with the driver's rear and ensured the steering wheel was straight. I then used a circumference line on the tire as a reference point and adjusted the tow from the passenger side. Because I was driving such a short distance, I left the front and rear measurements on the tire equal...that's why the tow was further out of specs than the camber.

I'd never drive my car any distance after doing it this way, but I can see how in a pinch I could do a rough alignment if needed in an emergency.

[Tobi]

I guess I have been lucky. I replaced both left arms and lowered the car by a lot. I had new tires installed and never had it aligned because I still wanted to replace the arms on the right and never got to it . The car drove just fine and now six years later the tires are warn very even, even though I ran them with 43 psi.

[SLOSpider]

I just lock the steering column forward or if you can tie i off straight. Take a tape measure and pick a spot in the tread pattern to measure across the rear of the front tires. Now check that measurement to the front of the tires using the same tread location. If the front is longer then its toed out and need to adjust. Shorter in the front its toed in. Adjust so the front and back are pretty even an your good to go and have the rest setup.

[RRoller123]

I did it with the string with pretty good results, haven't had it professionally aligned yet



Went for About 0.015" gap at string at front of front rim, with it just barely touching at back of front rim.



Make sure the car is level across diagonals. Looks wacky in this pic, but it is level.



I would next time do it with the rear strings attached to jack stands so you can adjust their position and tension at the back of the car more easily.

Pete

[focodave]

I did mine (toe) with a 48" long straight-edge (carpenter's level held against the tire horizontally) and a laser pointer taped to the straight edge ---- shooting the laser on a 6-foot wide piece of cardboard supported in front of the car (front) and also shooting the laser on my garage door (rear). I then measured the distances between where the laser landed on the cardboard and garage door, and adjusted from there.
Worked amazingly well.

[spidernut]

Great suggestions on methods! It's nice to see how others tackled the issue.

One of the best things I did was to purchase a lifetime alignment on my cars from a shop that knows how to align a car that requires shims for adjusting camber. I've had bad experiences in the past when the mechanic was a rookie.

It has paid off in every case since I can take it in every 90 days and have it aligned (or bring it in anytime if there are symptoms). I can work on the suspension, drop it off at the shop, come back two hours later to a car that has been properly aligned. I bought tires, took it in and had it aligned. I hit a curb, took it in and had it aligned. I wanted to ensure the car I sold was spot on for the new owner, took it in and had it aligned even though nothing was wrong with it. I like that!

[fiat218]

Wouldn't it be simpler just to drive it over and get alignment ,u spend hrs doing the ( home ) one, and then still take it in
You got to much time on your hands

[Coolbreeze]

I see no mention of putting weight in the car. My shop manual does not suggest adding weight; however, another thread in this forum discusses how a representative amount of weight should be in the car before it is aligned. I just bought 400# of sand bags to have in the car before having Firestone give it a lifetime warrantied alignment. Is weighting necessary or not?

[SLOSpider]

You should have it aligned to how its driven. If your not in it while driving then no weight is needed. However, to get a proper alignment with true settings some weight should be in the drivers seat at minimum. While its not critical it can help with getting better tire wear.

[fiat218]

You should have it aligned to how its driven. If your not in it while driving then no weight is needed. However, to get a proper alignment with true settings some weight should be in the drivers seat at minimum. While its not critical it can help with getting better tire wear.

Do u add wieght to all other cars,trucks. Y theses

[SLOSpider]

Depends if customer was having on going tire wear issues. I had one guy keep coming back with worn tires and had to ask what he uses his truck for. He said he delivered newspapers and would fill the back of the truck up every morning and drive all over filling up the new stands. After I learned this we had several guys in the bed of the truck and set the alignment and issues was solved. Thats extreme but you can see what Im saying. The other issue is the weight of the Fiat compared to say a full size car. One 180 guy in the driver seat changes settings more than that same guy in a heavier full size car.