[200q20v] DIY Alignment, was front suspension/replace tie rods

[Bernie Benz]

Igor Kessel writes:

> Oh, and I do my own alignment too these days :-)
> Thanks to my self made digital Camber gauge, the Jeff G's (a.k.a.
> Audidudi) instructions on setting the toe and the ridiculous $230 price
> for a 4-wheel quattro alignment charged by dealers nowadays.
> 
> --
> Igor Kessel
> two turbo quattros

Igor,  And I thought I was the only one!

After years of total dissapointment with the good, better, and best
alignment shops and the LOM experts, I've been doing my own alignments for
several years now.  But IMO, the problem is only half the alignment jockey's
fault.  The other half is the unreasonably loose factory allowed tolerences,
especially side to side tolerences, to which the jockies set (?) their
go/no-go machines.

My tools are: framing square, 5' straight edge, plumb bob, tape measure,
chalk, and a precision machinist's level.  For slip plates I have two pair
of hard flooring tiles, greased, face to face.

As yet, I haven't come up with a good/easy way to check castor.  What's your
trick?

Bernie

Bernie

> From: ikessel at amexol.net
> Reply-To: ikessel at amexol.net
> Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 14:48:09 EST
> To: C1J1Miller at aol.com
> Cc: s-car-list at yahoogroups.com, 200q20v at audifans.com, gsfent at prodigy.net
> Subject: Re: [200q20v] Re: [s-cars] front suspension/replace tie rods
> 
> On Thu, 31 May 2001 15:28:55 EDT C1J1Miller at aol.com wrote:
> 
>> (snip)
>> 
>> "The moral of this story: if your adjusters are frozen solid and you
>> don't 
>> have a well equipped mechanical lab at your disposal, perhaps it would be
>> best for you just to bite the bullet and buy two complete new tie rod
>> assys."
>> -- 
>> Igor Kessel
>> two turbo quattros
>> ----
>> I'd say instead:  spend some time freeing up the adjusters at home,
>> or pull them off and do them on the bench, prior to having the idiots
>> break and mangle them doing the alignment.
>> If the guys are charging $50 or so per hour, don't expect them to
>> spend an extra hour or so freeing up frozen parts, unless you
>> instruct them to do so.  They'd rather try brute force or replace
>> with new...
>> 
>> Chris (who's kept his tie rod adjusters in good shape by occasionally
>> loosening/tightening them with some penetrating oil added for good
>> measure... remember to release the jam ring portion on the inside...)
> 
> I do this once a year now as a preventive measure. Live and learn.
> 
> Oh, and I do my own alighnment too these days :-)
> Thanks to my self made digital Camber gauge, the Jeff G's (a.k.a.
> Audidudi) instructions on setting the toe and the ridiculous $230 price
> for a 4-wheel quattro alignment charged by dealers nowadays.
> 
> --
> Igor Kessel
> two turbo quattros
> 
> 
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