Alignment Mystery (misery) solved. NEW QUESTION 88 80q

[Ado Sigal]

You can half the available adjustment on the right rod and have that 
much on the left, then readjust the s/wheel, but if you haven't got the 
required instruments for camber and toe, and perfectly flat surface to 
do it on, you should give it to the shop.

Cheers,

Ado



TooManyAudis at aol.com wrote

>I did an "eyeball allignment" by centering my wheel to the rack, then  
>adjusting the wheels to "straight" from there.  The right tie  rod had plenty of 
>adjustment room for either direction.
> 
>The left tie rod, however, is all the way in and could still use 1/4" to  
>1/2" of adjustment to allow the wheel to line up to a "straight and centered"  
>steering wheel.
> 
>Upon investigation, it appears that the left tie rod also has a bit of  
>deflection (not perfectly straight).  But, I would think that this would  
>effectively reduce the overall length of the tie rod (from end to end as  measured in a 
>straight line), and therefore cause a "straight" wheel to be  slightly 
>further out on the tie rod adjustment bolt.
> 
>Of course, I could always stop being so picky, adjust the wheels to a  
>straight-on position, then take my wheel off and replace it in as centered a  
>position as possible, then let the alignment shop have at it. 
> 
>Or, I could get a new left tie rod and see where that leads me.  Now,  the 
>4000q left tie rod looks about the same as the 80q -- and it is $20 or $25  
>cheaper -- not insignificant at this point.  Does anyone with a family  album know 
>the relative lengths of these tie rods?  if the 4000q tie  rod is longer, it 
>does me no good and I would probably just use the 80q tie  rod.  but a 
>slightly shorter tie rod (1/2" or so) would allow me to align  the car with the 
>steering wheel centered to both the rack and the wheels, while  saving me a couple 
>of bucks.  That is, assuming that the tie rod ends are  both the same, as well.
> 
>Any thoughts?
> 
>-- Tom
> 
> 
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