Oizarod115 Posted August 30, 2006 Share Posted August 30, 2006 is it worth it to take the ole truck to the shop for an alignment? 70 bucks is a mighty hefty charge to loosen a couple bolts and turn a couple rods don't ya think? (i think mine might be toed out 1/4" which would be the culprit of some wobble-ation) orr should i just do it myself with the tape measure and "good-enough" it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted August 31, 2006 Share Posted August 31, 2006 If it's a trail vehicle that sees limited highway miles, DIY. If it's your daily driver and gets a lot of miles, have a shop do it and you'll save the cost in tire wear. BTW -- 1/4" out of spec on toe-in won't cause DW. Insufficient caster might, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 I agree with Eagle on tire wear. Bad alignment that looks okay can really wreck tires. The main reason I have a shop do it is for camber, caster, and just to have the truck track straight. I hate when I let go of the wheel and the truck flies off the road. :headpop: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 I find it odd how you can't just get a toe-alignment. I got one for $17. That's all that matters, the rest can be figured out with an angle finder and a tape measure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weezel Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 just got my mj back from an alignment and it is dead on drives and steers like a dream! W :Canadaflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 well mine tracks fine, no problems there, and I'm not lifted so i think the stock CA's should be doing fine with the caster and stuff. but a 1/4" toed OUT is a 1/2" off in toe not 1/4 and from what ive heard that definately can cause problems? it won't see trails for a while until i can borrow my brothers tools and get the u-joints fixed... DD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Rod Jeep Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 If it's a trail vehicle that sees limited highway miles, DIY. If it's your daily driver and gets a lot of miles, have a shop do it and you'll save the cost in tire wear. BTW -- 1/4" out of spec on toe-in won't cause DW. Insufficient caster might, though. I agree, if it's just a trail rig save a few bucks and just do it yourself. But for a daily driver I'd want it done right. 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 but a 1/4" toed OUT is a 1/2" off in toe not 1/4 and from what ive heard that definately can cause problems? ??????? 1/4" toed out is 1/4" toed out. The factory spec is zero to 1/16" toe-in, so there's no way that 1/4" toed out is 1/2" out of spec. And the only problem it'll cause is rapid tire wear, and some "twitchy" steering response. It won't cause death wobble. Been there, done that. When I took the lift out of the '88 MJ I was finishing up just before a trail ride up the road in MA. I completely forgot that changing the vehicle height 4" would affect the toe-in. Drove it up there and immediately noticed the twitchiness, plus I could hear the tires squeaking on corners. Once at the campground one of the other guys had a tape rule and we measured it. It was considerably toed out. Worse, the sleeve was so rusted that we couldn't make it turn, so I had to drive it home like that. Total of a few hundred miles. Visible tire wear, funky steering ... but no death wobble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Maybe he was adding 1/4" out for each side? :hmm: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 no, i had been told by the 4x4 shop owner up the street that XJ/MJ's are supposed to be toed IN 1/4" and that only 242t-case XJ/MJ's were supposed to be dead on. therefore 1/4" toed OUT would be 1/2" away from 1/4" IN... that make more sense? and we got new steering put on my brothers XJ (one ton) and the shop didnt have the tools to do alignments and we drove it a total of 2 1/2 miles home and it wobbled worse than anything ive ever seen in my entire life, only stopped when he slowed to 25- mph. do a DIY alignment and the wobble was gone... soooo thats what led me to beleive that wobbles can be caused by out of alignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 no, i had been told by the 4x4 shop owner up the street that XJ/MJ's are supposed to be toed IN 1/4" and that only 242t-case XJ/MJ's were supposed to be dead on. therefore 1/4" toed OUT would be 1/2" away from 1/4" IN...that make more sense? Makes perfect sense ... Except that the owner of that shop doesn't have a clue. The newer FSMs give the specs in degrees, which is more accurate because it isn't affected by tire size. However, since I own mostly older ones, I have the '88 FSM here for reference. Spec is: ....................................... Set To..................OK RangeToe: Right Wheel .......................... 0 ................... 1/32 IN" to 1/32" OUT Left Wheel ............................ 0 ................... 1/32" IN to 1/32" OUT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oizarod115 Posted September 2, 2006 Author Share Posted September 2, 2006 ohh ok. I'm not confused anymore. my brother explained it to me a little bit. they were talking about nig tires, not stock ones. thanks -nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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